Leave it to Sabres General Manager Darcy Regier to embrace his custom and show up 20 minutes late for a news conference Wednesday in HSBC Arena. In recent years, he’s been known to be a few minutes late and a few dollars short while explaining why the organization lost another star player.

Earlier in the day, it turned the other way. Regier showed up four hours before the 3 p. m. NHL trade deadline after overpaying for center Tim Connolly with a two-year contract worth $9 million. Apparently, things are changing along the foot of Washington Street. But it doesn’t mean they’re getting better.

The objective going into the deadline was to push the Sabres closer to the postseason this year while improving their long-term future. At least that’s what appeared to be the goal. In truth, it was a little confusing after Connolly signed an absurd contract and all the draft picks and marginal players were exchanged.

We might as well start with Connolly, who should double whatever percentage he’s paying agent J. P. Barry. Connolly had already collected $5.2 million for playing 50 games over the first two years of his current deal and was pocketing another $3.5 million for this season while playing his 30th game Wednesday night.

Barry somehow snowed the Sabres into thinking that Connolly deserved another contract, plus a raise for his trouble. This for playing slightly more than a third of the contests for which he was eligible in the last three years. It wasn’t just a little bump in pay. He was given a 28 percent hike for the next two seasons, when he’ll make $4.5 million.

Regier was clear about his message Wednesday. The organization needs to make the postseason this year. He knows how ugly it can get around here when they fail. Fair or not, you couldn’t help but wonder if he really meant the Sabres need to win before people start raising questions about his future. Don’t forget, owner Tom Golisano said before the season he would chew on his microphone if they missed the playoffs again.

“We believe we’ve done enough,” Regier said.

We’ll see. In the days leading into the deadline, talk around the league was that Connolly wasn’t interested in returning to the Sabres. You knew it would take a hefty offer to change his mind. The Sabres did themselves one better. They handed him a deal that blew his mind.

He’s a terrific playmaker. He helped set up Derek Roy’s first goal in a 5-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night. Nobody would deny Connolly’s talent, but Roy is a better center and will make $1.5 million less in the next two years. Heck, you wondered Wednesday if Connolly would blow out an eardrum while answering the call from his agent.

The Sabres obviously are gambling on his health, which is like betting on AIG. There are potential jewels down the road, but it’s difficult to sink that much money into an investment equally capable of going belly up. Ironically, the Sabres became the team that overspent on one of their unrestricted free agents.

Let’s be honest, whether it was inability early in his career or lack of durability later, Connolly had only one year in which he truly earned his money. It was in 2005-06, when he had 16 goals and 55 points in 63 games. It was the only time he had more than 15 goals or more than 45 points in any season.

Nobody would wish the concussion problems, the stress fracture in his leg, the back, rib and hip injuries, on his worst enemy. But if you added up his last two contracts, he’s guaranteed to make $17.7 million. If he never misses another contest, he’ll show up for 63 percent of the games over the five-year span.

No team would pay that much over five years for a soft finesse player who lacked leadership if it knew he would miss a third of the games or more. If he’s going to be a $4.5 million player, he’d better play like one.

Signing him was their big move on a day in which their rivals in the Eastern Conference playoff race made stronger attempts to get better. The only team that didn’t make a key trade before the deadline was Florida, which kept defenseman Jay Bouwmeester with the idea it was better with him than without him.

Essentially, the Sabres traded away a rental free agent who should have been gone two years ago in Ales Kotalik for a rental free agent who will be gone after this season in Dominic Moore. Moore is an honest player who will show up and play between the circles rather than float around the perimeter. OK, so it’s a minor upgrade.

The Sabres picked up a goalie in Mikael Tellqvist, an insurance policy if Ryan Miller’s high-ankle sprain is worse than suspected and Patrick Lalime needs bailing out. Tellqvist didn’t cost more than the change in your ashtray. The Sabres didn’t give up any extra draft picks or any warm bodies under the age of 25.

Buffalo is still stuck with Maxim Afinogenov after failing to find a taker. Henrik Tallinder, who acknowledged a few weeks ago he needed a change in scenery, is still here. They still lack toughness, still lack scoring depth, are still a few years away from scaring anyone.

Regier moved a few bodies around, but it raises the question: Are they any better?

Chat live with Bucky Gleason on the Sabres Edge blog at

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at 11:30 a. m. today