BUFFALO – As Adam Mair sat game after game this season, quietly handling his new spare-part status after six years of regular action, Sabres general manager Darcy Regier was trying to trade the gritty forward.

But Regier couldn’t find any takers, so Monday he used his other option, placing Mair on waivers in hopes of finding the veteran a new team.

“It’s a numbers thing,” Regier said Monday afternoon after the Sabres practiced at HSBC Arena. “Given where we are with Tim Kennedy making the team and Mike Grier (signing late), we’ve just got extra forwards, and he’s not playing. He’s in a contract year. It’s an opportunity for him to hopefully get a chance elsewhere.”

Mair, who practiced with the Sabres on Monday, refused comment as he left the team’s dressing room afterward.

The 30-year-old underwent offseason hip surgery, missed most of training camp and never regained his old spot as a fourth-line center or winger. He’s played only three of the 14 games this season.

Regier cautioned waiving Mair isn’t necessarily the end of his Sabres career, which began following a trade with Los Angeles in July 2002.

“Nothing may change,” he said. “Quite frankly, he can just as easily stay here.”

If Mair goes unclaimed by noon today, the Sabres can send him to Portland, their AHL affiliate. Regier said the Sabres haven’t made a decision on sending Mair to the minors, where he hasn’t played since 2001-02.

If Mair goes to Portland, plays 10 games and the Sabres recall him, he would have to pass through re-entry waivers, Regier said, meaning a team could claim him and the Sabres would have to pay the remaining half of his $775,000 salary.

Regier thinks a team could claim Mair, who’s played 484 NHL games. Mair, one of the Sabres’ grittiest players, also possesses enough talent to occasionally skate on a scoring line.

“There’s interest, and I think people recognize he’s an NHL player,” Regier said. “The situation you get into is that teams have a lot of … forwards. ... A lot of teams have extra players signed. That’ll play in to whether he clears or gets picked up.”

Regier insisted the Sabres still have enough grit, an area they’ve sorely lacked in recent seasons.

“The guys that we’ve added are gritty players,” he said. “Tim Kennedy’s a gritty player. Mike Grier’s a gritty player. We’re OK in that area.”

The Sabres have slowly whittled away some their forward depth. They traded underachieving winger Daniel Paille to Boston last month. Assuming Mair leaves, Nathan Paetsch, who’s also a defenseman, would be the team’s only extra forward at the NHL level.

The Sabres also have NHL veterans Jeff Cowan and Cody McCormick and prospect Nathan Gerbe in Portland, however.

Sabres coach Lindy Ruff, who had no comment on Mair, recently called him a “model citizen.” Regier said Mair has handled the situation well.

“He’s a quality guy and he’s been terrific through the process,” Regier said.

Mair has played 432 games with the Sabres, compiling 29 goals, 91 points and 628 penalty minutes. He has 31 goals, 96 points and 711 penalty minutes since he debuted with Toronto during the 1999 playoffs.

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Ruff switched his top two centers again Monday, something he did during Saturday’s 4-2 loss in Boston.

Tim Connolly centered Thomas Vanek and Drew Stafford, while Derek Roy pivoted Clarke MacArthur and Jason Pominville.

“If you’re looking at the last couple of games, there hasn’t been enough quality opportunities,” Ruff said. “Sometimes just flipping one guy ignites a line a little bit.”

Ruff, a serial line-changer, said he’s “pleased it’s taken this long to flip some guys around. You look at it, it’s the fact we’ve been off to a good start.”

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Despite a rough start, Ruff liked goalie Jhonas Enroth’s NHL debut Saturday. The Bruins beat the 21-year-old rookie on their first shot and three of their first 13. But Enroth eventually settled down, finishing with 33 saves.

“I thought he really played well,” Ruff said. “ … He made some great saves in the game. He made saves on breakaways. He gave us a chance to hang around and have a kick at it at the end of the game, which I thought was important.”

Notes: Ruff said goalie Patrick Lalime (groin) is doing better. He expects the backup on the ice this week. Meanwhile, defenseman Toni Lydman (groin) “isn’t quite there,” Ruff said. Lydman skated on his own Sunday and Monday. He’s missed the last seven games.