June 27, 2007
Silence surrounding Briere, Drury TheFourthPeriod.com
There appears to be a lack of contract negotiations between the Sabres and co-captains Daniel Briere and Chris Drury, reports the Buffalo News.
Citing an NHL source, the paper claims Briere still has not received a contract offer, while Drury's agent had no comment on negotiations.
The Sabres' exclusive negotiating rights to both players are set to expire in the coming days, as the free agent market opens on Sunday. Teams can extend contract offers to players at one minute past noon (ET) July 1.
"I think that the less said the better right now, and we'll go from there," Sabres managing partner Larry Quinn told the News.
The San Jose Sharks and Colorado Avalanche are expected to heavily pursue Drury, if he's available, while the Philadelphia Flyers are one of the teams eyeing Briere.
I know there's still plenty of time to get a deal done (these things can take 15 minutes... or 15 weeks), but Sabres fans are starting to seriously worry about the fate of their co-captains. Presently, it looks like Drury will fly south this July, while Briere could stay. However, until talks get serious, we won't know for sure. If they hit the open market, teams will throw all kinds of money in their faces and, at that point, who knows where they'll end up.
