After inadvertently taking (most of) the month of July off, the New York Hockey Journal‘s Sabres Blog will be taking August off as well. What can I say, it’s just so much harder to write about hockey when it’s 85 degrees and plenty of things to do outside (and when news is relatively slow).

Enjoy what’s left of the gorgeous weather and, if you’re so lucky, your summer vacations. If you’re still frantic for Sabres news, the official Sabres website, The Buffalo News and The Willful Caboose‘s Sabres blogroll are your places to go. We’ll be back in full swing in September; talk (blog?) to you then!

One week ago, free agency was in full swing — and #BradRichardsToBuffalo was trending on Twitter. Although the New York Rangers eventually scooped up the big name, he was on the Sabres radar, which is something that probably never would have happened one year ago.

When all was said and done, the Sabres spent the fifth largest amount of money in the league (and that infographic doesn’t even include three of their signings) and one of the largest payrolls, too. And for once, general manager Darcy Regier had very few limits. As per The Buffalo News, before free agency began:

“We’ll certainly be making calls, inquiries, making some offers,” Regier said. “In the past it was largely about trades and drafting and developing your own players. A third area has been opened up on the unrestricted side where we can compete for the best, top unrestricted free agents.”

Here’s (quickly, since it’s now a week later) how things shook out:

• Hello to…: Christian Erhoff, after trading the New York Islanders a fourth-round draft pick in next year’s Draft for the rights to negotiate with him, and Ville Leino, who the Sabres pursued rather than Richards.
• Goodbye to…: Steve Montador and Tim Connolly.
• Welcome Back to…: Nathan Gerbe, Cody McCormick and Mike Weber.

Pegula Power, indeed.

I think I speak for everyone when I say — What happened to the NHL at the end of last week? Was it a full moon? Did the entire league decide that the NHL Awards and Entry Draft weren’t enough news for one (less than a full) week? And, mostly, who was piping what drugs into Philly’s front offices?

First came the release of the 2011-2012 regular season schedule. Besides the opening games in Europe, other Sabres schedule highlights include:

• The home opener on Friday, Oct. 14. After making their way stateside for this one game, the Sabres will head out on a four-game road trip before five games at home.
• The Sabres welcome the Winnepeg Jets to HSBC Arena for the first time on Tuesday, Nov. 8. They’ll be back on Saturday, Jan. 12, and the Sabres visit Winnepeg on Thursday, Jan. 19 and Monday, March 5.
• Buffalo plays the Stanley Cup Champion Bruins in Boston on Saturday, Nov. 12, then faces them here on Thanksgiving Eve, Wednesday, Nov. 23.
• After Turkey Day, they’ll head to Columbus for a Black Friday (Nov. 25) game against the Blue Jackets.
• Is Tux and Pucks back? HSBC Arena is booked for a game versus the Senators on New Year’s Eve.
• The Sabres final home game will be Tuesday, Apr. 3, against the Leafs. Their final game of the season will be Saturday, Apr. 7 (as it will for all 32 teams) in Boston.

But the Thursday schedule release was a given. Excitement level: Meh.

Fortunately, the Sabres upped the ante on Friday with the (much-speculated) announcement that they’re reuniting with the Rochester Americans. It’s a smart move on many levels — “keep your fans close, but your farm team closer,” if you will — and a win for both teams: The Sabres will have an easier time scouting AHL players and calling them up when needed, and the Amerks can tap into the Western New York fan base that’s so close. In fact, the team’s Facebook fan count spiked following the announcement.

But, once again, we all kind of suspected this was coming. We just didn’t know when. Excitement level: Something like that anxious excitement as you’re going up the first big hill on a roller coaster.

Then came the good stuff. While the Flyers were busy blowing up their locker room, rumors flew about the Sabres acquiring another Regehr, spelled a bit differently than their GM’s surname but also with a gender-ambiguous first name: Robyn. The trade finally went through on Saturday: Regehr, former Sabre Ales Kotalik and Calgary’s 2012 second-round draft pick for Chris Butler and Paul Byron.

