Sabres' Mair remains on waivers until noon today
Adam Mair's only plan overnight was to make sure his phone was on and within reach. Other than that, there wasn't much he could do regarding his hockey future.
Mair, whose seven-season run in Buffalo is the second longest among Sabres forwards, was placed on waivers Monday. He was to remain on the waiver wire until noon today, with the other 29 teams free to claim the forward.
"I guess it's just wait and see what the next 24 hours hold," Mair told The Buffalo News after practice Monday afternoon. "It's something fresh and new in my career that I haven't been through. I'll just wait it out, and if I get claimed then I get an opportunity to go play somewhere, and if not I'll either stay here or go down and help Portland.
"I'd like to continue to help this team. If I can, that'd be great. This is where I want to be."
Mair, who underwent offseason hip surgery, has played just three of the Sabres' 14 games. He played 72 or more each of the past three seasons. The offseason addition of Mike Grier and the ascension of Tim Kennedy from the minor leagues helped drop Mair down the depth chart.
"We've just got extra forwards, and he's not playing," Sabres General Manager Darcy Regier said in HSBC Arena. "He's in a contract year, and it's an opportunity for him to hopefully get a chance elsewhere."
Regier said he tried trading the 30-year-old but could not find any takers. Because of the interest shown by teams during the talks, however, there's a chance Mair could be claimed. Mair is in the final season of a contract that pays $775,000.
"There's interest, and I think people recognize that he's an NHL player," Regier said. "The situation you get into is ... there's a lot of players. I think teams have extra players signed. That will play in with whether or not he clears or gets picked up."
If Mair isn't claimed, the Sabres have two options. They could send him to the Portland Pirates of the American Hockey League, or they could do nothing and keep him in Buffalo.
"If he goes unclaimed, we'll make that decision [today], but nothing may change, quite frankly," said Regier, who said the waiver option has increased for teams because of the number of players under contract. "If you're trying to make adjustments on your team, it's one way to try to do it. In our case, it's just the number of forwards we have. We have a lot of forwards."
Mair, who joined the Sabres for the 2002-03 season, trails only Tim Connolly in service time among forwards. He set a career high with eight goals last season and added 11 assists and 95 penalty minutes. He has 29 goals, 91 points and 628 penalty minutes in 432 games with the Sabres.
"It's not really surprising in a sense that I wasn't playing," Mair said of the move. "I understand that it's a business."
Mair's top on-ice attributes throughout his stay in Buffalo have been his work ethic and toughness. Though the Sabres had a reputation for not having enough of the grit Mair provides, Regier said Kennedy, Grier and others carry those traits.
Mair will learn by noon today whether a different NHL team is in need of them.
"It's difficult," Regier said. "He's a quality guy, and he's been terrific through the process."
Sabres coach Lindy Ruff swapped the centers on his top two lines during the second period of Saturday's 4-2 loss to Boston. It appears the switch will remain when the Sabres host Edmonton on Wednesday.
Connolly practiced in the middle of left wing Thomas Vanek and right wing Drew Stafford on Monday, while Derek Roy was flanked by Clarke MacArthur and Jason Pominville.
"Looking at the last couple games, there haven't been enough quality opportunities," Ruff said. "I'm hoping that sometimes just flipping one guy ignites a line a little bit.
"I'm actually encouraged that it's taken this long to flip some guys around. We've been off to a good start. We don't like the fact that we lost the last couple games, and we've got to get back on track."
Defenseman Toni Lydman, who has missed the past seven games with a groin injury, skated on his own the past two days. "He's not quite there," Ruff said. "We don't want any setbacks, but we're hoping that in the near future we get him back."
Ruff said goaltender Patrick Lalime, who injured his groin eight days ago, is expected to begin skating sometime this week.
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