Continuing in the tradition of signing the
easy, cheap guys first, GM Darcy Regier signed 3 players yesterday taking care of the Buffalo Sabres need for a backup goaltender, enforcer and depth forward. On top of that there was rumor flying around last night that the team had, as well, signed 6'6" defenseman Andy Sutton to a contract as well.
Veteran goaltender Jocelyn Thibault, who did a very solid job of backing up Marc-Andre Fleury last season in Pittsburgh should provide a similar presence and competence in backing up Ryan Miller. It's a one-year deal and no terms have been disclosed.
Enforcer and all-around locker-room good guy Andrew Peters, one of the players eligible to take the team to arbitration but declined and now we know why, re-upped with the team for another year. I'd be shocked if he got much of a raise over the $460,000 he made last season. If anthing that is surprising it's that the contract is for two years. I see this as a continuity move and morale move more than anything else. The Sabres will not have cap issues this season and should keep a full roster. Peters is well-liked in the room.
Lastly, for yesterday, the Sabres re-signed 28 year old Michael Ryan. A career minor-leaguer, bringing back Ryan (acquired back in 2003 for Stu Barnes and a 2nd round pick) is a value play. He possesses great speed and is an excellent penalty-killer but has no finish to his game at all and is small. He knows the system well and doesn't need to languish in Rochester anymore now that that pipeline has been restocked after the Gogulla and Gragnani signings.
As expected Derek Roy and Nathan Paetsch both filed for arbitration.
Ta,
After suffering a "lower body injury" in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final, Erik Cole's status for Game 2 has been up in the air during this painfully long two-day break. Cole was injured during Monday's game when he was on the receiving end of a Matt Cooke hit that included knee-on-knee contact. 