Frankly, I’d never heard of Regehr until last weekend (although he played with Jordan Leopold in Calgary and comes highly recommended), and debating whether or not this was a good trade and whatnot doesn’t really interest me. Here’s what does:

• Wikipedia (where I find all my basic information on recently acquired hockey players about whom I know nothing) tells me Regehr was actually born in Brazil and lived in Indonesia during “his early childhood.” His family moved to Canada when he was seven. Cool points to him.
• Other fun facts: He works with Right to Play, teaches kids about outdoor safety and donates $75 for every bodycheck to the Impact Society. Seriously, I like this guy.
• Regehr’s also the youngest-ever Masterton nominee, for making his NHL debut just four months after breaking both legs in a car accident at 19. If you don’t think that’s impressive, consider that, after being in casts for however long, he had to not only essentially re-learn how to walk but also re-learn how to skate. Sure, there’s that saying about how it’s like riding a bike (once you get back out there, you’ll remember in no time), but I would have probably still been on the couch eating Ben & Jerry’s and working my way through entire seasons of various TV shows.
• Without Terry Pegula, this trade may not have gone through. Regehr was wavering on whether or not to waive his no-trade clause — like you’d want to move across the continent, to another country, with your second child on the way — and spoke with Pegula over the phone while making his decision. Pegula, his wife and head coach Lindy Ruff then left the draft and flew to Calgary to welcome Regehr to the Sabres. Just let that sink in for a second; yes, you read correctly. This man can do no wrong.

Excitement level: More excited about the details surrounding the trade that the actual trade itself. Terry Pegula, where have you been all our lives?

And in between all of this was the Draft. The Sabres came away with six new prospects, one of whom is a West Seneca native.

Just think: Free agency and the buyout period haven’t even started yet, and the season is still three-ish months away. Slow it down, NHL; I can’t write that fast!

Despite the fact that the Sabres bowed out in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, Buffalo ranked third in Stanley Cup Finals viewership, behind only Boston and Providence, both of which had a vested interest in the series’ outcome. Which is pretty impressive, especially given the amount of Bruins/Boston hate floating around this city. So if you’re wondering where I’ve been with the news lately — well, there you go.

With all that’s been going on, it feels like October is just around the corner, even though they’re barely done cleaning up that black and gold confetti on Causeway Street. (Seriously, the NHL Awards are tonight, and the Draft is this weekend. Then comes Development Camp, then Training Camp…opening night will be here before you know it.) Let’s catch up:

• Pre-Season Schedule Released, Development Camp Set. HSBC Arena hosts two pre-season games, versus Carolina and Toronto, and the Sabres will play their final pre-season game against the Adler Mannheim as part of the European stint. But first, July 5-10, 35 prospects, as well as the 2011 Draft picks, will participate in Development Camp at Niagara University’s Dwyer Arena. The team will release a full roster list and schedule before camp, and on-ice practices will be open to the public. If you can make it, Dev Camp is a pretty cool chance to see future Sabres in action. (Three years ago, I was watching Brad Marchand at the Bruins camp; just sayin’.)
• Kevin Sylvester and Danny Gare Fill In. Didn’t we kind of know this announcement (or, at least, the former half of it) was coming? After all, as the Sabres studio host and occasional Rick Jeanneret fill-in, wasn’t Sylvester basically a shoo-in for a spot during the the to-be-determined amount of road games to which broadcast team Jeanneret and Harry Neale don’t travel? And while Gare seemed like a rather out-of-the-blue choice at first, the selection made more sense after I learned that he actually spent some time in the booth for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Other Notes: Former Sabres broadcaster (and player) Jim Lorentz is one of this year’s 12 inductees to the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame. Inductions will take place in November….Last Thursday, the Sabres hosted a blogger summit, featuring 10 local Sabres bloggers, about half of whom I read religiously (and you should, too). I’m not going to try to say it better than the actual attendees, so check those links for full details.

