Buffalo Sabres News and Discussion

‘The signing leaves defensemen Adam Pardy and Alexander Sulzer as the Sabres’ remaining unrestricted free agents. They have four restricted free agents: forwards Cody Hodgson and Brian Flynn, defenseman Mike Weber and goaltender Jhonas Enroth.’

‘A California actor has admitted taking part in a scheme to extort money from Buffalo Sabres owner Terry Pegula.’

‘“I think I did well. I protected my team,” said Scott, who had zero points and 69 penalty minutes. “I think the stuff that happened last year, the year before I was there, didn’t happen this year. Hopefully, going forward none of that stuff happens again. Yeah, I think I did an all right job.”’

‘The Sabres acquired Scott by signing him to a one-year contract in free agency last summer to add size and grit to their roster.’

‘Scott joined the Sabres as a free agent last July and did not register a point in 34 games while accumulating 69 penalty minutes.’

‘Prior to the Sabres, In five NHL seasons, the native of Edmonton, Alberta has appeared in 180 career games with the Sabres, Rangers, Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild, recording five points (1+4) and 305 penalty minutes. Over 82 games that would average 139 PIM.’

‘Scott (6’8”, 270 lbs., 9/26/82) played in 34 games with the Sabres in the 2012-13 season after signing with the club as a free agent on July 1, 2012.’

‘The Sabres should tweak Steve Ott’s role next season to take some of the pressure of being a “lockdown forward” off and give him more advantages in order to get the most possession value out of his game.’

‘“They unfairly secured the deal for one bidder, and pushed Pat Kaleta and the HITS Foundation out of the market. That’s not right – the foundation deserved better, and the people of Hamburg deserved better,” Connors said. “The government shouldn’t change the rules in the middle of the game.”’

‘So how does it all fit with the playoffs? My theory is Miller’s likeliest landing point might be a team that thinks it’s close to a Cup but not getting the job done in net. Somebody in that scenario might take that one-year flyer on him. What would clearly be Miller’s first choice? Anaheim.’

‘“Mike Weber is one of those players that made a real big jump this year in terms of what he meant to our hockey team, how he plays the game, just the potential that he has to continue to grow on this team,” Rolston said. “It put a player like Mike in more of a leadership role because of what he did and because of the minutes that he had. He was in the lineup every night blocking shots, sacrificing for his teammates.’

‘“I think he understands where he needs to go and the growth he needs to have here, especially in the summer to get himself prepared for being an elite defenseman and one of the best defensemen in this league, which he’s been before, we know he can be next year,” Rolston said.’

‘It does take a bit of time to build a consistent Stanley Cup contender. It does not take several years. We can hit each other with sample sizes out the wazoo. You can point to teams that suffered for a while, while I point to groups that had a big bounce in one year.’

‘“I have the belief that I can play here,” Flynn said. “This is where I belong. I know how hard you have to work to stay up here. It took a long time, a lot of hard work, a lot of hours to get here.”‘

‘But let’s not be too harsh on the Bills. They’re not trying to tell you they started rebuilding 15 months ago by trading Paul Gaustad, like the charade Darcy Regier is pulling. Never mind the fact Regier’s rebuilding plan included throwing money last summer at Zach Parise, Ryan Suter and Shane Doan.’