Sabres Name Gionta Captain

On July 1 the Buffalo Sabres signed free agent forward and Rochester native Brian Gionta to a three-year, $12.75 million contract.  A mere 48 hours before the start of the 2014-15 regular season the Sabres have officially named him team captain, with alternate captain honors going to fellow newcomer Josh Gorges and the returning Matt Moulson.

Clearly, the Sabres are going the extra mile to change what’s been a losing culture in recent years.

Gionta becomes 19^th full-season captain the 27^th player in team history to draw honors.  Steve Ott and Thomas Vanek served as alternate captains to begin last season before Ott took over fulltime Vanek was traded to the New York Islanders in late October. That lasted until Ott was traded himself to St. Louis on February 28.

Brought in largely because of his ability to be a team leader, the 35-year old Gionta spent the past five years with Montreal after playing his first seven NHL seasons in New Jersey.  He has 249 goals and236 assists in 776 career games, including a career-high 48 goals back in 2005-06.

Gionta had 18 goals in 81 games with Montreal last year, but it’s his composure and guidance in the locker room to their young talent that attracted an organization desperately trying to rebuild and expunge the memories of one of their worst seasons in franchise history last year.

Gionta knows what it’s like to wear the “C” on his jersey—he spent the past four seasons serving as team captain in Montreal.

Moulson shocked many around the league by re-signing with Buffalo as a free agent this summer for five years and $25 million after the team traded him to Minnesota on March 5. Most thought he’d up with a team regarded as a Stanley Cup contender, but all along Moulson said he loved his time in and backed it up by re-signing.

Initially acquired by Buffalo from the Islanders along with a 2015 first-round pick for Thomas Vanek, Moulson was leading the Sabres in goals (17) and points (36) at the time of his trade to the Wild.

Moulson tallied 23 goals between the three teams last year and has 141 goals in 397 career games.

Gorges, 30, was acquired from Montreal during the offseason in exchange for a second-round draft pick in 2016.  He’s brought in to help fill the void of the departed Christian Ehrhoff, whose contract was bought out by Buffalo and singed with Pittsburgh over the summer.  Gorges is known more as a solid defender and leader than a point producer. He had just one goal and 13 assists with Montreal last year, and still has four years left on a deal that pays him just under $4 million annually.

Gorges instantly became popular in Buffalo after reports surfaced he turned down a trade (he had a no-trade clause in his contract) that would’ve sent him to Toronto, saying he’s always hated the Maple Leafs—not the city itself but the organization.

“When the trade was happening, I thought: how could I be that same player they would want me to be,” Gorges told the Toronto Sun in July.  “And I don’t think it would be fair to them because I don’t know if I could have given my heart the way that I did when I played against them.”

Buffalo opens the 2014-15 regular season at the First Niagara Center on Thursday against Columbus.