Homing in on Sabres schedule
Buffalo signs Paille, reveals four dates
by David Briggs -- News Sports Reporter
Updated: 07/17/08 7:32 AM
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- Daniel Paille had 19 goals last season.
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The Buffalo Sabres offered a brief glimpse at next season’s schedule on Wednesday, revealing a familiar opponent for the home opener and a late-season visit by the defending Stanley Cup champions.
The full 82-game slate will be made known today when the NHL releases its 2008-09 schedule at noon.
For the seventh time in the franchise’s 39-year history, the Sabres will open their home season against the Montreal Canadiens. The puck will drop Friday, Oct. 10.
A change to this year’s scheduling format means the Sabres will play every team from both conferences at least once.
To make that possible, Toronto, Boston, Ottawa and Montreal will all skate into Buffalo just three times. So the Sabres will play 24 games against Northeast Division opponents this season, eight fewer than last year. Buffalo will then play four games against the 10 non-division opponents in the Eastern Conference, one game against all 15 teams in the Western Conference and three “at-large” games.
Those three games will be at HSBC Arena as part of home-and-home series against Anaheim, Phoenix and Detroit. The Ducks will visit Buffalo on Feb. 24, the Coyotes on March 6 and the Cup champion Red Wings on April 6.
After teasing fans with the dates of four high-profile games, the Sabres announced they had re-signed restricted free agent Daniel Paille.
The Sabres rewarded Paille, the former first-round pick who emerged last year as a solid contributor in his first full NHL season, with a two-year deal worth $2.25 million. Paille will receive $900,000 next season and $1.35 million for the 2009-2010 season.
The 24-year-old two-way forward scored a career- high 19 goals and had 35 points in 77 games. Paille, selected 20th overall in the 2002 draft, also showed himself to be a capable hand defensively.
“Danny is a talented young player that can make a difference at both ends of the ice,” GM Darcy Regier said in a statement. “Danny has been a key component to our penalty-killing unit and we look forward to helping him continue to develop with our club for years to come.”
The Sabres also said forwards Clarke MacArthur and Mark Mancari accepted their qualifying offers.
McArthur had 15 points in 37 games with the Sabres last season, though the third-round pick in 2003 played primarily in Rochester, Buffalo’s former AHL affiliate.
Mancari, a seventh-round pick in the 2004 draft, led Rochester in scoring with 57 points last year.
The team announced there was a 97 percent renewal rate on season tickets from last season. Buffalo also made available 500 additional season tickets to members of their Blue and Gold Club, which was created last year to serve as a priority waiting list. The team’s Web site reported there are more than 1,000 fans currently on that season-ticket list.
News also emerged Wednesday that Toronto has added a fifth preseason game against Buffalo on Sept. 22 at the Air Canada Centre. Called the “Coca Cola Zero Fans First Game,” all tickets are free and will be distributed through several promotions and contests.
