The Buffalo Sabres: Darcy Regier’s Next Steps

If contract years don’t light a fire under Max, Kotalik and keep Connolly healthy, not much will.  The chip are aligned perfectly for all of these players to play their hearts out this season, push the Sabres deep into the playoffs and walk out of town with huge contracts somewhere else.

With Ryan Miller, Derek Roy, Paul Gaustad, Thomas Vanek and Jochen Hecht all locked up long term through 2012, the team is now focusing on locking up potential Restricted Free Agent (RFA) Jason Pominville, as well as to a long term extension. 

Whether that happens or not, is, as always, as much the player’s decision as it is managements.  Another RFA they want to be sure to lock up is defense man Andrej Sekera, who has the potential to be a top four, if not a top two defense man, and they should ensure he is under contract before he could potentially bolt to a team in the KHL with more money closer to home. 

Forwards Drew Stafford, Patrick Kaleta and defense man Mike Funk round out the list of potential RFA’s and the Sabres shouldn’t have any problem retaining any of them at the end of the season.

If the team is struggling at the trade deadline, contrary to Regier’s recent history, I expect him to, heavily shop Stafford, Kotalik, Afinogenov, Funk and Spacek.  

Fans may be surprised to see Stafford on the list, but there is something that tells me he and Lindy Ruff don’t click and his market value would be more than his value internally would ever be. 

The Sabres are stacked with young defense men, starting with Sekera, Nathan Paetsch and Mike Weber, who looked ready for the big boys in a late season call up last season.

Darcy Regier has also hinted at bringing back both Teppo Numminen or  Nolan Pratt.  Both would make sense, but only as cheap, two way contracts who would be willing to help out in Portland if either Paetsch or Weber made a strong push.   

 So it is also possible, again if the team is struggling, to see the team completely go crazy and deal either Craig Rivet, Toni Lydman or Henrik Tallinder.  Rivet is in Buffalo to help lead the team, and both Lydman and Tallinder have expiring contracts in 2009, all would be seen expendable if the team implodes.

If the team is not struggling at the deadline, look for them to either make a move based on need at the time, or based on the addition by subtraction theory, as moving an expiring contract that is performing such as Afinogenov or possibly Stafford would still make sense, as bringing someone up from Portland and moving people up a line might end up helping the team both long and short term.

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