Sabres GM Regier is feeling a bit of heat
The NHL Entry Draft will begin Friday in Montreal, and the league's free agency signing period will open next week. Obviously it's a busy time for Buffalo Sabres General Manager Darcy Regier, who held a brief session with the media on Monday at HSBC Arena.
Regier, who has been unavailable to the local media since the end of the NHL regular season, touched on a number of topics including his own status with the team.
Asked if he felt any added pressure going into the draft given the Sabres' failure to make the Stanley Cup playoffs the last two seasons, Regier replied: "I always feel the pressure to get it done."
Then he quickly added:
"Some people don't think I feel it, but I do."
It was an obvious reference to critics who don't believe Regier is aggressive enough in making trades and signings.
Cries from fans and media for some new blood in the organization is nothing new, Regier said.
"I think that's out there every year," he said. "The only difference is the degree that it's out there. I've dealt with that in the past and will deal with it going forward. ... I honestly don't spend a lot of time worrying about what other people think. I certainly respect what other people think, but there's a job to do and that's got to be the focal point."
The Sabres will select 13th in the first round of the draft on Friday.
"One of the things that really stands out is the depth and the quality of the players from Sweden," Regier said of the draft.
That seems to agree with the assessment of Central Scouting, which ranks Swedish players in the top eight positions among European skaters. The talented Swedes are led by 6-foot-6, 220-pound defenseman Victor Hedman. The top non-Swede prospect among European skaters is Dmitri Orlov, a Russian defenseman, who was rated at No.‚9. The top European goalie is also a Swede, Robin Lehner.
The first pick in the draft belongs to the New York Islanders.
Other subjects that came up in the session:
*Regier said the Sabres have been negotiating with defenseman Jaroslav Spacek, an unrestricted free agent, and he expects to meet with him again in the next couple of days to try and "find some way to get something done" before the free agency period begins July 1.
The club also has had talks with restricted free agents Andrej Sekera, Clarke MacArthur and Drew Stafford.
Already lost to the Sabres is center Marek Zagrapan, who signed with the Russian League. The Sabres have made Zagrapan a qualifying offer and retain NHL rights to him.
"I would have preferred that he stay over here as part of our organization," Regier said. "We reserve our rights in the National Hockey League."
*Aside from any trades or free agent signings, there could be new faces when the Sabres open the 2009-2010 season judging by what Regier had to say about young prospects, defenseman Tyler Myers and forward Tim Kennedy.
Regier said that a year ago he would have strongly doubted that Myers, the team's No. 1 pick in 2008, would make the jump from juniors to the NHL this year. Now he's not so sure.
"His game has really taken off," Regier said of the 6-7 defenseman from Kelowna of the Western Hockey League. "We're going to have to give him a look."
Myers has to be sent back to his junior team -- and not to Portland in the American Hockey League -- if it's deemed he's not ready for the NHL.
Kennedy's name came up as a possible center candidate when Regier was asked if he believed the Sabres had the depth at forward to employ three effective offensive lines as they did in the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons.
"I'll point to somebody like Tim Kennedy. He was drafted as a left wing and spent considerable time in the middle last year in Portland and had a very good year. He's someone who likes to control the puck, likes to have the puck and is a very good playmaker," Regier said.
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