As stated in the diaries Derek Roy was signed to a $24 million, six year contract today.  The deal was struck before Derek Roy and the Sabres were scheduled to go before an arbitrator to determine Roy's worth.  The deal will ensure that Roy and Vanek will be teammates for a long time, unless one gets traded of course.  Darcy Regier seemed to be excited that Roy was signed to a long term contract.

''Derek is a solid young player who will only continue to improve,'' general manager Darcy Regier said in a statement. ''He will play an increased role for our club, and we look forward to having such a quality player in our organization for many years to come.''

This is important to the Sabres overall success because Roy and Vanek seem to feed of each other and they will be counted on to be the top line for the Sabres this season.  The biggest question is who will play with them... will it be Max Afinogenov who was their line-mate before being injured or will it be Drew Stafford who excelled in Afinogenov's absence?  I personally don't care who plays there because either way the line will do a good job.  The bigger question is who will play with Connolly?