Author: Chris Ostrander

Don’t hassle the Hoff – Sabres ink Ehrhoff

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No official statement has been made, but Nick Kypreos or Sportsnet and Bob McKenzie of TSN have both stated that the Sabres have reached an agreement with defenseman Christian Ehrhoff. Give credit to Joe over at Buffalo Wins for being the first on the scene. UPDATE: McKenzie just tweeted the deal is done and the terms are looking like 10 years for $40 million. (6:15 PM)

Kypreos said the deal should fall between $5 and $5.5 million per season. That is surprising news considering that is probably how much the Islanders offer was for. There is still no confirmation of the signing, once that comes down I will be sure to update.

What televising Amerks games means

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There was a certain quote from Ted Black during yesterday’s press conference to announce the sale of the Rochester Americans that really stood out to me.

He said they are going to explore televising Americans games in Buffalo. It makes perfect sense to me. The team is one hour down the road and it will be stocked with all of the Sabres’ blue chip prospects. Why wouldn’t fans in Buffalo want to see the team play?

The question that crops up is, which channel will the games be televised on? MSG, YNN, or a Time Warner public access channel all could work. Of course only MSG is available to all Sabres fans. Perhaps that is the best option. Besides I don’t care to watch the Mike D’Antoni Show.

I feel that the best option is the advent of a WNY sports network. Basically Empire 2.0. Whether it is Fox Sports WNY or a locally run network, this scenario is screaming for a dedicated channel to televise both Amerks and Sabres games. It wouldn’t be all that difficult to fill content throughout the year either.

Between the Bandits, Bills, Bisons, high school sports and talk shows, there would be plenty of content to fill throughout the day. Obviously the summer would have quite a bit of down time, but the Magic Bullet and Ab Blaster Xtreme need TV time to sell their products.

If the network was to embrace the Rochester teams as well, there would be even more ease to filling content. The Red Wings and Knighthawks would just add that much more coverage time. Besides, a Sportscenter-type show would certainly fill hours in the early and mid-morning. In addition, you could take a page out of Empire’s book and televise the afternoon sports talk, although I’m sure there are better options. But shows like Enforcers (TWC) and the old Fan TV set up offer filler for he middle if the day that might not be taken up by infomercials.

The important thing would be he dedication to the hockey teams. Having a dedicated pre and post game shows with additional coverage is a must. Ted Black said it himself, he wants more when Sabres games are over, the fans feel the same way. A regional sports network solves that problem with relative ease.

Monty’s rights sent to Chicago

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As you most certainly know, Steve Montador’s negotiating rights have been traded to the Chicago Blackhawks for a conditional seventh round pick. If you didn’t know, I’m glad 2ITB could enlighten you. Here is the stipulation for the draft pick from the Buffalo News article linked above.

The Blackhawks’ draft pick was previously acquired from Florida in the Tomas Kopecky trade Monday. The pick is presently conditional to the Nashville Predators. If that pick is not available, Florida will transfer its own seventh-round selection in the 2013 draft.

So Monty’s rights are gone. What’s the big deal? It was fairly obvious that Montador was going to be able to test the market, at the very least. I don’t think there would have been much chance to re-sign him given the thin crop of UFA defensemen. Given that fact I applaud Darcy Regier for getting something for nothing.In only four months under his new bosses, Regier has taken on salary with the Brad Boyes and Robyn Regehr trades while also taking shots for marquee free agents. Obviously this man has not been getting the credit he deserves, I don’t know if he ever will.

Nevertheless, Darcy went out and snagged a late-round pick for the rights to Montador. The key to this deal is two-fold. The sticking point, for me, is that Regier recouped the pick he lost in the Ehrhoff trade. I know a seventh round pick is a lot different from a fourth round pick, but he still has that selection in his pocket. The other facet of this deal, depending how you look at it, is that he must be very confident that Ehrhoff will be signed by the end of the day.

I am not as confident regarding Ehrhoff being close to an agreement. Sure, I am confident that Regier has the tools necessary to get Ehrhoff under conract, but I don’t know if I read this trade as a sign that a deal is imminent. If that is the case, then awesome. But I am trying to be patient regarding Ehrhoff until I hear more concrete news in his regard.

