'"The middle of our hockey team, in my opinion, is very important to defend and fight for. We don't want a situation where we have four or five top players and the rest playing for minimum salary." That pretty much eliminates Buffalo from signing a top-tier free agent, or even competing in the sweepstakes with Edmonton to acquire former Norris Trophy winner Chris Pronger. "(We're interested) only from the standpoint of watching where he goes," Regier said.'