Mark out, Tyler and Nate in?

by Anne

John Vogl posted some highlights of a telephone conversation he had with Darcy Regier today.

He discussed Stafford and Mair blah blah, nothing new. Of note are two things: Mark Mancari wants out and Tyler Ennis wants in.

• Its no surprise that Mark Mancari wants to test out the waters of another NHL club. He hasn't been able to crack the Sabres line-up in his many years here and he isn't currently under contract. There are more experienced players who can fill his type of role for the Sabres so Mancari is lower down on the totem pole here than he might be with another club. I don't particularly care if Mancari leaves. He's a great AHL player but he does deserve a shot at the NHL and he most likely will not get that shot in Buffalo.

• Tyler Ennis has plans to turn pro. Darcy said that Little Tyler plans to sign a contract and start playing in Portland after training camp. At first I was confused, isn't he only 19? Why yes, he is. But you have to be 20 to play in the AHL? What ever is happening here? Never fear, the solution is quite simple, really. Ennis will turn 20 three days after the start of the NHL regular season. This means he'll be hanging out up in Buffalo for a few days before he can officially be sent down to the minors. What does this mean for our opening night forwards line-up? Will Ennis play? Does this mean we'll be hanging onto 14 forwards for a few days? None of these are terribly pressing issues of course, but I'm interested to see how this works.

• From a hockeybuzz.com blog we find that Nathan Gerbe has absolutely no intention of playing for the Portland Pirates this season. He's declared that he won't be playing there. There's no way. None. End of story. He's going to make the NHL from the start of the season. I'm terrified of what will happen to the man's psyche if by some miracle he doesn't make the team. I'm pretty confident that he will and I'm glad to see such bold determination from him. There's a lot of competition for those 12 spots and that makes players play better. There is always someone ready to come in and take your job. Good on ya, GerbeDerby.
  

• Puck Daddy is previewing the season for all 30 NHL teams and he e-mailed a few of we foxy Sabres bloggers (including yours truly) for a few thoughts on what we expect out of the coming season for the Sabres. So you should check that out. I think the Sabres one will be up Friday. He seems to be doing one a day and Wednesday was Atlanta so I assume Boston is Thursday and Buffalo is Friday. I'm sure you probably read Puck Daddy already, but if you don't, you'll find a link near the top of the Blog Roll. Over Here ------------>

I feel no post is complete without a picture. Well, ok, I post without pictures all the time, but today I feel inclined to search one out.

I love this picture
I know this was only a year ago, but doesn't Sir Christopher look a lot younger?
Its the hair
Awwww.