BUFFALO – With the trade deadline hitting April 3 and the Sabres mired in 14th place, general manager Darcy Regier said he has no plans to blow the team up and start fresh.
“I’m not in a blowing-up mindset,” Regier said late Friday afternoon inside the First Niagara Center. “Blowing up to me means blowing up. I mean, nothing left.”
It appears goalie Ryan Miller and wingers Jason Pominville and Thomas Vanek, the team’s biggest stars, will stay it Buffalo.
“Organizationally, we have to find a way, in order to win a championship, to acquire more top players,” Regier said.
So will the Sabres focus on this season or building for the future?
“You do both,” Regier said. “(Owner) Terry (Pegula) has stated it, and that’s our focus. It’s not just about the playoffs. It’s about the ability to win a championship with the group of players you have. So that extends beyond this season.”
Regier said he has been receiving numerous calls leading up the Wednesday’s general manager meetings.
“There are a lot of calls to try to get a sense of what the market is and what the cost is going to be,” he said. “So the activity has picked up.”
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Center Tyler Ennis, whose face was crunched into the boards from behind Sunday by Wayne Simmonds in Philadelphia, is expected to return this afternoon when the Sabres host the Ottawa Senators.