Having locked up their goaltender, Ryan Miller, for the next 6 seasons, the embattled management of the Buffalo Sabres and aforementioned goalie sat down to try and put to rest the past 15 turbulent months. You can listen to the entire thing here at WGR550.com. From Larry Quinn's remarks about Miller leaving significant "money on the table," to GM "Darth" Regier's reiteration that he had a plan all along, this presser was designed to build upon the contract signing and give an entire city their Sally Field moment:

"He likes us! He really, really, likes us!"

And, given Miller's comments about both the teammates and coaches that he's grown up with and his relationship with the people of Buffalo that sentiment seemed, to me, absolutely genuine. By all accounts, this was a simple, straight-forward contract negotiation. Miller himself put to rest any of the rumors that he was interested in leaving Buffalo for Detroit, or anywhere else for that matter. Kevin at bfloblog continues his worthwhile crusade against The Buffalo News and their lack of quality coverage:

It's one thing for blog commenters to speculate on the Detroit thing, but one local writer was particularly high on the Miller-to-Detroit theory. Jerry Sullivan speculated on WGR that it would take "Vanek money" to "convince" Miller to stay. Aren't these guys the ones interacting with the players? Aren't they the ones who are in the know? How come we never heard even a whisper about Miller's deal possibly getting done?

Because the Sabres are terrible communicators and the local media is hostile.

Of course, It's been said before and it's worth repeating, on these matters the Sabres are their own worst enemy in terms of public relations. Regier is extremely frugal with his information, preferring to deal with realities and not speculation. Larry Quinn should keep his mouth shut, because of the number of times he's had to chew on his own foot fungus, but unfortunately does not.

And, Tom Golisano never says a word.

So, in a town as rabid about hockey as Buffalo that has such a collective case of low sports self-esteem, it's impossible to not have something as simple as a contract signing turn into something much bigger. For once, the management got this right. Miller knew it was important enough to be seen in public sans-skullcap and clean-shaven and do something he's obviously not comfortable with. And, for once, Larry Quinn knew it was important to speak briefly and then give up the spotlight. This was a moment to try and put behind them the past 12 months of bile and recriminations; the rejection of Drury and the mishandling of Briere, the trading of Campbell and missing the playoffs. For a couple of minutes a top-tier hockey player sat down to say why he chose Buffalo over every other franchise in the NHL.

I don't know about you, but it was definitely good for me.

Those reasons were validation of Darth Regier's method, and he took great pleasure, I felt, in telling everyone that. Regier reiterated that all along his plan was to keep together that group of kids who nearly won a Memorial Cup; to build a team around that core and hope they rise to the occasion. It's why he matched the Vanek Offer Sheet. It's why he committed to Derek Roy but not Brian Campbell. He's locked up Gaustad and signed Paille. Now he's going to get to work on Pominville. He signed Hecht to an extension but let Kalinin walk.

Whether one agrees with Regier or not, that's his plan. These are the kids he's chosen and it's plain to see that he feels if he treats them right, when the time comes, they'll choose him and Buffalo, just like Ryan Miller.

Ta,