Sabres sign Gerbe

The Sabres have signed Nathan Gerbe to a three year contract. Gerbe will make the rookie maximum (a bit under $1 million a season). While he will not be guaranteed a spot on the team, he has a shot at making it, and will get at least a little playing time at some point in the season.

Gerbe is very good, and if he can manage to make the opening night roster has a very legitimate shot of winning the NHL's rookie of the year award. While he won't be expected to carry the team in the same way that Kane and Toews have been asked to this past season in Chicago, he could very well be one of the Sabres top offensive players next year.

This past year at Boston College, Gerbe lead his team to victory in the Frozen Four, and had five goals himself in the final two games of the tournament. In fact he made it to the finals in all three of his years at Boston College (his team took second the other two years), so this guy knows how to win, and is used to winning, which is a good thing.

I've only seen him play in three games, but he was excellent in all of them, and the only argument against him ever is his size. However, while nobody while be confusing him with Chara, Gerbe is no smaller than Roy, and his size has not been an issue. Along with players like Briere, Buffalo has never had a problem with bringing in smaller players, and has never been one of the larger teams in the league so Gerbe should have no problem fitting in.