Sabres acquire Ehrhoff’s rights

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It was 12 short hours ago that the New York Islanders traded their fourth-round pick to the Vancouver Canucks in order to get the exclusive negotiating rights to Christian Erhoff. After those talks fell apart Darcy Regier flew in and picked up the rights for the German-born defenseman. Now he has about 28 hours to convince Ehrhoff to sign with the Sabres.

Numerous accounts explained how the talks with the Isles fell apart, despite an offer “well above” the Canucks’ original. While no number had been hammered down concerning how much the Isles offered, I think it is safe to say it was in the $5 to $5.5 million neighborhood.

One quote, from a previous ESPN rumor, provided some insight as to why Ehrhoff declined to sign with the Islanders. It provides some hope to Sabres fans who hope to see him reach an agreement before Friday.

The defenseman has stated on several occasions that he wants to sign with a contender.

While I am not a fan of trading for exclusive negotiating rights, this is just another piece of the puzzle that is the Pegula Era. Obviously Darcy Regier feels free to go out and get whatever players he wants. In this case, he knows that the UFA crop is dwindling and he sprung to action.

Now Regier needs to sign him. This deal really means nothing if Ehrhoff hits the open market and signs elsewhere. Sure, it is a sign of the times. Obviously Darcy is willing to do whatever it takes, but without signing him there isn’t much hope to be had.

There are a few things working in Buffalo’s favor. The Sabres are certainly more of a winner than the Islanders are currently, score one for the good guys. The Sabres also have an incredible owner willing to go above and beyond to get his players, including meeting their quotes, score two. However, there are 27 other teams out there who may be willing to hit the $6 million mark, or more. That is where things get fishy. I don’t think this young man is worth that much money. If the Sabres hope to land Brad Richards and a few other players, a $6 million hit will be tough to deal with.

The ball is in Darcy’s court. He has just over one day to get things done, hopefully the situation in Buffalo is more attractive to Ehrhoff than it was on the Island. If that is the case there might just be a new number five in town come Friday.

Gerbe signed to a multi-year deal

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News broke late this morning that Nathan Gerbe has been signed to a multi-year contract by the Buffalo Sabres. Reports say it will be a three-year deal. (credit WGR 550 for that info). Bob McKenzie says the contract will be worth $4.3 million which is good for a 1.433 cap hit.

This was a wise move for the Sabres. Gerbe established himself as a fixture in the second half of the season and simply extending an qualifying offer would have been a mistake. Add to that the fact that it is a sweetheart deal at only 1.433 per season. This certainly afford the Sabres some room under the cap and a bargain for a 20-goal player.

By locking him up for more than a season the Sabres ensure that he can continue to progress. This virtually ensures that a winger will be traded as the summer continues. The top candidates being Brad Boyes and Jochen Hecht.

I’m interested to see how this will affect Darcy Regier’s approach for Friday. Brad Richards is rumored to be looking for about $6.5 million per season, that is a manageable number that I’m certain Regier will hit or exceed with his offer.

Still, count on at least one incumbent winger to be traded away in order to create cap space for free agents.

Early transactions will lead to overvalued UFAs

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Yesterday evening brought Kevin Bieksa a new contract and gave everyone a look as to what the UFA market may have in store come Friday.

The finances of Bieksa’s deal aren’t as interesting to me as the numbers game this plays with the remaining UFAs. Bieksa took a major hometown discount. Eric Brewer also took a little less money to stay in Tampa Bay. Combining those two signings with the trades for Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, Devin Setoguchi and other trades completed on Draft weekend, the UFA market is gaining momentum. Despite the fact it is incredibly thin.

Now, the remaining free agents are in a much better position to leverage a deal from their potential suitors. The reason I raise this point is because the Sabres will have limited options come Friday, despite their new-found financial freedom. Continue reading →

Boston offers hints for Buffalo’s future

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I took another roadie to a city with quite a bit of history and tradition this past weekend. Wouldn’t you know it, there are plenty of ideas staring you right in the face that make you wonder, “why isn’t this being done in Buffalo?”

The belly of Quincy Market. The food court stretches down the hall in both directions on the bottom floor.

The city I visited was Boston. I caught a Dispatch concert that absolutely kicked ass and I was able to taking the area in and around TD Garden (the USRT boys certainly know this area) and I was able to stroll many a city block taking in the history and architecture of that great city. I also hung out a Quincy Market, an ideal template for some of the questions floating around Canalside and the waterfront.

