If the last 24 hours are any indication of what's in store for Sabre fans when free agency opens on Friday, then Terry Pegula, Ted Black and Darcy Regier will never need to buy a meal in this city ever again.
First was the formal press conference announcing the purchase of the the Rochester Americans. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but, Regier just looks like a guy who has had a trememndous weight lifted off of him. He was all smiles at the press conference and in answering questions with different media outlets afterwards. It just felt different.
Around the same time it was announced that the Sabres locked up fan favorite Nathan Gerbe to a three-year contract. It was yet another move that showed fans that the organization is completely in lockstep with them.
It got interesting just after dinner when the Sabres announced that they had dealt a fourth round selection in next year's NHL Entry Draft to the New York Islanders in exchange for negotiating rights with defenseman Christian Ehrhoff.
Ehrhoff is a legitimate top-two defender on almost every team in the NHL. Last season was the best offensive year of his career, with the native of Moers, Germany netting 14 goals and notching 36 assists in 79 games. In 23 playoff games he scored twice and had ten helpers.
The Sabres now have until 12 p.m on Friday to reach an agreement with Ehrhoff or he becomes an unrestricted free agent and the Sabres essentially give away that draft pick.
Even if a deal is not struck, the Sabres are backing up the rhetoric with action. In past years the front office would never have given Regier the green light to make this move. It would have been another summer of signing mid-level free agents and guarded optimism.
Mr. Pegula and Mr. Black have clearly given Regier the keys to the car and told him to have fun with it. More and more it is becoming clear just how tightly his hands have been tied in recent years.
The only lingering doubt about the move to trade for Ehrhoff's rights was that part where they could lose a pick if they fail to sign him.
What do the Sabres do? Late on Wednesday night the Sabres announce that they have dealt negotiating rights with defenseman Steve Montador to Chicago for a seventh round pick.
Essentially the Sabres agreed to move down three rounds in next year's draft in exchange for the right to have exclusive negotiation rights with the top available free agent defenseman. Works for me
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