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Peca on Thursday signed a one-year contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets, ending the hopes of Sabres fans who clamored for his return.
“I think there was maybe one day all summer when somebody didn’t say, ‘Sign back here! Sign back here!’ as though it was solely my choice,” the East Amherst resident said by phone while taking a break from house shopping in Columbus, Ohio.
Looking back on his unrestricted free agency, Peca conceded “I don’t think there was” a legitimate chance he would sign with the Sabres.
“I think they’ve got a group of young leaders on the team, and the only way for them to flourish was to keep it the way it was,” he said. “I never saw it as something that probably was going to happen.”
Many observers claimed the two-time Selke Trophy winner could provide what the Sabres needed in the wake of co-captain centers Daniel Briere and Chris Drury bolting for new teams.
The belief was Peca would help fill a leadership void and replace Drury as Buffalo’s faceoff specialist and top penalty killer. The move also would have been a public-relations salve for what has been a blistering offseason.
Peca, who told The Buffalo News last month he wanted to rejoin the Sabres, said members of the organization had reached out to him “through back channels” and expressed interest, but the final call was made by Regier.
“I don’t think I got my hopes up,” Peca said. “You start wondering if there’s a chance based on what people are telling you. You get caught up in this whole hearsay whirlwind, but ultimately the general manager makes the decision.”
The Sabres simply had no room on their roster for Peca. Furthermore, their salary-cap figure already has risen $2.1 million over last season’s number.
“I think there was maybe one day all summer when somebody didn’t say, ‘Sign back here! Sign back here!’ as though it was solely my choice,” the East Amherst resident said by phone while taking a break from house shopping in Columbus, Ohio.
Looking back on his unrestricted free agency, Peca conceded “I don’t think there was” a legitimate chance he would sign with the Sabres.
“I think they’ve got a group of young leaders on the team, and the only way for them to flourish was to keep it the way it was,” he said. “I never saw it as something that probably was going to happen.”
Many observers claimed the two-time Selke Trophy winner could provide what the Sabres needed in the wake of co-captain centers Daniel Briere and Chris Drury bolting for new teams.
The belief was Peca would help fill a leadership void and replace Drury as Buffalo’s faceoff specialist and top penalty killer. The move also would have been a public-relations salve for what has been a blistering offseason.
Peca, who told The Buffalo News last month he wanted to rejoin the Sabres, said members of the organization had reached out to him “through back channels” and expressed interest, but the final call was made by Regier.
“I don’t think I got my hopes up,” Peca said. “You start wondering if there’s a chance based on what people are telling you. You get caught up in this whole hearsay whirlwind, but ultimately the general manager makes the decision.”
The Sabres simply had no room on their roster for Peca. Furthermore, their salary-cap figure already has risen $2.1 million over last season’s number.
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