PODCAST: Matthew Fairburn Discusses "Hamster Wheel" Sabres Story

On this episode of Talking Buffalo, Patrick Moran is joined by Matthew Fairburn from The Athletic to discuss his extremely informative and intriguing story that dropped earlier this week involving Terry Pegula, Kevyn Adams and the continuously dysfunctional Buffalo Sabres organization.

Fairburn did a deep dive into the Sabres organization, one that has certainly caught the attention of many people including frustrated Sabres fans. For the story Fairburn sat down with the Sabres general manager in addition to speaking to no less than 10 different people involved with or having knowledge of the organization's inner workings. Before discussing the story specifically Patrick asks Matt some questions about the process of putting the piece together, including how long it took to do from start to finish, if he gets a sense for how much attention people like Adams and Pegula pay to media stuff out there, and if it's even worth the bother attempting to ask Pegula to speak on the record for stories anymore.

It doesn't take long for the story to take shape, as barely four paragraphs in a gloomy----yet completely accurate portrayal is painted of the franchise. The guys talk about some of the key talking points from Fairburn's work, including Pegula not feeling his vision was being seen before promoting Adams, the (sad) truth about the team's spending habits in relations to the salary cap, many skeptical that Adams got the job to begin with considering he had no real experience at any hockey operational level especially scouting and what the present/future may hold. It's truly some excellent work from Matt and this was an informative chat with one of this market's best writers.

You can follow Matt on Twitter at @MatthewFairburn and of course check out his coverage of the Sabres at The Athletic,

Major props to Talking Buffalo sponsor, Sonny Red’s at 1841 Abbott Road in Lackawanna, just minutes from Highmark Stadium. We consider them THE most underrated spot for wings, pizza and other great food in Western New York plus it’s a great place to drink and have a great time. Also big thanks to Imperial Pizza and their two locations (1035 Abbott Road and 1655 Main Street), home of not only great pizza and tons of other delicious eats but also the best everyday lunch special in town.

Special thanks to local Buffalo band, Orange Zest for allowing us to use their awesome single, “Old Friends” as the new official intro music for Talking Buffalo. Check out Orange Zest and be sure to support not only them, but local music!

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