The Buffalo Sabres aren’t planning to be active during the 48-hour compliance buyout window, according to GM Darcy Regier.
Regier held a press conference on Thursday to address that and a number of other issues, as both he and the Sabres face a very intriguing summer.
Buffalo currently has $14 million in available cap space with 18 players under contract for next season, and could have even more space if they deal leading scorer Thomas Vanek and/or goalie Ryan Miller, potential moves that have been rumored for a while.
On the buyout front, many have speculated forward Ville Leino could be a target.
Leino -- who signed a six-year, $27 million deal in 2011 -- has largely been a bust. The Finnish forward only scored 25 points in 71 games in his first year in Buffalo, then missed 40 games last season with leg and upper-body injuries.
(That said, Leino did look good in the eight games he did play, scoring six points.)
Despite facing plenty of criticism for signing Leino, Regier has no real need to buy him out. The Sabres are comfortably under the cap, and there is the possibility Leino will improve (or, not get any worse.)
Regier also seems to have the backing of owner Terry Pegula, who said he was on board with the big money deal.
“I think if you probably talk to other owners around the league, they might think that I may spend too much money,” Pegula told Buffalo radio station WGR-AM 550. “You may hear that or whatever, but that’s my style. … You might talk to some of the other owners around the league, and they’ll tell you, ‘Who’s this new owner? What is he, crazy? Why did you give this guy money or that guy?’
“Hey, it’s my decision. It was something I wanted to do.”