New Buffalo Owner Says He Won’t Spend Freely

B. Thomas Golisano might be listed among the 400 wealthiest people in the world, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to spend a lot of money to make the Buffalo Sabres competitive.

Upon formally completing his purchase of the Sabres on Wednesday, the billionaire from Rochester, N.Y., said he intends to take a balanced approach to determining the team’s salary structure.

“Do we have a real open mind about this type of thing? Absolutely,” Golisano said. “Are we going to go out and select the top seven paid players in the league? Absolutely not. But somewhere in the middle is the balance, and that’s what we’re going to try to achieve.”

Golisano then proved how quick he was learning the economics of the league he was joining, noting there is little correlation in the NHL between success and the size of a team’s payroll.

As an example, he referred to the Minnesota Wild, which has one of the league’s smallest payrolls, eliminating the high-priced Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the playoffs.

The Sabres, whose estimated $25 million payroll was in the NHL’s lower third, finished with a 27-37-10-8 record.

*

Veteran winger Pat Verbeek officially announced his retirement after 20 seasons in the league. The 38-year-old Verbeek did not play this season after he left the Dallas Stars as an unrestricted free agent following the 2001-02 season.

Verbeek won a Stanley Cup with the Stars in 1999 and also played for the Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers, Hartford Whalers and New Jersey Devils. He ends his career with 522 goals and 541 assists and is the only NHL player to have more than 500 goals and more than 2,500 penalty minutes.

*

The Ottawa Senators sent center Jason Spezza to Binghamton of the American Hockey League.

Spezza, 19, who did not play in Ottawa’s first-round playoff series victory over the New York Islanders, requested the move, the team said.

He asked to be returned to Binghamton for the team’s playoff series against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, which opens Saturday.