Buffalo acquired defenseman Toni Lydman from the Calgary Flames yesterday for a third-round draft pick in 2006, giving the Sabres much-needed help on the back end. Lydman has one year left on a three-year contract, paying him $1.9 million next season. More from The Buffalo News:
"Lydman had four goals, 16 assists, 30 penalty minutes and a plus-6 rating in 2003-04, a season cut short by a concussion. He missed the last 10 regular-season games but recovered to play in the Stanley Cup finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He also skated for Finland last summer in the World Cup.
His best campaign was in 2001-02, when he notched career highs with six goals and 22 assists to lead all Flames blue-liners in scoring. He repeated as the top defensive scorer the next season with six goals and 20 assists.
Lydman can be a workhorse. He led the 2002-03 Flames in ice time, averaging 25 minutes, 46 seconds a game. His ice time dipped to 21:12 the following season.
"He can certainly log the ice time, but we're not looking for him to come in and play 25 minutes a game," [Darcy] Regier said. "We just want him to fit in and play with our other guys as a puck-moving defenseman."
Two of Lydman's recommendations came from [Teppo] Numminen and Sabres center Chris Drury, a former Flames teammate. Lydman and Sabres goalie Mika Noronen played two seasons together with Tappara Tampere of the Finnish League.
"I spoke to Chris, and I spoke to Teppo, and they were both excited," Regier said. "He's a good player, a good teammate. For us, the dressing room is important, and their comments were very positive." '
The signing puts Buffalo's payroll at about $26.5 million. The Sabres are now near their target cap range of $27-29 million, Regier said on WGR 55 yesterday. He said there are still discussions going on with other teams for more trades, but feels good about the team in general.
Regier said Lydman is a top-four defenseman, so is the roster set? The current four would be: Dmitri Kalinin, Toni Lydman, Teppo Numminen and Jay McKee. McKee told The Buffalo News yesterday he would sign his qualifying offer next Thursday if the Sabres would not negotiate a long-term deal. McKee has not heard from the Sabres since Aug. 15.
The Lydman deal was basically a cost-cutting move for Calgary, who had eight defensemen under contract for the upcoming season. The Flames are still stocked with quality defensemen including Roman Hamrlik, Jordan Leopold, Rhett Warrener and Robyn Regehr.
Sounds like a good pick-up for Buffalo.
The Lydman File
-Age: 27
-Height/Weight: 6'1, 202 pounds
-Was a +6 last season, played in 67 games scoring 20 points (4G, 16A). 14 of the 20 points were on the power play.
-Second-highest scoring defenseman on Calgary last season, behind Leopold.
-Played only six games in Calgary's Cup run last season, due to concussion problems.
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Sabres returning to Rochester: The Sabres also announced that on Oct. 26, Buffalo will play a regular-season home game against the Washington Capitals at Blue Cross Arena in Rochester. Buffalo also plays in Rochester on Sept. 30 vs. Minnesota to close out the preseason.
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