Another One Off The Market

Tim Connolly has resigned with Buffalo, meaning the former pending UFA will not be traded.

Connolly and his agent can thank Danny Briere and Chris Drury, who in previous seasons left Buffalo as UFA's and the Sabres got nothing in return for them, for his new 2-year, $9 million contract.

This is an iffy deal. Connolly has been injury plagued his entire career. He has played 78 games over the last three seasons combined and has never scored more than 55 points.

That being said, the Sabres get to keep a very skilled player who can be a point-per-game guy if he is ever able to stay healthy. And they only have to pay him for two years if he really is a chandelier. Connolly was reportedly looking for more term on the deal, but took more money over less time instead.

Buffalo also needed to save face here after letting so many premiere players leave town because they weren't willing to pay them (Briere, Drury, Brian Campbell, J.P Dumont...etc).

Overall, a good deal.

This will raise the stocks of all the playmaking centers on the market (Dominic Moore, Olli Jokinen...etc).