Two years ago, defenseman Tyler Myers was a fresh-faced 19-year-old unsure if he was even going to make the Buffalo Sabres season-opening roster.
The opportunity to sign Ville Leino was worth more to the Buffalo Sabres than risking a chance to enter the Brad Richards sweepstakes on the first day of the NHL's free-agency period Friday.
How's this for a change of pace? While the NFL and NBA are embroiled in labor disputes that threaten their upcoming seasons, NHL clubs are gearing up to spend more money on salaries than they have since a lockout canceled a full campaign six years ago.
The Sabres have done their part in showing how interested they are in signing free agent-to-be defenseman Christian Ehrhoff.
Once defenseman Christian Ehrhoff put his round of golf on hold to hear what the Buffalo Sabres had to offer, general manager Darcy Regier was confident he had a shot of signing the player before the start of the NHL's free agency period.
The days of the Buffalo Sabres all-too-familiar, cost-conscious, conservative approach to free agency just might be over.
With one difficult decision, Robyn Regehr made two teams and one important All-Star player happy.
The Buffalo Sabres are not renewing the contract of associate coach Brian McCutcheon, though they haven't ruled out the possibility of him returning in another role.
Lindy Ruff still hasn't achieved his ultimate wish of bringing a Stanley Cup to Buffalo, but at least he'll get a couple more years to try.