Off-season Halfway Point Update

Former Sabre Daniel Paille lifts the Cup on the Maid of the Mist.

A little over a week past the half-way point of the 2011 off-season, I thought it would be appropriate to give a quick overview of where the Sabres currently stand.  Right off the bat (yes there goes my baseball season reference) I would like to apologize for my 2+ month absence from writing.  It has been a busy summer so far, but busy in a fun-filled and exciting way.  I'm starting to get revved up as the upcoming season is only a mere 70 days away.  Especially after hearing about former Sabre Daniel Paille bringing the Cup to our own backyard for a token ride on the Maid of the Mist (pictured right).  I'm not sure if I'd like to be next to him in that picture or if I'd be jumping into the river to get far, far away.  I'm glad I heard the story through the news instead of experiencing it first-hand.  Don't forget this upcoming season starts on the other side of the pond with the opener in Helsinki October 7th and game two in Berlin October 8th.  The home opener is slated to be a 7:30pm match-up with the Carolina Hurricanes on October 14th giving the team a week to rest up from their trip overseas.  If you haven't already mapped out your game-plan for the upcoming season, head on over to the official website and check out the 2011-2012 Official Schedule.  I know I'll see most of you at home games but does anyone want to catch a road game?  Tickets are on sale now so get them while they are hot.

On to the important stuff.  The Sabres have made a number of roster transactions this summer.  To map them out for you as simple as possible, here is a list of players the Sabres have either retained, added or lost this off-season.

RETAINED:

Drew Stafford - SIGNED - 6/3

Nathan Gerbe - RE-SIGNED - 6/29

Cody McCormick - RE-SIGNED - 7/1

Mike Weber - RE-SIGNED 7/4

Colin Stuart - RE-SIGNED - 7/7

Derek Whitmore - RE-SIGNED - 7/7

Dennis Persson - RE-SIGNED - 7/15

Travis Turnbull - RE-SIGNED - 7/15

Matt Ellis - SIGNED - 7/19

Andrej Sekera - SIGNED - 7/19

Jhonas Enroth - RE-SIGNED - 7/21

ADDED:

Ales Kotalik - TRADE from Calgary - 6/25

Robyn Regehr - TRADE from Calgary - 6/25

Christian Ehrhoff - SIGNED from Vancouver- 6/30

Ville Leino - SIGNED from Philadelphia- 7/1

Drew MacIntyre - SIGNED from Vancouver- 7/7

LOST:

Chris Butler - TRADED to Calgary - 6/25

Paul Byron - TRADED to Calgary - 6/25

Steve Montador - SIGNED with Chicago - 6/30

Tim Connolly - SIGNED with Toronto - 7/2

Patrick Lalime - RETIRED - 7/20

We are still waiting to see what happens with Marc-Andre Gragnani who is the only restricted free agent that remains unsigned.  While that is in the works, Darcy Regier also said he will focus on trimming the team's payroll via the trade market.  The Sabres were already $2.5 million over the NHL's salary cap before the most recent signing of Enroth.  Wait... how is that possible?  It's possible because during the off-season, teams are allowed to be as much as $6.43 million over the salary cap, but they must trim below the cap before the season starts.  That leaves me wondering who Regier is going to ship out in order to trim the payroll.  Mike Grier and Rob Niedermayer are currently unrestricted free-agents and have yet to sign leaving us to believe they won't be wearing a Sabre uniform come October.

After a quick listed overview of moves this off-season, how would you grade the Sabres' performance so far?  Take a look to your right and vote in the current poll.