Pegula = Ilitch perhaps?

Let's take a look at where the Detroit Red Wings were when Mike Ilitch bought the team in 1982.

From the 1966-67 season through the 1981-82 season, the Red Wings won 1 playoff series and missed the playoffs in 14 out of the 16 seasons.

There is a reason they were nicknamed the Dead Wings. Enter Mike Ilitch.

In 1982-83, they missed the playoffs again. Their reward was the 4th overall pick in the 1983 draft that the team used to select Steve Yzerman. Yeah, that worked out pretty well for them.

In Yzerman's first two seasons, the Red Wings made the playoffs and lost in the first round. Then they missed the playoffs again in 1985-86.

Then the Red Wings made back to back Western Conference Finals appearances in 86-87 & 87-88. Then they had two first round losses sandwiched around a miss of the playoffs.

It wasn't until 1994-95 that the Red Wings made their first Stanley Cup Finals appearance with Ilitch as the owner. And it would be two more years before they won the Stanley Cup for Ilitch.

So while Ilitch is lauded as a great owner now, many people forget that it took the Red Wings over a decade to win a Stanley Cup under his stewardship of the franchise.

Building a model NHL franchise can take a while. Terry Pegula has owned the franchise for less than 18 months.

Pegula has proven so far that his heart and his wallet are in the right place. Hopefully it doesn't take 14 seasons for the Sabres to win the first Stanley Cup under Pegula's ownership.