Terry Pegula said yesterday that Darcy Regier is staying on as Sabres GM so the new owner isn't eyeing any sort of search for a new man for the job. One candidate that fans and media have thrown around a lot if the job opened was Atlanta GM Rick Dudley, the former Sabres forward. That talk is now over.
Dudley has agreed to a four-year contract extension with the Thrashers, NHL sources have confirmed. Terms are unknown but Dudley certainly would have been a hot commodity for the Sabres and other clubs had he become a free agent.
Concern the Thrashers might be moving from Atlanta to perhaps Winnipeg was no real concern to Dudley, who maintains a home in Lewiston and is on the road scouting much of the time. Dudley is not slated to be in Buffalo tonight.
---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)
