The 2009-2010 roster

While it is way too early to talk about the season that comes after the next one, there is also no hockey news to talk about in the middle of August. Assuming that Michael Ryan isn't going to be with Buffalo this coming season, the Sabres 2008-2009 roster is pretty well set. The year after the Sabres will not have contracts with twelve of their players, however things are not as bad as that statistic makes them sound.

Maxim Afinogenov
Afinogenov lead the team in points just three seasons ago, but seems to have lost his place in Buffalo. While a good player, he no longer appears to fit the Buffalo system and will probably not be resigned. The Sabres will most likely continue to try and trade him throughout this season.

Tim Connolly
Another player who looked real good the first year out of the lockout. However he has been unable to stay healthy so it is unlikely that he will be offered a large contract. If he stays with Buffalo or not is really dependent upon if any other team is willing to take a risk to sign him to a large deal.

Ales Kotalik
A good player who's resigning should be more important to alot more Buffalo fans. While it would not be the end of the world if he doesn't come back, he has been a solid player, and would be likely to sign a multi-year deal for around $4 million a year. Expect this deal to happen shortly before the start of free agency next summer if it does.

Jason Pominville
This is the contract that has been getting all of the attention, however he will still be a restricted free agent, so the Sabres have their options open. I feel that his shot at being captain is dependent on him signing a long term deal before the season starts. Because Pominville has some constraints on him as a restricted free agent, I expect that this deal will happen, but not until half way through November or so. Worst case scenario is that we go to arbitration, or that another team signs him for alot and we have the option of matching or taking a number of high draft picks.

Drew Stafford
Stafford is also a restricted free agent, but his value is highly dependent upon how he does in the coming season. Last year was a bit of a disappointment for Stafford and if that happens again it is likely to be reflected in the offer that he gets from Buffalo. Regardless of the amount odds are he will be resigned next summer.

Andrew Peters
Will be a restricted free agent. We could resign him for practically nothing, but lets hope we don't and let Kaleta or Gerbe move up into this roster spot.

Patrick Kaleta
Kaleta's contract will be up, but as a low paid restricted free agent who is unheard of outside of the Buffalo area, there is almost no chance of him signing elsewhere. Expect him to get a raise next summer dependent on how many games he plays with Buffalo.

Jaroslav Spacek
After one bad season and one decent season in Buffalo Spacek is a real question. I expect that the Sabres will have a small amount of interest in keeping him, but that it is likely that he will sign elsewhere next summer. Well I think he could be resigned for a somewhat reasonable amount I expect that Sekera and Weber will be ready to fill in for him by then.

Teppo Numminen
Currently only on a one year contract, Teppo's future is really dependent on this coming season. There is always the possibility of retirement, and I think this is mostly going to be based on how healthy he can stay. If he does want to come back, expect another one year deal.

Andrej Sekera
As a restricted free agent who is likely to play less then 40 games in the NHL this season, there should be no problem resigning him next summer.

Mike Funk
As a restricted free agent who will probably not get a single NHL appearance this season he is likely to be resigned. However being behind Sekera, Weber, and Myers I'm not sure that it really matters.

Finally a win

The Sabres finally decided to play hard in a game, and as a result came away with a convincing win, beating the Carolina Hurricanes 7-1.

The Sabres best player was Derek Roy who finished the game with eight shots and two goals. In fact he came very close to getting the hat-trick within the final ten seconds of the game. In fact almost the entire team had a good game, the only real exception being Afinogenov who was minus one and rang one off the post on what should have been an easy wide open goal.

Daniel Paille played well again, like he did last game and has suddenly become a very real scoring threat. Paille had a goal and an assist in this game to give him three goals, and four points over the last two games after what has been mostly a mediocre season for him. Given the massive number of overlapping penalties it's hard to analyze the teams powerplay effectiveness, but they allowed no powerplay goals against (although allowed one shorthanded), and scored a shorthanded goal themselves on a nice breakaway by Roy and Pominville.

The Sabres new defensemen played well this game as well. Sekera, Weber, and Funk all played very well in this game. Weber managed to be plus four with only seven and a half minutes of ice time. Funk only ended even in the plus minus column, but looked very solid especially for his first game up in a long while. Kaleta even got a goal.

Official Three Stars

Adam Mair

Andrej Sekera

Derek Roy

My Three Stars

Derek Roy (two goals, three points, plus three)

Adam Mair (one goal, three points, plus three)

Ryan Miller (only one goal against)