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Posts tagged 'Lewis Staats'

Posts Tagged ‘Lewis Staats’

Styres Never Planned to Move the Amerks

June 30, 2011 - By
Styres Never Planned to Move the Amerks

When Curt Styres bought the Rochester Americans he did so to own a professional hockey team, and well it was also part of a package to buy the Knighthawks which he really wanted. He didn’t do it to acquire a franchise to move it to another city. He also didn’t buy the Amerks to keep them from being moved. If Steve Donner never would have convinced Styres to buy the Amerks he would have simply sold the team to Tom Golisano at the time.

Why is this being brought up? Chuck Wade and Mike Catalana made references to the Amerks “staying here” a few times during their “That’s What We Said” segment below. A few people asked me if Pegula really bought the team because Styres was thinking of moving them. Based on the millions of dollars invested in and lost in Rochester by Curt Styres it’s proof that he has invested in Rochester and did not plan on going anywhere. Watch the segment below:

Chuck Wade said, “Terry Pegula buying the Amerks means they’re not going anywhere.”

Mike Catalana said, “Yes there may be a few things as a die hard Amerks fans that you don’t like, [...]Read More

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Quick Recap of the Sabres Press Conference Buying the Amerks

June 29, 2011 - By
Quick Recap of the Sabres Press Conference Buying the Amerks

That was quite the morning at Blue Cross Arena where the Buffalo Sabres officially announced the purchase of the Rochester Americans. At the head table was Dave Andrews, Darcy Regier, Terry Pegula, and Ted Black with the Mayor of Rochester and County Executive sitting in the front row. There was a lot of time spent talking to everyone in attendance which reduced the amount of time I have to write but will give a quick recap and you can be guaranteed there’ll be more to come.

Through this whole deal there’s two sides to what’s going on.  You have die hard Rochester Americans fans who want the team to get back to winning a Calder Cup and then you have Buffalo Sabres fans who want to see the players develop.  Both sides have a valid discussion point.

The one thing I shrugged about was how many times the Stanley Cup was mentioned but not once was the Calder Cup spoke of.  There’s definitely a lot of talk about being committed to winning hockey games in Rochester and the Sabres know that needs to happen.  They get that players need to develop but they also need to win.  One of the [...]Read More

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More Details About the Sale to the Sabres

June 24, 2011 - By
More Details About the Sale to the Sabres

Lewis Staats was just on WHTK 1280 with John DiTullio and shared a few more details about the sale to the Sabres, the most interesting being that the Sabres initiated the talks asking if the Amerks were for sale.

As we’re all aware, there were a number of things involved that had to be taken care of for the sale of the Amerks franchise.  There’s a lot more than just a piece of paper saying the players would come here.

Going back to the start of the 2010/2011 season, the Amerks informed the Florida Panthers that they would not be renewing the current affiliation agreement that was in place.  There’s obvious reasons the Panthers era needed to end, I’ll leave it at that.

It was a no brainer that the Amerks would want to speak with the Buffalo Sabres about a new affiliation but one of the road blocks for the Amerks at that time was that the Buffalo Sabres had just announced an extension with the Portland Pirates which prevented them from talking.

We all know that the majority of hockey fans in the City of Rochester were always telling Curt Styres and Lewis Staats that they wanted the Buffalo [...]Read More

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Countdown to the Sale, Shouldn’t be Any Doubters

June 22, 2011 - By
Countdown to the Sale, Shouldn’t be Any Doubters

There’s going to be a lot more to talk about next week once this sale is 100% approved and finalized and signed, until then all we have are these little things that point to it being a done deal for those who still don’t believe.  The American Hockey League invited teams to Springfield, MA for their marketing meetings and one team is missing, the Rochester Americans.

Why is that?  There’s no reason any of the current Amerks staff would attend when they have no idea what they’ll be able to do once this sale is final or if they’ll even have jobs.  The Buffalo Sabres wouldn’t send anyone because they currently don’t have any control over an AHL team.  If there was any doubt this wasn’t going to happen or that it was going to be an affiliation and not a sale to the Sabres (or an affiliation with another NHL team) someone from the Amerks staff would be present.