I will first say this, I understand that Boston is one of the oldest American cities with boatloads more history and tradition than Buffalo. I also am well aware that Boston dwarfs the Queen City in size. But that is ok. What I want to focus on are key cogs, not the big picture.

No beating around the bush, though. Quincy Market is EXACTLY what Buffalo needs. I mean E-X-A-C-T-L-Y. It is filled with shopping and eateries in an open market setting. There is room for kiosks – for those functional lawn fans who only want t-shirts being sold – while having, gasp, national chain retailers as well. Basically, it is like taking parts of the Galleria Mall and turning them inside out so people can enjoy the weather while they shop. By the way, the snow argument doesn’t really hold water considering Boston’s geographic location. Continue reading →

Unwinding a crazy weekend

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Suffice it to say this was the wrong draft weekend to head out to Boston to catch the Dispatch reunion show. I’m not mad at my decision, Boston is a great city and the show was absolutely killer. However, there were some major stirrings in the hockey world – both in and outside of Buffalo.

As the Robyn Regehr trade gets pounded into oblivion by the sports media, I want to offer my take on the other major transactions from draft weekend. My opinion, and many others have been cast regarding the Sabres trade. No need to rehash it.

One set of moves that outweighed anything else were the ones made by Philadelphia. By shipping Jeff Carter and Mike Richards to Columbus and Los Angeles, respectively, the Flyers really put a stamp on their goal for 2011-12. They needed cap space to sign Ilya Bryzgalov to a major deal (that they did) and they found it with two major cogs. Continue reading →

The calm before the storm

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Darcy Regier showed Buffalo Sabres fans what his strategy may entail this past weekend. He dealt for Robyn Regehr and a second round pick from the Calgary Flames, while only giving up Chris Butler and Paul Byron. He did the Flames a favor by agreeing to take Ales Kotalik, as well. But the option of hiding Kotalik in Rochester is the likely option the organization will take.

The next step comes this Friday as unrestricted free agency begins. The past few seasons haven’t yielded much for the Sabres, especially on the first day. The fact of the matter is Darcy wasn’t given the resources to truly attract the marquee free agents. All that has changed now that he has an owner willing to fly north of the border to persuade players to come to town.

Regier made some very interesting remarks this morning during his appearance on WGR 550. While he was very careful not to tip his hand, he indicated that upgrades will continue to come and that the center position will not remain the same entering the 2011-12 season. Continue reading →

Regehr to waive NMC to come to Buffalo

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The news appears to be somewhat vague at this point, but TSN has reported that Robyn Regehr will indeed waive his no movement clause and agree to a trade to the Buffalo Sabres.

According to the report, Ales Kotalik will return to the Buffalo organization, the place where enjoyed quite a bit of success as a power play point man and shootout specialist. Not the first player I would want to receive in a trade, but the Sabres needed to take on cap in order to make the deal attractive to the Flames. The option of shipping Kotalik to Rochester (Buffalo’s new-old farm team) is a very real possibility. I would say that is his likely destination based on the logjam Buffalo has on the wing. UPDATE: The Sabres also acquired Calgary’s second round pick in the 2012 draft. It was previously rumored that Buffalo had sent their second round pick.

The Sabres sent Chris Butler and Paul Byron to the Flames in exchange for the two veterans (Calgary Herald). It seemed as if Butler had plateaued as a sixth or seventh defenseman and Byron gave the Sabres one too many little guys. I contend that they still have too many mini-mites. By unloading these two players the Sabres have parted ways with two guys who probably didn’t have much of a future with the organization. There are numerous defensemen with more upside than Butler and it is obvious Darcy Regier wants to get bigger at forward, just look at their first round draft pick.

When the first reports came through, the rumors of Buffalo sending a pick may have discouraged some cynics who thought Buffalo had traded two prospects and a pick of a defenseman and a useless winger. Knowing now that the Sabres snagged a second round pick in the deal makes this a major win. Darcy Regier has always been a shrewd trader and he won this one as well. A top-four defenseman and a second round pick for two fringe prospects. Sure, you take on Kotalik, but the ease of hiding him in the AHL makes perfect sense to me. It is exactly the kind of attitude the Sabres need to run with as they approach July 1.