The Buffalo Sabres were looking for an offensive defenseman to fill a need on the blue-line and they did that by signing Jordan Leopold to a three-year contract. Leopold played most recently for the Pittsburgh Penguins after being acquired at the trade deadline from the Florida Panthers.
I like the signing of Leopold and I expect we will earn that he signed for less than Lydman and Tallinder. He is bigger than most people think he is and he is a good skater. He scored 11 goals last season which proves his offensive worth to Sabres fans.
We’ll have much more on this acquisition later tonight.
The Sabres entered free agency with two key defensemen of their own on the open market and less than a day later they’re both gone. A few hours after Toni Lydman signed a three-year deal with Anaheim, Henrik Tallinder is now a member of the New Jersey Devils.
Tallinder signed a four-year deal with the Devils that will pay him $3.375 million per season.
Tallinder had four goals and 20 points and plus-minus of 13 over 82 regular season games in 2009-2010. Perhaps more importantly, he got a lot of credit for helping the development of Calder Trophy winner Tyler Myers. Tallinder skated with Myers all season long to form the team’s top defensive pair.
Tallinder had spent his previous eight seasons in the league with Buffalo.
With the pair gone the Sabres now have to replace one-third of their defense from last year. Mike Weber is expected to get a full-time crack at the lineup. Meanwhile, the Sabres are rumored to be in negotiations with Atlanta Thrashers defenseman Pavel Kubina.
We’ll have much more later.
The Buffalo Sabres have lost one of their two veteran defensemen free agents. Toni Lydman agreed to a three-year deal with the Anaheim Ducks for a reported $3-million per season.
Lydman made $3.15 million with the Sabres last season.
Lydman scored 20 points for the Sabres last season and had a +10 plus/minus rating as a second-line defensemen paired mainly with Steve Montador. Lydman led the Sabres in ice time in the postseason. General manager Darcy Regier talked about a contract with Lydman before free agency started but was unable to agree on a deal.
Hours later, he’s going to California.
Continue reading ‘Toni Lydman Leaves Sabres, Signs With Ducks’
Buffalo’s largest street hockey tournament is getting bigger and better than ever! It’s time to get your team together because the ninth annual Buffalo Sabres Street HockeyFest will now take place over two days — Saturday, August 21 and Sunday, August 22 — from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the streets surrounding HSBC Arena. Last year’s tournament featured 186 teams with almost 1,000 participants.
The two-day street hockey tournament is open to boys and girls ages 5-17 at a cost of $125 per team. Each team consists of up to five people and all teams are guaranteed three games. Each team member will receive a HockeyFest hat and t-shirt. Trophies will be awarded to the champions of each division.
Continue reading ‘Sabres Street Hockeyfest Expands to Two Days’
Free agency begins for the Buffalo Sabres as well as the rest of the NHL on Thursday when the noon hour strikes. Buffalo is expected to lose at least one of their two free agent defensemen between Toni Lydman and Henrik Tallinder and if history and media predictions are any indication, Darcy Regier won’t be blowing fans away with any replacements.
A lot of fans are hopeful the team will take a run at Ray Whitney. Whether the club does or not, WGR’s Paul Hamilton steadfastly writes Whitney becoming a Sabre is not going to happen.
“(Ray) Whitney might be an answer, but I know for a fact he hates the city of Buffalo and would never sign here,” Hamilton wrote in a column Tuesday night.
Continue reading ‘Report: Ray Whitney Hates Buffalo’
◊ Buffalo Rumblings got a chance to interview Bills defensive tackle Lonnie Harvey based on questions from their readers. It’s a very good read.
◊ Tim Graham from ESPN.com considers the 1990 version of the Bills as the greatest team in the history of the franchise.
◊ Tony Jones of Bills.com writes that Bills receiver Stevie Johnson is eager to contribute.
◊ Tyler Myers told the NHLPA website he would’ve laughed in their faces if winning the Calder Trophy was a topic before last season started.
Continue reading ‘The Daily Links – July 1, 2010′
