Numminen returns to Sabres
Defenseman inks one-year contract
It’s official: Teppo Numminen will be back with the Buffalo Sabres next season.
The 40-year-old veteran has signed a one-year, $1.1-million contract, the team announced Friday. Numminen, who missed all but the season finale last year after heart surgery, has no recurring health problems and will be ready for training camp next month.
Numminen had surgery on a heart valve in September and didn’t play until getting 16 minutes April 5 at Boston. After that game and in the days following the season, he said he was interested in continuing his career. An unrestricted free agent, Numminen’s first choice was to return to the Sabres.
“I’m excited,” Sabres General Manager Darcy Regier said Friday. “He was someone we missed and we were reminded of that in the last game of the year. He has a style that makes the game look simple. His experience really speaks to the way he plays and the value he has to our team, so he will really be welcomed back.”
Numminen is back home in his native Finland and was not available for comment Friday. He had signed a one-year, $2.6-million deal with the team last summer and then filed a grievance with the National Hockey League Players’ Association to reclaim that money after the Sabres placed him on the suspended list.
Regier said Numminen’s health is no longer an issue.
“He feels good, he feels strong,” Regier said. “There’s always routine checkups but the Cleveland Clinic [where the surgery was performed], our doctors, our medical and training staffs all feel he’s 100 percent.”
Both Regier and NHLPA officials confirmed Friday that Numminen’s grievance has been settled. Specifics were not released but Numminen received a monetary settlement from last year’s contract.
“We wanted him back,” Regier said. “We wanted to clear the deck and get the grievance out of the way. Once we were able to do that, we went ahead with him on a new contract.”
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In other Sabres news, the team confirmed that the Portland Pirates will play an American Hockey League game in HSBC Arena against the Albany River Rats on Feb. 10 at 7 p. m. Ticket prices will be announced at a later date for the game pitting the Sabres’ new AHL affiliate against the Carolina Hurricanes’ farmhands.
“It’s terrific for the players and our fans,” Regier said. “Portland has made a commitment to us that we’re very happy with how it’s going so far because your minor league affiliate is a big part of the lifeblood of your organization.”
In a move that’s likely to play very well in Portland, the Sabres signed unrestricted free agent forward Tyler Bouck on Friday. Bouck, 28, was the Pirates’ captain last season while they were an Anaheim affiliate. The 6-foot, 196- pounder had 11 goals, 18 assists and 86 penalty minutes.
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Sabres forward Michael Ryan, who was an unrestricted free agent, has signed with the Minsk Dynamo of Russia’s new Continental Hockey League. Regier said the Sabres had inquired with Ryan about a two-way contract so that he could be sent to Portland but Ryan decided to pursue other options. He had four goals and four assists in 46 games last season.
