[Buffalo, NY[ - The Buffalo Sabres have cooled down since their recent hot streak that brought them from 10th spot in the East into a tie for 6th. However, they still hold a spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race, and are looking to hold that down in the reaming half of the season. To help this over achieveing group of youngsters do that, the Sabres Management has gone out and picked up some veteran role players to fill some holes and provide depth incase of injuries. Currently Chris Drury is out with an elbow problem, and Dave Scatchard is out with a broken wrist. He may miss a month or more. They type of players the Sabres brought in were not big name, or top talent players who will carry this team. Management feels that the nucleus of this team is good enough to go far into the playoffs. Gm Fisher picked up veteran players who know their role, and always give 110% on every shift. Those are the types of players that help you win hockey games when its in the 3rd period and a tie game. they also are the type of players who hold each player acountable, and force the top players to give it their all as well.
The first trade saw the Sabres pick up C Jiim Dowd from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Dowd scored 3 goals and 5 assists for 8 points in 34 games with Toronto. He will replace Dave Scatchard on the third line and play solid defensive hockey. In exchange for Dowd, the Sabres sent Toronto a 6th rd pick in 2006 and a 9th rd pick in 2009. Dowd will be a UFA at seasons end, and the Sabres and him have already decided that they will wait untill the UFA free agent session to talk about a contract.
The next deal saw the Sabres trade struggling defensman Alexei Semenov to Calgary for ATL