Sabres never made Orpik an offer

From John Vogl of the Buffalo News:

The desire in Western New York to have a tough, home-grown defenseman on the Buffalo blue line didn’t reach HSBC Arena. The Sabres were never in the running for Orpik, the defenseman from East Amherst said Wednesday after re-signing with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“They called my agent and asked what we were looking for,” Orpik said. “That was the only time we heard from them. They never came close to making a contract offer. They were way on the outside, to be honest.”

Read the entire article here.

No surprise really. Aside from the fact that Orpik is from Western NY (which made him more appealing), his salary demands didn’t fit in with what the Sabres are willing to spend on a defenseman playing that role for their hockey club.