What I Learned From The Sabres Summit

Over the next few days, you are going to see a bunch of really well written articles about the first ever Sabres Blogger Summit and every thing that happened in the two and a half hours that Ted Black sat down with the twelve bloggers that were invited. Ted Black answered a range of questions from how the organization wants to expand their footprint throughout their territory to the type of razor that he uses. 

Black has sat down and had multiple chats with fans. From his two and a half hour chat with us to an online chat with fans on the Sabres website, Black has been outwardly open with the way that he connects with the fans and the way that the organization is run. You can tell they really care about the fan because without the fans, the Sabres really wouldn't have a business. 

The Sabres made us feel appreciated. We were located in the 200 level, overlooking the arena floor with the now melted ice. The organization had the Blogger Summit logos on the ribbon board and made sure that everything that we needed was covered for us during our stay there. Also, Black answered every question that we had for him, no matter the content, and didn't skirt around any of the questions. After the jump, a quick synopsis of the things that were discussed. 

- Among the list of things that were talked about, the biggest item on the agenda was the idea of blogger credentials. The Sabres organization is very willing to give bloggers credentials, the question of who gets a credential and what criteria should be used to be has to be determined. That will be something that the organization and us will hash out over the summer and come up with a policy before the season starts. 

- There was no update given on the Sabres and Amerks situation. The Sabres are still looking into working out a deal with the Amerks, but nothing could be said about a timetable for if or when that deal would be completed. In the same process, the Sabres are looking for a new coach to replace Kevin Dineen in Portland. 

- The Sabres are also looking into ways to get Sabres broadcasts into the Southern Ontario market, mainly the St. Catherines area where their territory boundary extends into. 

- The Sabres are looking into building a statue for the French Connection outside of the arena and they are always looking to make tweaks and changes to the in-game presentations and to the Sabres broadcast as well including keeping the pregame shows that started last season. Having an extended postgame show was not a feasible option though due to the fact that the production crew travels with the team. 

There are of course plenty of things that I missed and the Goose's Roost has the full audio of the event on their site. It was an honor to be apart of this first ever event and I want to thank Ted Black and the Sabres organization for the chance to be there.