If you follow @letsgoamerks on Twitter you likely caught the mention of June 28th being the possible date for an announcement.  Why that date?  It’s during The AHL’s board of governor meetings in Hilton Head.  As Kevin Oklobzija mentioned, current Amerks Owner [...]Read More

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It’s Not All Doom and Gloom Between Amerks and Panthers

June 3, 2010 - By

Depending on who you talk to or what you read you would think that the divorce is all but finalized between the Rochester Americans and Florida Panthers, but that’s not entirely true.  It’s not over because the Amerks and Panthers new General Manager have not even had a chance to meet yet to discuss how they envision the partnership developing.

When it was announced in the news papers on Monday that Benoit Groulx had handed in his resignation to the Florida Panthers we learned that the Panthers did not call anyone within the Amerks organization to let them know.  The Amerks also did not try to contact anyone within the Florida Panthers organization.

Lewis Staats was called by Bill Torrey the day that Dale Tallon was going to be announced as the new Panthers GM and advised it would be a few weeks before Tallon would be available.  Tallon has been busy with his travels to Germany for the World Championships, the NHL Combine in Toronto and the GM Meetings this week.  That’s the same time frame I was given when I inquired about an interview with Tallon.  That all makes sense, but if time was found to talk to [...]Read More

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Amerks Schedule, Affiliations and Conference Layouts

June 2, 2010 - By

The NHL and AHL seasons have not ended yet but that doesn’t mean we can start looking towards the Rochester Americans 2010/2011 season that will start in just over four months.  It’ll be here before we know it.

I’ll get right into the news that Lewis Staats shared with me on Wednesday…

Schedule

* The American Hockey League will open their 75th season the weekend of October 8-10th.  The final details of the opening weekend are being worked out and could be announced as early as the end of this week.  Because it’s the 75th season the hope is to have the Rochester Americans and Hershey Bears, two of the leagues oldest franchises, to play a home and home series.  Both sides are trying to work out arena conflicts to make this happen.

Hopefully the Amerks home opener is not October 8th, the same night as the Roger Waters concert in Buffalo (I say that only because I have tickets).

* The Amerks only had to get on a plane once during the 09/10 season but will likely be taking two plane trips this upcoming season.  A trip out West to play the Moose and Heat for one trip and [...]Read More

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Divorce is Mentioned, A Year of Distractions ahead for the Amerks

May 20, 2010 - By

It was only a matter of time before this topic came up, the affiliation between the Rochester Americans and the Florida Panthers.  The divorce word has been mentioned and we’re now looking at a year of distractions as this affiliation comes to a close.

Over at Hockey O-Zone the blog post by Kevin titled “An Amerk-Panthers divorce could be in the works” is getting it all started.  Take a few minutes to read it through.

Here’s my thoughts, just say this is the last season of the affiliation and let it end.  Curt Styres and Lewis Staats had no choice but to sign an agreement with the Panthers when they bought the Amerks.  I think it’s been pretty clear that very few people like the Florida Panthers and enough people have probably put it in their heads that the Panthers are the problem for low ticket sales.  I have no idea what else at this time will be available, but with the way things work in the AHL it seems like nothing is ever set in stone no matter what is reported.

The Amerks have not even met with the Dale Tallon yet, the Panthers new GM.  It seems [...]Read More

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Audio from 2010 Amerks Locker Cleanout, Vets, Nolan and Staats

April 30, 2010 - By

The Amerks season is over and a few of the players spoke after their exit meetings and they cleaned out their lockers.  Uploading audio is a new feature and this one took me a little while longer as I’m uploading them to YouTube.  This way the audio is easier for people to share outside of this site.

Jamie Johnson was the most outspoken player because he does not plan to come back here next season.  Some people have criticized him for his words but if others were leaving they probably would have shared the same thoughts.  Everything said are valid points about the way he felt he was treated.  Johnson was the team leader in points with 27 goals and 44 assists.  He was also one of only two players that played in all 80 games.  Sure he had a rough stretch but so did everyone else, in the end he was there every day working hard.

