Campbell may remain a Sabre

Campbell participated in his 2nd consecutive All-Star Game on January 27th

According to the Buffalo News, Brian Campbell seems optimistic he will not be dealt by the Sabres.

“Yeah, that’s the only way I can look at it, though,"he said. “I can’t look at it any other way. I think we’re still in a playoff spot or we’re close, and we’ve got a lot of work to do. It’s not going to be easy, and I hope I can be around for that.”

"We’ll see what happens over the next couple months", referring to his status after July 1st.

The 28-year old defenseman has been the subject of numerous trade rumors over the last week since he has not come to an agreement on a new contract with the Sabres and due to the Sabres reluctance to lose Campbell to Free Agency, and therefore getting nothing in return for him, especially after the Briere and Drury incidents.

With this declaration, though, it seems odd Campbell hasn't come to an agreement on a new contract with the Sabres... who knows, he might only be downplaying the situation?

In the end, the decision ike, it is Darcy Res not his to magier's, and since the later does not want to lose Campbell for nothing, he might be forced to deal him by the Deadline.

2007-08 New Jerseys -- Northeast

Boston Bruins:


Buffalo Sabres:


Montreal Canadiens:



Ottawa Senators:





Toronto Maple Leafs (Ugh!):

7/6/07 UFA SIGNINGS

ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS ?
Please e-mail me at: afi.ville.49@gmail.com

6:45 PM- Stars sign LW Brad Winchester:
1 year at US$475,000


4:40 PM- Leafs sign G Scott Clemmensen:
1 year, two-way contract


3:40 PM- Wild sign D Sean Hill:
1 year


12:50 PM- Vanek Update:

In a 12:30 PM Press conference, Sabres' GM Darcy Regier announced that the Sabres will match the Oilers' contract offer of US$50 million over 7 years.

12:30 PM- Oilers send Vanek an offer sheet:

According to various sources, the Edmonton Oilers have sent forward Tomas Vanek an offer sheet. The offer is worth US$50 million over a period of 7 years. If the Sabres can not match the Oilers' offer, Edmonton will obtain Vanek in exchange for a compensation, more precisely of 4 1st round drat picks.

12:25 PM- Senators promote John Paddock to head coach.



8:00 AM- Top 5 Free Agents:

5) D Brent Sopel
4) C Alexei Yashin
3) LW Brendan Shanahan
2) C Peter Forsberg
1) D Sheldon Souray

7:50 AM- Rumor Central (Teams Interested):

LW Martin Gelinas (DAL)
D Sean Hill (MIN)
D Sheldon Souray (NJ, NYR, SJ)
C Alexei Yashin (DAL)

7/5/07 UFA SIGNINGS

11:50 PM- Red Wings sign G Dominik Hasek:
1 year at US$2 million (Without Bonuses)

9:00 PM- Nickle1371 sends in the following:

Do you think Patrick Kaleta will be in the sabres line-up next season? also do you think the sabres will go after comrie or souray. (sorry if we do take souray from u, cuz we want it bad too lol.)"

Dear Nickle,

I do think that Patrick Kaleta has a chance of making the Sabres out of training camp, especially with the losses of Daniel Briere, Chris Drury and Dainius Zubrus. He played 7 games for the Sabres, managing 2 assists and 21 penalty minutes. But nothing is certain.

I do also believe the Sabres went after New York Islander Mike Comrie, who could of filled their need of a speedy and gritty 2nd line center. Comrie signed with the Islanders a few moments ago.

As to going after Sheldon Souray, I am not so sure Darcy Regier was too kean on signing a defenceman for over US$5 million, with a lack of defensive ability. I also believe the Sabres lost a big part of their forwards this offseason, and did not need to sign defencemen, but needed to concentrate their money on forwards who could replace the ones who left via the UFA market.

I hope this helps,

I Want It!

8:34 PM- Islanders sign C Mike Comrie:
1 year

8:33 PM- Sabres sign G Jocelyn Thibault:
1 year

5:50 PM- Ducks sign D Shane Hnidy:
2 years

5:34 PM- Islanders sign F Bill Guerin:
2 year at US$9 million

4:20 PM- Canadiens sign D Jamie Rivers:
2 years

1:18 PM- Devils sign G Kevin Weekes:
2 years at US$1.375 million

11:33 AM- Columbus Blue Jackets sign D Jan Hejda:
1 year

7/4/07 UFA SIGNINGS

ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS ?
E-mail me at: afi.ville.49@gmail.com

5:30 PM- Sabres re-sign D Teppo Numminen:
1 year at US$2.6 million


1:45 PM- Islanders sign LW Ruslan Fedotenko:
1 year at US$2.9 million


1:35 PM- Thrashers re-sign LW Slava Kozlov:
3 years at US$11 million (US$3.66 annually)


11:35 AM- Canadiens sign W Tom Kostopoulos:
2 years at US$1.8 million (US$900,000 annually)


10:05 AM- Flames re-sign RW Jarome Iginla:
5 years


10:00 AM- Maple Leafs re-sign G Vesa Toskala:
2 years at US$8 million (US$4 annually)


8:55 AM- Rumor Central (Teams Interested):

RW Bill Guerin (VAN, CBJ)
D Sean Hill (MIN)
LW Slava Kozlov (DAL, ATL)
D Sheldon Souray (NJ, SJ, DAL, NYR)

8:50 AM- Top 5 Free Agents:

5) D Brent Sopel
4) LW Slava Kozlov
3) LW Brendan Shanahan
2) C Peter Forsberg
1) D Sheldon Souray

Day 1: Winners and Losers

Losers:

1)BUF: With the loss of Chris Drury and Daniel Briere, the Buffalo Sabres are definately the day's biggest loser. Overconfident they would re-sign their top 2 forwards for "hometown discounts", Sabres GM Darcy Regier overestimated both forwards' loyalty towards the club, by not offering them contracts until 2 days before they became unrestricted free-agents. Drury and Briere both signed with Eastern Conference teams, the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers.