Puck drop for the 2011-2012 season is still five months away — and the 2010-2011 Stanley Cup Finals are still going on! — but the Sabres organization was busy making moves for the future last week. Here’s a quick rundown:

• Drew Stafford signs four-year, $16 million contract. After completing a two-year contract, the Sabres’ 2004 Entry Draft first-round pick was set to become an RFA. Last season, after a rocky 2009-2010 performance, Stafford posted career highs in goals (31), points (52) and power play goals (11) and led the league in hat tricks (4) in 62 games. He’s posted 94-102-196 totals in 317 games over five seasons with Buffalo.
• Mark Pysyk signs three-year entry-level contract. The Sabres’ first-round pick from the 2010 Entry Draft spent the 2010-2011 season as captain of the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings, recorded career highs in games played (63), points (40), assists (34) and plus/minus (+29) and was the team’s top-scoring defenseman.
• Sabres associate coach Brian McCutcheon and Portland Pirates head coach Kevin Dineen are out. Dineen is making his way to bigger and better things — head coach of the Florida Panthers, to be exact — after leading the Pirates for the past six years. (Although, if the rumors are true, it may not matter much to the Sabres soon.) Meanwhile, the Sabres have decided to “go in a different direction” and will not renew McCutcheon’s contract. He may, however, be considered for the Portland job.

Other Notes: The Sabres will host a Draft party at HSBC Arena during the opening night of the 2011 Entry Draft. Along with other entertainment, fans will be able to watch draft coverage on the Jumbotron and have the opportunity to play floor hockey on the arena floor….The Hockey News ranked the Sabres third overall in their NHL franchise rankings, behind Detroit and Pittsburgh.

Earlier this week, I woke up to something amusing on the radio: Ted Black, playing a game of “Are You Smarter Than the Sabres President?” with callers on a morning radio show. It was a fun thing to hear during the off-season, and just one of this week’s changes (in that case, a change as opposed to previous ownership).

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The biggest news of the week has to do with someone who’s been around the Sabres a lot longer — just one year less than the team’s been around, actually. Next season, Rick Jeanneret and fellow commentator Harry Neale will only call home games and about 10-15 road games, as well as any Stanley Cup Playoff games, should the Sabres make the post-season.

From The Buffalo News:

“It’s no secret that the constant travel has been wearing on me over the years, and there were several times last season when I thought that it might be my last,” Jeanneret said. “I don’t want to retire completely. I have to admit, with the Pegulas taking over, that I have been re-energized with what’s happened around the building and what we expect to happen within the organization itself.

“I don’t want to leave when all these good things are going on. I’m trying to capture the best of both worlds to see whether it works or not.”

While I’m glad Jeanneret’s sticking around, even on a reduced basis, the implications of this decision are also rather upsetting: Rick Jeanneret will not be around forever, and, eventually, the Buffalo Sabres are going to have a new “voice.” I’ve never known a Sabres announcer other than Jeanneret, so that’s a very strange prospect. Personally, I think his calls bring those watching/listening from outside the arena into the game. Without his voice, I just don’t feel as connected…although my blood pressure is a little lower.

No decisions have been made as to who will fill in (I refuse to say replace; it sounds much sadder, and no one can replace Jeanneret) for the duo during away games, though the names floating around include the Sabres current studio host Kevin Sylvester, WGR’s Paul Hamilton, ex-Sabre Danny Gare and Mark Jeanneret (Rick 2.0).

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Other Notes: The changes don’t stop there. The Sabres unveiled their locker room renovations this week, with work slated to begin next week. They’re expanding their facilities from 8,644 square feet to 15,200 square feet, along with numerous other upgrades….The Sabres have signed forward Marcus Foligno, a Buffalo native and son of former Sabre Mike Foligno, to a three-year, entry-level contract….Sabres alumni will participate in the second annual “Skating to Cure Diabetes” 24-hour hockey game to benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation on June 18 and 19.

Just three seasons after moving from Rochester to Portland, Maine, the Buffalo Sabres AHL team may be headed back close to home. Terry Pegula is looking to buy the Rochester Americans and has signed a “nonbinding letter of intent,” according to The Buffalo News.

From their story:

Jason Chaimovitch, the AHL’s vice president of communications, told The News a sale would require the approval of the AHL board of governors, and the group has not been approached to examine any transactions.

The Sabres told The News today that neither team President Ted Black nor General Manager Darcy Regier had anything to add to their recent comments. Black said last week the Sabres are investigating numerous aspects of their organization. Regier pledged his support for the Portland Pirates, who reached a long-term extension of their affiliation with Buffalo in March 2010. Regier said the Sabres were interested in keeping the partnership.

