After acquiring a rugged presence in defenseman Robyn Regehr and re-acquiring former Sabre Ales Kotalik last week, one fact about Buffalo Sabres owner Terry Pegula has been confirmed: he wants to win.
Now that the Sabres have signed another well-known defenseman, another fact has become clear: Pegula wants to win now.
Buffalo announced today that they have reached an agreement to sign former Vancouver Canucks defenseman Christian Ehrhoff to a reported 10-year, $40 million contract. The Sabres had acquired his negotiating rights on Wednesday night in a trade with the New York Islanders.
According to Ehrhoff’s comments on sabres.com, he was intrigued by the thought of winning a Stanley Cup in Buffalo.
“I was originally going to wait and see what was available on the free agent market,” Ehrhoff said. “After the Sabres acquired my rights and I spoke with Terry Pegula and Darcy Regier, I did my due diligence on the team and I was very impressed. I called some former teammates and others in the NHL who also had great things to say and I was aware that Robyn Regehr had waived his no-trade clause in his contract this week to join the Sabres.”
“My goal is to win the Stanley Cup, and after the offer I received from Buffalo, I believe this is the best place to make it happen.”
Ehrhoff finished last season seventh among all NHL defensemen in scoring with 50 points, and has scored at least 40 points in each of the last three seasons. More than half of his point total came on the power play last season (28), which was fourth among all defensemen.
Ehrhoff contributed immensely to the Canucks’ run to the Stanley Cup Finals by finishing second among all blueliners in scoring in the playoffs with 12 points. He has also represented Germany at the Winter Olympics in 2002, 2006 and 2010.