Updated 8:35pm:
Thanks, Dan Hickling
TSN's Darren Dreger has tweeted that the Sabres have traded Robyn Regehr to the LA Kings.
Regehr has been traded for two, seccnd round draft choices in the 2013 entry draft.
Same compensation that Pittsburgh sent to San Jose for D Douglas Murray.
The Sabres will likely be recalling Adam Pardy to replace Regehr.
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Updated 6:45pm EDT:
Renaud Lavoie from RDS has added creedence to the earlier report that Sabres captain Jason Pominville will be submitting a list of eight teams to Darcy Regier.
Regier must be fielding multiple phone calls and texts from GMs. Why else would he ask his captain for a list of eight teams that he will NOT accept a trade to.
Pominville has a no trade clause and he holds the right of refusal on a trade. He has one more year left on his current contract.
The Sabres practiced in Buffalo this morning before jetting to Pittsburgh. They will play the Jarome Iginla and the Crosby-less Penguins. The NHL trade deadline is Wednsday at 3pm.
Its looking more and more like Pominville will be traded out of Buffalo in the days to come.
Teams said to be interested in Pominville include: Detroit, Dallas, Colorado, LA, Vancouver, Nashville, Montreal, and Winnipeg.
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Patrick Caisse of I TVA Montreal tweeted at 3:30pm EDT that Sabres captain Jason Pominville has been asked by Sabres to submit a list of eight teams that he does NOT want to be traded to.
On Good Friday, after practice, Pominville was asked if he had waived his no trade clause.
To which the captain responded:
“It makes no sense to me right now,” Pominville said. “Again, I have a contract that has a clause in it. I haven’t been asked anything. So I’m not worried about it. I just got to go out there and play, and if something happens, I’ll worry about it".
Pommer's theory is that people are making up trade rumors to increase their Twitter followers. I say where there is smoke, there is fire.
“I think you hear your name from people who want more followers on Twitter,” he said. “They’ll come out and say different things. I mean, you hear your name here and there, but where are those things really coming from? I think we really just got to worry about playing. There’s going to be rumors every year. That’s the way it is. That’s the nature of the sport.
Pominville has a modified no trade clause, which means that he has the right of refusal on any prospective trade.
Comes news today that Detroit Red Wings GM, Ken Holland is in the market to add a bonafide top six forward. Holland told the Detroit News that due to offseason personnel losses like Nik Lidstrom and Thomas Holmstrom, and injuries to key players like Todd Bertuzzi, Darren Helm, and Mikael Samuelsson.
Pominville fits the bill.
"In some years you do deals for depth," said the general manager, who is navigating through a year of extensive roster changes because of injuries and key losses in the off-season. "Well, I don't think we need depth.
Holland has $7.7 million in cap room and is ready to add a difference-maker. He's not interested in adding a defensemen.
"If we can do a legitimate trade to acquire a player that we think is a legitimate top-six forward, or a legitimate top-four defenseman, then we're going to look."
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The trade market for available veteran, stay-at-home defensemen is very sparce right now. Which creates a ton of value for Sabers UFA-to-be, Robyn Regehr. As the witching hour of 3pm Wednesday 4/3/13 draws closer, Regehr's intrinsic value will continue to rise just because the supply is low and the demand is getting higher by the hour.
Regehr played some nasty and passionate hockey in the losses to Washington and Boston. He's like old man Niagara River: steady and fluent.
Thats why NHL teams like LA, Pittsburgh, Nashville, Detroit, and Winnipeg and others have been scouting him both in Buffalo and out on the road.
Teams who win Cups need grizzled, battle-tested vets like Regehr who play their best, most intense hockey when the bright lights of the NHL playoffs are blazing. Buffalo targeted Regehr two off seasons ago for that very reason. Having guys like Regehr in the room and on the bench during playoff games is invaluable. He's a calming presence. his experience is his best teacher. He doesn't run around like his hair is on fire in his own end of the rink. He's a guy that can be counted on to make plays, win battles, and ultimately to lead his teammates.
Regehr can play in any of the three D pairings. He's that solid and steady.
Thats why is is such a valued commodity right now. Not many people can do what he does, as well as he does it.
Regehr has invested his 10,000 hours. And, then some. He's an expert-level NHL defenseman.
On Monday, Regehr was given a maintenance day, so he used his time wisely off the ice. After the team skated, Regehr spoke with the Buffalo News about his future plans.
“Well, I think that’s all being worked out behind the scenes right now. First of all, with Darcy, you have to ask him what his thoughts are on the (Sabres) team and what he’s willing to do with this team at this point, and then from there, I think we can make our decision”.
Is Regehr surprised that his name is being mentioned in so many trade rumors?
