Owner puts Buffalo Sabres up for sale

It was a disappointing year for the Buffalo Sabres as the team missed the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs for the 13th year in a row. That has already caused a shakeup in the team's head office, with head coach Don Granato, and other members of his coaching staff, being shown the door. Now, it looks as if there will be a major shakeup with ownership as well.

Terry Pegula, who owns the NFL's Buffalo Bills, and NHL's Buffalo Sabres, the AHL's Rochester Americans, and the NLL's Buffalo Bandits and Rochester Knighthawks, reportedly wants to sell all of his franchises except one. He'll be keeping the Buffalo Bills.

Pegula purchased the Buffalo Sabres and the Buffalo Bandits back in 2011 from previous owners Tom Golisano, Larry Quinn, and Dan DiPofi. The price tag was $189 million. Given that the Arizona Coyotes and Ottawa Senators have sold for $1 billion in the last year, Pegula stands to make a lot of money off of the Sabres.

Pegula Sports & Entertainment, the umbrella company that was running all of the teams, dissolved in 2023, with each organization being allowed to focus on just themselves. At the time, Pegula was named President of the Buffalo Sabres.

While it's doubtful the sale of the Buffalo Sabres would lead to a relocation, the same can't be said for the other teams involved. At a recent news conference, Sabres GM Kevyn Adams explained that his reason for firing Granato is that the team simply isn't meeting expectation, and vowed to make the roster better before the 2024-25 season began.