Portland, ME – In what has been a poorly kept secret over the last several weeks, it appears the Buffalo Sabres days in Portland are about to come to an end.
Several sources have indicated to Maine Hockey Journal that an announcement could come as soon as tomorrow that the Buffalo Sabres have purchased the Rochester Americans for an undisclosed sum expected to be in the range of five million dollars.
According those sources a deal has been in place for roughly a week to 10 days now with only signatures from all parties involved needed to finalize the purchase agreement. Once that is complete, it will only need the stamp of approval from the AHL Board of Governors, which is scheduled to meet for their annual summer meetings from July, 4-7 in Hilton Head, South Carolina.
It’s expected that the Sabres led by owner Terry Pegula and Ted Black will be in Rochester for a scheduled press conference on Tuesday or Wednesday outlining the deal and laying out the future for the organization.
The Sabres were unavailable for comment.
The deal will reunite the two clubs after Buffalo broke off a 29-year relationship with the American to come to Portland in 2008.
Both sides agreed to an extension last spring extending the affiliation til the 2013-’14 season with a two-year option at Buffalo’s discretion.