Sounds a lot like what Thomas Vanek had to say on Sunday morning. What direction is Regier taking the Sabres into in the next couple of days? Total roster renovation? Add a player, lose a player or two. Stand pat?
Until Regier and Pegula answer the organizational questions, the players are left in limbo.
“I think its just the reality of the situation we are in”
Regehr was asked if it seems weird that a team who he waived his no movement clause to play for may or may not be asking him to do the a 180 degree turn and to waive it again between now and Wednesday's trade deadline in an effort to green-light a trade to a contending team.
Matter of factly, the burly veteran answered the only way he knows how to: candidly.
“I’d have to see the situation. I can’t say “yes” or “no” right now without thinking about the hypothetical. There’s 29 other teams and it would depend on the situation”.
“I don’t think so, its part of the business. So its part and parcel”.
Let me translate for you:
If another bottom feeder comes along and asks for Regehr, he's not interested in waiving his NTC.
However, if a contender like, say, Pittsburgh or LA shows serious interest, he'd have to listen to the opporrtunity.
Why wouldn't he?
Regehr spent some time answering questions about his very good friend and former Calgary running buddy, Jarome Ignla.
“I think he just wanted to put him self in the best possible opportunity to get a shot at the Stanley Cup, and I think its pretty simple.
Regehr wants to win a Cup. Thats why he continues to play the game he's loved his whole life. He's not getting any younger. Now is the time to go win one before the opportunity never presents itself ever again. He and Iggy got to game seven and lost to Tampa in 2004.
The have some unfinished business to tend to.
Two old friends may be reunited at the convergence of the three rivers.
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Thomas Vanek loves Buffalo. Buffalo loves Thomas Vanek. The Sabres' leading scorer has grown up right before Buffalo's eyes.
We got our first glimpse of his greatness when he led his University of Minnesota Golden Gophers hockey team to the NCAA college hockey championship in 2003. Vanek rightly was named MVP of the Frozen Four tournament in Buffalo, as he scored the game-winning goals in both the semifinal against the University of Michigan in overtime and in the final against University of New Hampshire. Vanek became Minnesota's first freshman to be named Minnesota's team MVP for 2003.
The Sabres saw Vanek's true value and they made him the fifth overall pick on the 2003 entry draft.
Vanek would sign his three year entry level contract in September 2004. In 2004-05, he scored 42 goals and added 26 assists in 72 games in Rochester.
Of all the talented prospects in the incubator in Rochester, Vanek captivated the imaginations of Sabres fans with his intoxicating skill set and his timely goal scoring. Roy, Pominville, Gaustad, and Miller were all impressive in their first exposure to pro hockey with the Amerks, however, Vanek was the one player who seemed to transcend them all. He seemed to have the most NHL-ready abilities. I think Sabres fans looked at Vanek at the guy who was going to lead the Sabres back to respectability on the national level.
The nineteen year old kid that was drafted with the purpose of lifting the Buffalo Sabres from the depths of mediocrity, is now a 29 year old man. He's not a college kid anymore. He's a husband, and a father of three young children. He's a Buffalo guy. He grew up here. He learned to lose, and win here. He honed his skills and learned how to play the NHL style here. He's endured heart aches and the frustration of failures like missing the playoffs. He was a key contributor to two consecutive eastern Conference Finals teams.
Its for these reasons and many more that Vanek wants stay rooted in Buffalo handful of hours remaining between now and the NHL trade deadline. Vanek said yesterday that he wants to stay and play in Buffalo. he likes Buffalo. His wife and kids like Buffalo. They call Buffalo their home.
Vanek, like Pominville and Miller, has one year remaining on his current contract. he'll become UFA in July 2015. His name is name buzzing through the NHL trade rumor mill with great regularity. His first choice is to stay in buffalo and to finish what he started. however, he wants to know which direction that Darcy Regier and Terry Pegula plan on taking the Sabres team in. If the organization is planning a a "tweak" or short term fix, then count him in. However, if they are planning a long term rebuild, Vanek may not be interested in staying.
Vanek is the type of player that NHL GMs want to draft so that they can build a winner around him. He's the perfect type of player that contending teams want to add in order to bolster their lineup to insure a deep run through the Stanley Cup playoffs. For context, when you think of Vanek, think of Marian Hossa. The Penguins and Blackhawks became better, winning teams when Hossa and his sick falre for the offensive skated into their towns. Vanek is every bit the difference maker that Hossa is. The Sabres could trade him today and receive a king's ransom in exchange. However, they can keep him, trade others, and build their future squad with Vanek smack dab in the middle of the roster.
The puck is in Darcy Regier's end of the rink right now.
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Ron Rolston said after Monday's practice that Thomas Vanek is "unlikely" to play in Pittsburgh on Tuesday night.
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