“This has been a great relationship,” Regier told the Maine Hockey Journal. “The city is terrific. There are no negatives; I guess you point to the geographical issue as the only one. Again, when you look at the job everyone has done here, it’s been a great relationship for us.

“The only place it comes in is maybe my ability to see the team play or some of the staff, or on call-ups and stuff like that, but that’s the constant within the league anyway, with the exception of very few teams. … Right now our relationship remains with the Portland Pirates.”

Amerks owner Curt Styres was elusive today when contacted by the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, which recently reported two NHL clubs have approached the Amerks to purchase the team.

“The only thing I can say is that the Rochester Americans will be playing next season,” Styres told Democrat and Chronicle reporter Kevin Oklobzija, who also asked if Styres has sold the Amerks or was in serioius negotiations to sell. Oklobzija said Styres would only repeat the previous statement, adding, “I hope the sun is shining in Rochester tomorrow.”

The Sabres were affiliated with Rochester for 29 seasons before moving to Portland in 2008-09.

The Associated Press reports the Sabres do not have an out clause in their deal with the Pirates. Chaimovitch told The News that theoretically an NHL team could own one club and be affiliated with another. That, however, would seem to make little sense.

The location of a team’s AHL affiliate has seemingly little effect, except perhaps that the closer the affiliate, the easier it is to get a player on short notice. However, one could argue that having the Sabres minor-league counterpart a mere hour’s drive away once again would promote a sense of community and family, both among the players and the team as a whole and in terms of fan support. Being able to see the up-and-coming Sabres prospects would be a great opportunity for those able to make the drive from Buffalo, but it would also help (re)cultivate a fan base outside of the city.

Also, on another note, it’s great to see that Pegula & Co. really do appear to be assessing every last piece of the Sabres franchise and are intent on doing all they can to improve.

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Other Notes: The Sabres are raising season ticket prices approximately 5% for the 2011-2012 season — but prices are still $16 lower than the league average….Packages will be available through AAA for those looking to travel to Europe for the Sabres season opener.

While Buffalo Sabres’ netminder Patrick Lalime was a serviceable back-up to starter Ryan Miller, it is time for the Sabres to start looking towards the future and give someone else a chance to be the back-up.

Luckily, the Sabres have just the guy in 22-year-old Jonas Enroth. Enroth, although he has just 14 games of experience in the NHL, showed that he has what it takes to win in the league and do so when it matters this most.

This season, Enroth went 9-2-2 with a 2.73 goals against average, a .907 save percentage and one shutout. Even more impressive for the young netminder was that he was called upon to win hockey games down the stretch due to a Ryan Miller injury.

Enroth more than got the job done for the Sabres, helping the team grab the seventh spot in the ever competitive and tight Eastern Conference. During a 6-game stretch from late March to the end of the season, Enroth picked up wins against the New York Rangers, Carolina Hurricanes, Tampa Bay Lightning and Columbus Blue Jackets while earning a hard earned a point in a 35-save overtime loss to the to the Washington Capitals.

Enroth battles, plays big when he needs to and has shown that he can win important hockey games. He may not be ready to be a starter but he is certainly ready to be a goaltender in the National Hockey League.

(photo by Climbing the Movie Wall)

The Sabres 40th season was a Cinderella story in every sense of the metaphor: The team struggled with a disappointing start and the loss of two important members of the Sabres family in the new year.

But Fairy Godmother Pegula showed up, gave the Sabres and their fans a renewed sense of hope and showed us to the ball. Sabres fans everywhere owe that man a hug. Or a party. Some sort of enormous, heartfelt “thank you.”

And then, at the midnight hour, the glass slipper got lost, the carriage turned back into a pumpkin…and the Sabres became that soot-covered, neglected daughter once again. So while Game Seven was disappointing, given how much hope the last couple months of the season had given us, it wasn’t surprising. After all, Cinderella in her fancy ball gown was still Cinderella; the Sabres of late in the season were the same Sabres from October.

Sure, we’re all kind of bummed, especially given the chances they had to finish off the Flyers, but think of where the Sabres started the season. And then of where they ended. When you put the last seven months into perspective, the whole thing really is kind of magical. Think of how the team battled near the end of the season and during the playoff series — the Sabres definitely wanted to prove, injuries and all, that they could be better.

