Roy, Paetsch safe; not Paille
The Buffalo Sabres probably don't have to fear another strike toward their restricted free agents, at least not this year.
The Sabres' top remaining restricted free agent is center Derek Roy, who had 21 goals and 42 assists last season. But he filed for salary arbitration Thursday, which takes him off the market. Lining up for arbitration is basically considered signing a contract with a team, since the two parties have agreed to let an arbiter decide what that contract will be worth.
Defenseman Nathan Paetsch is also on the arbitration list, leaving forward Daniel Paille as the only Sabres restricted free agent available to other teams. Paille, like Thomas Vanek, was ineligible to file because he has been a pro for only three seasons. But no team would offer a significant contract to Paille because he has yet to establish himself in the NHL.
Edmonton, which took the run at Vanek, discovered the restricted free agent market dwindled a bit when the arbitration list came out. Potent forwards such as L.A.'s Mike Cammalleri (34 goals, 46 assists), Montreal's Michael Ryder (30, 28), the Islanders' Trent Hunter (20, 15) and St. Louis' Lee Stempniak, the West Seneca native who had 27 goals and 25 assists, took themselves off the market by filing for arbitration.
---John Vogl
