m patton
I know that it is being circulated around the media that Tom Golisano has publicly claimed that the Sabres will not spend up to the cap this off-season. Fine. I also know that he said the same thing last year. The difference between this year and last year is a written letter to season ticket holders claiming a "fiscal responsibility" that goes along with owning a pro hockey team. In case you forgot, it was last year when he wrote the letter and we all know how last year's spending went.
It would be not wise to assume that Golisano won't do everything in his power to try to sign at least one of his two most marketable players. He prob won't go tight to the cap to do it, and for that I don't blame him (a la injury issues from this past year), but the man didn't become a billionaire solely for his mastery in cost-cutting. He is, most surely, a businessman who does know the importance of keeping spending in check, but if you ask any successful business owner what the most important element in a successful business is, he or she will almost certainly tell you that a sound product with happy customers is king.
I'm not saying that TG will be spending like Brian Cashman to get a good product, but I think that we need to put ourselves in a mindset of a businessman. I think what he is saying is that the Sabres will be smart about their spending and cutting. I also think that he knows that Drury, Briere and Vanek are smart spends for business. He never mentions anything about the free agency issues, which I think is a brilliant move in proving that he stays out of hockey affairs, he only talks about business in general.
We have to assume that TG understands different markets and the difference between making stockholders happy and making fans happy. He understands that the only decent revenue streams in the NHL do not come from TV and revenue sharing, they come from ticket sales and merchandising. If he understood how to make stockholders of Paychex happy, we also have to assume he knows how to make his hockey fans happy as well.
I do believe that there is still some reason to worry about what the team will look like in a few months, but as far as the doom and gloom that Briere and Drury are definitely gone based on TG's recent comments, I'm not buying that product just yet.
I know that it is being circulated around the media that Tom Golisano has publicly claimed that the Sabres will not spend up to the cap this off-season. Fine. I also know that he said the same thing last year. The difference between this year and last year is a written letter to season ticket holders claiming a "fiscal responsibility" that goes along with owning a pro hockey team. In case you forgot, it was last year when he wrote the letter and we all know how last year's spending went.
It would be not wise to assume that Golisano won't do everything in his power to try to sign at least one of his two most marketable players. He prob won't go tight to the cap to do it, and for that I don't blame him (a la injury issues from this past year), but the man didn't become a billionaire solely for his mastery in cost-cutting. He is, most surely, a businessman who does know the importance of keeping spending in check, but if you ask any successful business owner what the most important element in a successful business is, he or she will almost certainly tell you that a sound product with happy customers is king.
I'm not saying that TG will be spending like Brian Cashman to get a good product, but I think that we need to put ourselves in a mindset of a businessman. I think what he is saying is that the Sabres will be smart about their spending and cutting. I also think that he knows that Drury, Briere and Vanek are smart spends for business. He never mentions anything about the free agency issues, which I think is a brilliant move in proving that he stays out of hockey affairs, he only talks about business in general.
We have to assume that TG understands different markets and the difference between making stockholders happy and making fans happy. He understands that the only decent revenue streams in the NHL do not come from TV and revenue sharing, they come from ticket sales and merchandising. If he understood how to make stockholders of Paychex happy, we also have to assume he knows how to make his hockey fans happy as well.
I do believe that there is still some reason to worry about what the team will look like in a few months, but as far as the doom and gloom that Briere and Drury are definitely gone based on TG's recent comments, I'm not buying that product just yet.
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