Tag: Buffalo Sabres

Pete Guelli named new COO for Bills (and Sabres)

Pete Guelli named new COO for #Bills (and #Sabres):

Pete Guelli has been named the new chief operating officer of the Buffalo Bills… and, for those curious, the COO of the Buffalo Sabres as well.

Guelli, 59, previously worked from 1998 to 2009 as President of Business ventures for the Bills and is a Rochester native. In addition, he has held roles with the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets and NFL’s New York Giants.

Guelli will oversee the business operations for the Bills and Sabres. General manager Brandon Beane will still be in charge of football operations.

According to a new release, Josh Dziurlikowski, who was serving as the interim COO of the Bills, was named senior vice president of finance and business operations of the Bills.

Team owner Terry Pegula released this statement on the Guelli hire:

“I’d first like to thank Josh and Rob (Minter–Buffalo Sabres) for their outstanding work and leadership as interim COO’s. It was a challenging transition and period for each of them and we are fortunate to be able to retain them in other leadership roles within each organization.”

“It was hard not to be impressed with the experience and overall business acumen of Pete Guelli. The New York market is the largest in our country and highly competitive and he did an outstanding job on all levels of their business operation.

“His work in helping turn around the Charlotte Hornets franchise in the NBA was remarkable. He is a proven leader with tremendous skills and experience in the sports business landscape. With the upcoming changes on the way in both team’s venues, we are happy to have Pete to help lead our teams.”

Guelli replaces John Roth as COO, who was fired in October 2023.

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Bills’ Dion Dawkins hypes up crowd at Sabres game

#Bills’ Dion Dawkins hypes up crowd at #Sabres game:

Dion Dawkins loves him some Sabres hockey.

The Sabres did lose, 5-2 against the Kraken, but the Bills offensive lineman did his best to help on this occasion.

Dawkins, who is often spotted at games, was hyping up the crowd before the game prior to the Tuesday night faceoff.

Check out Dawkins at the hockey game below:

Bills owner Terry Pegula dissolves Pegula Sports and Entertainment

More changes:

The shakeups in the front offices of the professional sports teams in the City of Buffalo have continued as Pegula Sports and Entertainment no longer exists.

On Monday, Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula, who also owns the National Hockey League’s Buffalo Sabres, named himself the president of the hockey club. In doing so, PSE has ceased to exist.

Previously, the two teams were linked under the PSE umbrella. According to a new release, the two will now act as separate entities for the first time since 2014.

“We are thankful for the work and effort so many individuals have put into PSE over the years, but feel it is the right time for them to return home to separate organizations,” Pegula said in a statement. “We feel that now is the right time to dissolve PSE and allow everyone to focus solely on their respective organization. It is a great time to be a Buffalo sports fan and we have a tremendous amount of confidence that this restructuring will allow our businesses to continue to elevate with our teams.”

In July, Pegula made a similar change with the Bills. Pegula is also the team president of the National Football League club as the team and former Bills president Ron Raccuia announced the two sides “parted ways” at that time.

Terry Pegula co-owns both teams with his wife, Kim.

Kim Pegula went through an “unexpected health issue” in June 2022. It was later revealed to be cardiac arrest which she continues to recover from. In July, she had made appearances at Bills training camp for the first time.

In recent months with Kim Pegula stepping away from the day-to-day operations of both teams to focus on her health, Terry Pegula has appeared to become more involved with both, leading to these changes in organizational structure.

Bills Wire will provide further updates as information made is available.

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Remembering the 5 best Rick Jeanneret calls from the late, legendary Sabres announcer

The late announcing legend died at age 81.

The hockey world lost a Hall of Fame legend on Thursday: Rick Jeanneret, the longtime voice of the Buffalo Sabres, who died at the age of 81.

Jeanneret had been calling Sabres games since 1971-72 until he retired in 2022, gaining so many fans along the way not just in Western New York. There are a few iconic calls that they’re remembering on Friday as the news broke, and we’re here to share them.

Of course that’s going to include the “Mayday goal” in which Brad May beat the Boston Bruins with an overtime goal in Game 4 of the 1993 playoffs, leading to an upset:

Bills’ Sean McDermott takes in Sabres’ prospects tournament

Sean McDermott doing the hockey:

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Sean McDermott was getting his hockey on this week.

