From John Vogl of the Buffalo News:
“He’s not going to score 10 goals next year,” Regier said. “Whether it’s here or
not, he’s here right now, he certainly is going to get back on track. He’s a
young player. There’s no reason not to. He’s an outstanding player.”
Read more from Vogl here.
Regier admits in those comments that Afinogenov could be playing elsewhere next season. Clearly, the GM is not going to bring down the value of his player on the trade market with comments about Afinogenov’s struggles. Instead, he is trying to boost Afinogenov’s perceived value to the team in order to try and get more in a trade.