Lewis Staats and Ted Nolan talked about hearing the fans loud and clear and said that it’s something that will be brought up during meetings.  The decisions are all made by the Florida Panthers but in meetings everything is brought up and thoughts [...]Read More

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Amerks Hoping for Big Crowd on Friday for Regular Season Finale

April 4, 2010 - By

It’s hard to believe that the Amerks will finish their regular season at home on Friday night in the 40th game of the season against the Toronto Marlies.  The season has had it’s highs and lows but all of that is behind us for now with the team definitely heading into the postseason.

Home game attendance is an issue that has been and can continue to be debated with the Amerks averaging 4,166 fans per game through 39 games.  A disappointing number but one probably reason is below .500 play since December.  All of that should be behind us as the team has reached it’s goal of making the playoffs.  Everything changes so come on out to cheer on the team in it’s last regular season home game of the season against the Toronto Marlies prior to the playoffs.

The Amerks hope to end the season in a big way though on Friday night as they’ve teamed up with Seneca Gaming Corporation to sponsor a ticket voucher initiative.  It’s the same initiative that led to the Rochester Knighthawks selling out their game on March 27th against the Buffalo Bandits.

When asked, Rochester Americans President Lewis Staats said, “Seneca Gaming is [...]Read More

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Nolan Says Panthers are Aware of Amerks Slump

February 22, 2010 - By

There is no denying the Rochester Americans have been in a long slump and have barely been holding on to second place in the North Division for some time now.  Fans have read about and witnessed the poor play for themselves, heard excuses comments from the coaches and players, but have questioned whether or not anyone is going to do anything about it.

We know that Curt Styres, Lewis Staats, Ted Nolan, Jody Gage and everyone else in the office cares about the success of this franchise but what can they really do on their own?  Not all that much, which brings up the question was recently raised by Kevin Oklobzija, If the parent team doesn’t care, why should the players?

I asked Ted Nolan on Sunday afternoon if they have talked to the Florida Panthers about what has been going on (the slump and possible reasons for it) in Rochester and he gave a quick answer of yes.  He said they’ve been on the phone and talked a lot of what’s been going on.  He didn’t provide any other details about whether or not any changes or help will be provided, but [...]Read More

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Gameday: Big Crowd and Big Game Expected for Amerks vs Penguins Tonight

November 27, 2009 - By

The Rochester Americans game tonight could be something special if everything goes as planned.  The team has had a major focus on ticket sales for the game tonight against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and it could be the biggest in recent memory.

About a year ago at this time I had wrote that it was, “up to ownership and management to improve the product on the ice,” and I think it’s safe to say they answered the call and have done everything needed.  Curt Styres opened his wallet, put an awesome team on the ice, now it’s time to the fans to continue proving the theory that winning improves attendance.  If everything goes as planned it’s going to be a packed house.

If you don’t have tickets or know anyone who does not make sure they call the Amerks office at (585) 454-5335.  Some fans who stood in line last Friday for tickets did not get to their seats until the first period was almost over.

It has to be easier to sell tickets when the team is one of the best in the American Hockey League and has been since the start of the season.  [...]Read More

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Amerks Going for 12, Winning Starts With the Owner

November 12, 2009 - By

Photo courtesy of David Sturm

“One game at a time, it’s an old cliche but it’s true,” is what Ted Nolan said on the John DiTullio show Wednesday afternoon.

The key to making that old cliche true is to believe in it.  Every player in the locker room believes in taking every game one at a time and playing every game for what it is worth, two points.  It’s not about winning streaks.  It’s about the goal of making the playoffs.

It all starts at the top with owner Curt Styres.

The Rochester Americans Booster Club recently hosted their annual meet the players dinner which is a great opportunity to meet the players and staff, hear stories,and appreciate what we have here in Rochester.

Curt Styres stood at the head table and talked about the experience of him buying the team and people telling him he was crazy.  Curt talked about last season when they had meetings talking about what needed to happen for this season to be successful and what they needed to do to make it happen.  He also made it known he was willing to open his wallet.

“Any time you see [...]Read More

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