The team cleaned out their locker room in HSBC Arena today. Some of the guys went straight to helping Portland make their way through the AHL finals or playing in the world championships. Others will spend the next couple of months wondering where their careers are headed next — will they spend some more time in Buffalo or deal with free agency? Or will the 2010-2011 season have been their last?

Meanwhile, Fairy Godmother Pegula and his helpers will be hard at work. There ain’t no rest in the off-season, and there certainly ain’t in your first off-season as owner. What we’ll see come October, both aesthetically in the arena and performance-wise on the ice, will be better than ever, if Pegula keeps his word.

As for the rest of us? We’ll keep that renewed hope alive. Cinderella got her prince in the end. It just took some patience.

Don’t worry — those five months between now and October will fly by.

UPDATE, 4/29: The organization held their “State of the Sabres” address (i.e., season-closing press conference) this morning. Among other news: Pegula’s bummed the playoffs are done so soon, and Lindy Ruff signed a contract extension. Not really Earth-shattering news, but worth noting.

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This blogger’s going to spend the next few weeks relaxing and cheering for the Bruins however long they remain in the playoffs. Summer posts will be sporadic — whenever there’s new news (and, who knows, that could be often!) — but I’ll be sure to keep you as up-to-date as possible.

Well, that was an unconventional Easter dinner — snarfing down a plate of food in the 17 minutes between the third period and overtime, only to return to the table dejectedly a few minutes later.

The games in this series fit into two categories: 1) Low-scoring affairs in which the goaltenders stonewall nearly every puck they see and 2) high-scoring ones in which comfortable leads dwindle away and the Flyers replace their goalie. The former have, with the exception of Game Five, worked out better for Buffalo. And now, after a Type 2-style game last night, I’ll admit it — I’m scared. After Game Five, the Sabres still had two chances to pull off a win in any fashion. Now, well, they don’t, and it’s a little (a lot) nerve-wracking not knowing what we’re going to get tomorrow night and realizing that a best-of-seven series has become a one-game, winner-takes-all match. Plus, it’s always more worrisome going into a game after a loss than it is after a win; I know it’s all in your mindset, but it’s the truth.

Then there’s that Mike Richards hit on Tim Connolly that’s got the Sabres reeling and the Flyers and their fans claiming that it was fair, that the refs rightfully didn’t call it a major to make up for the five-minute elbow penalty earlier in the series, that Kaleta started it, that Connolly needs to man up, that the the Sabres need to stop whining…yadda yadda yadda. I’m not going to bother giving my opinion because 1) it’s clearly tainted with emotion, 2) my opinion doesn’t matter, 3) I tend to think every hit to the head that ends with a player crumpled at the boards is suspension-worthy (or, at the very least, hearing-worthy) and 4) so many people love voicing opinions on this hits-to-the-head/suspension stuff that there’s no point in shouting into the din. Also, 5) due to the NHL’s seemingly ass-backwards system of enforcing suspensions for hits to the head, Richards won’t even have to sit through a hearing, and that’s left me pretty much apathetic.

Don’t get me wrong — I feel terrible for Connolly, especially given his history and the knowledge that Richards gets off scot-free for a hit may have very well just ended a career, but I’ve basically accepted that the NHL in its current judicial state is inconsistent at best and utterly useless at worse and that the Flyers and their fans are going to accuse the Sabres and their fans of whining no matter what (and, I’ll admit it, vice versa). So what’s the point? That’s just how playoff hockey goes. So here’s the game plan: accept it, understand that it’s not going to change, don’t let it get under your skin and move on — and use it as motivation to whoop some Philly butt in Game Seven.

So, to sum up: tied series, crazed fans, accusations of needless whining, two injured Buffalo players, a back(ish — more or less in presence only) Chris Pronger, the (hopefully) triumphant return of Derek Roy for Game Seven, Patrick Kaleta being a pest, Mike Richards being a brute…and a seven-game first-round playoff series that has come down to a single game, the winner of which is anybody’s guess.

I’ve got a healthy dose of “OMG, playoff hockey rocks!” excitement mixed in with my fear — but why, oh why, couldn’t this have ended at Game Six?