Its an exciting time to be a villager of Pegulaville. Darcy, Lindy and the scouts will select atheir future stars tonight at the NHL Draft. Robyn Regehr is on the clock and will likely be a Sabre by day's end. UFA Day is a week from today. Lots of Hockeybuzz coarsing through the synapses and nerve endings of of Hockey Heaven.
According to Chris Roy of The Maine Hockey Journal, Buffalo Sabres owner Terry Pegula will indeed be purchasing the Rochester Amercians in the very near future..
Several sources have indicated to Maine Hockey Journal that an announcement could come as soon as tomorrow that the Buffalo Sabres have purchased the Rochester Americans for an undisclosed sum expected to be in the range of five million dollars.
According those sources a deal has been in place for roughly a week to 10 days now with only signatures from all parties involved needed to finalize the purchase agreement. Once that is complete, it will only need the stamp of approval from the AHL Board of Governors, which is scheduled to meet for their annual summer meetings from July, 4-7 in Hilton Head, South Carolina.
It’s expected that the Sabres led by owner Terry Pegula and Ted Black will be in Rochester for a scheduled press conference on Tuesday or Wednesday outlining the deal and laying out the future for the organization.
The Sabres were unavailable for comment.
The Sabres and Amerks enjoyed 29 years of hockey success before moving in other another directions three seasons ago. This move makes a lot of sense from an organizational stand point because of Rochester's proximity to Buffalo. Players can be recalled in the snap of a finger. Whats more, the Sabres scouts and player development staff can make more visits to monitor the progress of the kids on the farm.
Before I put my Crackberry on the battery charger at 1am today, I received a text from a friend who tells me that the Robyn Regehr deal will be completed by early this afternoon. The Sabres want Regehr and he's said to be excited about the opportunity to play Hockey Heaven. Word is that the Sabres spoke with Regehr late Thursday afternoon to pledge their desire to have the burly Dman join the band in Buffalo. I'm told that Mr. Pegula himself picked up the phone and he spoke with him directly. Regehr will not make a knee-jerk decision. He has asked for some time so that he and his wife can discuss the Buffalo opportunity and lifestyle experience. I'm told that Regehr will give a wink and a tip of the helmet to this trade.
Are the Sabres ready to give up blue chip prospect Luke Adam to get Regehr? No. I've been told that Adam factors very highly in Buffalo's plans for this upcoming season. Of course Jay Feaster is looking for his future star centreman, and its understandable why he'd want to pluck the reigning AHL Rookie Of The Year off the Sabres depth chart. I'm told that its not going to happen. The Sabres hold Adam in high esteem and he is being protected from any trade talk.
If the Sabres somehow slip and fall out of the Robyn Regehr race, have no fear, Kevin Bieksa is a suitable target for Darcy Regier to be pursuing. The Vancouver Dman becomes UFA on July 1. Of course Mike Gillis would like to re-sign his rugged D, however, the price of poker on Bieksa will likely increase to north of $6 million per season. The Sabres like Bieksa a lot, and they may drive the price up and create a bidding war with Vancouver.
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