2)NYI: Jason Blake and Ryan Smyth seemed like quite the pair of left wingers any team could want, but the New York Inslanders had them both for the end of the 2006/07 season. They made the playoffs, but fell to the Buffalo Sabres in the 1st round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Fast forward to yesterday, when two of their most prized possessions fell into ennemy hands, as Blake signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs, a team "committed to winning", and Smyth signed with the Colorado Avalanche, leaving the 1st line left winger position on the Islanders' roster wide open. The Islanders lost much more than 2 players, but a great leader, ready to do anything to win, and a gritty and selfish, but in a good way, forward with a desire to do whatever it takes. They also lost 30-year old defenceman Tom Poti, one of the best offensive defencemen in the league last season, and big center Viktor Kozlov to the Washington Capitals. These losses leave their top 2 offensive lines heavily depleated.

Winners:

1)NYR: Adding Chris Drury and Scott Gomez was a fantastic job by Rangers' GM Glenn Sather. Nobody expected that a single team would add them both, but the Rangers did. These 2 major acquisitions turn the Rangers into an immediate cup contender, with one of the best offenses in the NHL.

2)COL: When Joe Sakic re-signed in April, who knew the Avalanche would be adding Ryan Smyth at the same time, as the 19-year NHL veteran played a major part in bringing the Banff, Alberta native to Colorado. Sakic must of also played a part in bringing Canadian defenceman Scott Hannan to the Avalache. With these additions, the Colorado Avalanche have a better defensive and offensive team, filled with plenty of grit and body presence. The Avalanche is officially back as one of the top power houses in the West.

Flurry of re-signings

ATL- Today, the Atlanta Thrashers re-signed forward Pascal Dupuis to a 1-year, US$800,000
contract. Dupuis was acquired last trade deadline by the Thrashers from the Rangers.

BUF- Saturday, the Buffalo Sabres re-signed forward/"goon" Adam Mair to a 3-year contract. His salary is expected to be over the US$650,000 he earned last season.

LAK- On friday, the Los Angeles Kings re-signed defenseman Jaroslav Modry and left winger Jeff Giuliano to 1-year contracts. No "money-related" information was disclosed.

MIN- Saturday afternoon, the Minnesota Wild re-signed restricted free-agents Mikko Koivu and Martin Skoula to new multi-year contracts. Both player's salaries will be around the US$1 million mark.

STL- On saturday, the Saint-Louis Blues re-signed forward Keith Tkachuk to a 2-year contract worth US$8 million. Tkachuk was acquired earlier this week from the Atlanta Thrashers.

Briere turns down Sabres' offer

Yesterday night, the Buffalo Sabres submitted a contract offer to unrestricted free-agent Daniel Briere. No information was disclosed on the salary or length of the contract.

Today, CHFans learned that Briere turned down this offer, a 5-year contract worth an estimated US$25 million, US$5 million per season.

I doubt Buffalo will increase the salary they are willing to offer him, as they are also trying to re-sign Chris Drury.

Therefore, Briere will hit the market July 1st.

Buffalo GM Darcy Regier was hoping that Briere would accept a "hometown discount", so would Drury, in an effort to keep them both in Buffalo.

But his tactic back-fired, as he is nowhere close to re-signing one or the other.

Rumor Central

BUF- According to Buffalo TV station WGRZ, the Buffalo Sabres offered unrestricted free-agent Daniel Briere a contract late last night. No indications have been given on the length, or even salary associated with the contract.

NYI- Per Darren Dreger of TSN, the New York Islanders are ready to offer forward Ryan Smyth a 7-8 year contract, with an average salary of US$6 million per season. His salary's pattern over that span would be similar to Kimmo Timonen's, which would mean a hefty salary during the first 3-4 years, followed by decreasing amounts for the remaining seasons.

NYR- The Rangers are not at all close to re-signing forward Michael Nylander, reports the New York Post's Larry Brooks. He is said to be "playing it smart", as by waiting for big name UFAs Scott Gomez, Daniel Briere, Chris Drury... to be signed, he drives up his own value.

STL- According to Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the St. Louis Blues have submitted a contract offer to Keith Tkachuk, whom they acquired the rights of negotiation to on Tuesday. The contract is worth US$7 million over a span of 2 years (US$3.5 million per season).

Rumor Central

ANA- Eric Duhatschek of the Globe and Mail reports that Ducks' GM Brian Burke has received many offers for goalie Ilya Bryzgalov, but none of them seemed to have "knocked his socks off", or even convinced him to trade the Russian netminder.

BUF- Tim Graham of the Buffalo News suggests that neither Chris Drury or Daniel Briere are interested in re-signing with the Sabres until after they have "offered" their services to the other 29 clubs of the NHL.

PIT- According to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette and Dave Molinary, Penguins GM Ray Shero will not offer contracts to forwards Nils Ekman and Ronald Petrovicky and defensemen Eric Cairns and Joel Kwiatkowski, all of whom are UFAs and set to go on the market July 1st. Shero will not retain the following players because of the re-signing of veterans Gary Roberts and Mark Recchi to one-year contracts, which has limited the Penguins' budget this offseason. The Penguins are also negotiating with defenseman Ryan Whitney, a RFA, on a long-term contract.

SJ- Many sources indicate that with the riddance of Vesa Toskala and Mark Bell, the San Jose Sharks will try agressively to sign veteran center Chris Drury. They also say that if they deem necessary to those negotations to deal captain Patrick Marleau, they will do it without a flinch.