Larry Quinn (born c. 1952)Vogl, John (3 February 2011)
Fed-up Quinn quits waterfront group as role with Sabres ends
''The Buffalo News''. Retrieved 3 February 2011. is an American ice hockey executive, businessman and politician, best known for his involvement with the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

of the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

. Quinn has had two stints in the Sabres organization, the first in the 1990s as team president, and the second in the mid-to-late 2000s as

managing partner A partner in a law firm, accounting firm, consulting firm, or financial firm is a highly ranked position, traditionally indicating co-ownership of a partnership in which the partners were entitled to a share of the profits as "equity partners". The ...

, minority owner, and ''de facto'' president. Quinn, in 2014, won election to

Buffalo Public Schools Buffalo Public Schools serves approximately 34,000 students in Buffalo, New York, the second largest city in the state of New York. It is located in Erie County of western New York and operates nearly 70 facilities. History The Buffalo Public S ...

' board of education.

Buffalo Sabres

Quinn first joined the team as President in the 1990s and was responsible for hiring general manager

Darcy Regier Darcy John Regier (born November 27, 1956) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. Regier was general manager of the Buffalo Sabres in the National Hockey League from 1997 until 2013. He was the longest-serving and winnin ...

in 1997, after he had fired then-GM

John Muckler John Muckler (April 13, 1934 – January 4, 2021) was a professional hockey coach and executive, who last served as the general manager of the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). Muckler had over 50 years of professional hockey e ...

. After Quinn and Regier allowed coach

Ted Nolan Theodore John Nolan (born April 7, 1958) is a Canadian former professional hockey left winger, former head coach of the Buffalo Sabres and Latvia men's national ice hockey team. From July 2017 until May 2018 he was head coach of the Poland men' ...

to leave after the end of his contract, they hired

Lindy Ruff Lindy Cameron Ruff (born February 17, 1960) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach who is the head coach for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). Ruff was previously the head coach of the Dallas Stars of the NHL, and al ...

as head coach. Both Regier and Ruff would stay with the team until their respective dismissals in 2013. Quinn assisted then-owners Northrup R. Knox and

Seymour H. Knox III Seymour Horace Knox III (March 9, 1926May 22, 1996) was a philanthropist and sports entrepreneur. He owned the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League from their foundation in 1970 to his death in 1996, and served as chairman of the team. ...

in securing the construction of what is now the

KeyBank Center KeyBank Center is a multipurpose indoor arena located in Buffalo, New York. Originally known as Marine Midland Arena, the venue has since been named HSBC Arena and First Niagara Center. Home to the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey Leagu ...

and the abandonment of

Buffalo Memorial Auditorium Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, colloquially known as The Aud, was a multipurpose indoor arena in downtown Buffalo, New York. Opened on October 14, 1940, it was home to the Canisius Golden Griffins (NCAA), the Buffalo Bisons ( AHL), the Buffalo Biso ...

. Quinn first served as President and CEO of the Sabres from 1 November 1996 to 9 April 1998. The Sabres compiled a record of 69 wins, 48 losses and 27 ties and captured the Northeast division title in 1997 and advanced to the conference finals in 1998. Quinn was let go in 1998 as

John Rigas John James Rigas (November 14, 1924 – September 30, 2021) was an American businessman who was one of the founders of Adelphia Communications Corporation, which at its peak was one of the largest cable TV companies in the United States. He wa ...

took over the franchise. Four years later, the

Adelphia Communications Adelphia Communications Corporation was an American cable television company with headquarters in Coudersport, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1952 by brothers Gus and John Rigas after the pair purchased a cable television franchise for US$300. C ...

scandal led to the league taking over the team. Quinn associated himself with the prospective ownership group led by

Tom Golisano Blase Thomas Golisano (born November 14, 1941) is an American billionaire businessman and philanthropist. He is the founder of Paychex, which offers payroll and human resources services to businesses. Golisano owned Greenlight Networks, a fiber ...

, initially serving as a consultant. When investor Hormoz Mansouri left the ownership group, Quinn stepped in and was rewarded with a minority stake in the franchise. When Golisano closed on his purchase of the team on 12 March 2004, Quinn was named managing partner and CEO of the franchise. Quinn resigned on 22 February 2011 when the team was purchased by

Terry Pegula Terrence Michael Pegula (born March 27, 1951) is an American billionaire businessman and petroleum engineer. He is the owner of Pegula Sports and Entertainment which owns the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL) and, with his wife Ki ...

. The Sabres compiled a record 300 wins, 200 losses, 5 ties and 57 overtime losses and won the Presidents trophy in 2007 and the northeast division title in 2007 and 2010. The Sabres advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2006 and 2007. Quinn oversaw the first NHL Winter Classic held on 1 January 2008 at

Ralph Wilson Stadium Highmark Stadium is a stadium in Orchard Park, New York, in the Southtowns of the Buffalo metropolitan area. The stadium opened in 1973 as Rich Stadium and is the home venue of the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). It was kn ...

. Ted Black assumed Quinn's non-hockey duties upon Pegula's assumption of ownership; the title of President was left vacant until

Pat LaFontaine Patrick Michael LaFontaine (born February 22, 1965) is an American former ice hockey center who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) and spent his entire playing career with the league's New York State-based teams. LaFontaine played for th ...

's hiring in November 2013.

Business and political ventures

A real estate developer by trade, Quinn served as vice chairman of the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation. He was a significant advocate of the proposed, but ultimately unsuccessful, bid to bring a

Bass Pro Shops BPS Direct, L.L.C, doing business as Bass Pro Shops, is an American privately held retailer which specializes in hunting, fishing, camping, and other related outdoor recreation merchandise. With headquarters in Springfield, Missouri, Bass Pr ...

supercenter to downtown Buffalo. Quinn left the ECHDC upon leaving the Sabres organization in 2011. Although Quinn initially left Western New York after his second tenure with the Sabres, he returned by February 2014 to announce his intent to run for

' board of education. He won that race, running on an alliance with sitting board member Carl Paladino. Larry's son, Matt Quinn, is a television producer who works on political campaigns.Benjamin, Elizabeth (16 September 2010)
NFLer: Carl's no racist
. ''Capitol Tonight''. Retrieved 16 September 2010.

References

External links

* O'Shei, Tim

Buffalo Business First. 24 September 2007. * Heaney, James
Larry Quinn on Sabres, Canalside, HSBC
InvestigativePost.org. 4 March 2012.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quinn, Larry Buffalo Sabres executives Buffalo Sabres owners Sportspeople from Buffalo, New York 1952 births Living people National Hockey League team presidents