The Bills head coach visited the Sabres’ prospect developmental camp. Held at Harbor Center in downtown Buffalo, the event features prospects from the NHL team’s roster taking part in practices open to the public over the course of a few days. It rounds out with a inter-squad tournament.

Both the Bills and Sabres are owned by Terry Pegula and his family. Pegula was spotted sitting next to McDermott at the arena, as was the hockey team’s general manager Kevyn Adams and head coach Don Granato.

Check out McDermott’s appearance via the Spectrum News photo below:

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Sabres first-round pick Zach Benson: ‘Big Josh Allen fan’

#Sabres’ first-round pick Zach Benson: ‘Big Josh Allen fan’

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Another Josh Allen fan has entered the chat in Buffalo.

The Sabres — who, like the Bills, are owned by the Pegula family — took part in the 2023 NHL draft on Wednesday. The team used their top selection (No. 13 overall) on Winnipeg Ice winger Zach Benson.

Benson says prior to even being picked by the Sabres, he had a soft spot for Buffalo … and it has to do with the Bills. He’s a fan of Allen and admitted that in the clip below:

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WATCH: Sabres joke that the Bills should take Tage Thompson at 2023 NFL draft

WATCH: #Sabres joke that the #Bills should take Tage Thompson at 2023 NFL draft:

The Buffalo Sabres got in on the Buffalo Bills’ 2023 NFL draft fun.

Prior to the first round on Thursday, the Buffalo hockey team made a suggestion in a video to the football team: Go pick Tage Thompson, their leading scorer.

Evidently, Thompson would be a linebacker too.

Check out the Sabres’ joke to the Bills below:

Sabres’ Rasmus Dahlin reps Bills at NHL All-Star Game

#Sabres’ Rasmus Dahlin reps #Bills at NHL All-Star Game:

The NFL had their Pro Bowl over the past few days. The NHL had a similar weekend.

The Bills were represented at both.

Numerous Bills players took part in the football activities. As for the hockey, the Sabres’ Rasmus Dahlin helped out there.

During his interviews Dahlin wore a Bills cap on his head.

Check out it out below:

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Tage Thompson, Sabres provide incredible ‘tribute’ to Bills’ Damar Hamlin

Some numbers by the #Sabres star…

Support has come in all different shapes and sizes for Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin as his hospitalization continues.

Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest on Monday as Buffalo faced the Cincinnati Bengals.

One of the most unique, unexplainable, and downright moving tributes came from the Buffalo Sabres and forward Tage Thompson, specifically.

On Tuesday, the Buffalo’s NHL team defeated the Washington Captials, 5-4, in overtime. Thompson played a huge part.

Prior to faceoff, the Sabres showed their support for Hamlin by wearing custom-made shirts. They featured the words “Love For 3.” That number being significant because it’s the one Hamlin wears for the Bills.

Here’s a look at Thompson sporting one of the shirts pre-game shared by the Sabres:

Now for the seemingly impossible.

And remember, Hamlin wears No. 3.

During the Sabres’ win, Thompson scored.

And then again.

And again.

The leading scorer for the team put three goals in the back of the net, a hat trick. Hamlin’s number.

Not only that, it was third time this NHL season that Thompson recorded a hat trick…

Overall on the year, Thompson is up to 30 goals…

The final one was the game-winning goal. It went in the net in the third minute of overtime…

Not to mention, the date? January 3.

Sometimes you can’t make this stuff up.

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Sabres players show support for Damar Hamlin with classy pre-game shirts

What a classy show of support for Damar Hamlin.

Damar Hamlin is on the minds of many after the Buffalo Bills safety suddenly collapsed due to cardiac arrest during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals. The incident occurred in the first quarter of Monday Night Football after Hamlin tackled Bengals receiver Tee Higgins.

Hamlin was then taken to University of Cincinnati Medical Center and is in critical condition as of Tuesday evening.

Many across the sports world have thrown their support behind Hamlin, and the Buffalo Sabres are the latest to do so. Ahead of their Tuesday matchup on the road against the Washington Capitals, the entire Sabres team showed up to the game in “Love for 3” shirts.

Though the game was on the road, fans still showed up to the game with signs of support for Hamlin.

What a classy show of support from the Sabres and hockey fans.

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