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Darren Dreger was on Montreal’s TSN 690 on Tuesday morning.

On if the Sabres will be able to change Jimmy Vesey’s mind, of if he’ll hit free agency when he becomes eligible in mid-August:

“Well, according to the agent, that’s what he’s going to do. He’s going to wait until the middle of August, and they’ll make their final decisions at that point.

“I applaud the Buffalo Sabres. Tim Murray and the Pegulas, they’re just proving that they’re going to be as aggressive as it takes to expedite the process of their full-on rebuild. Obviously it started for them through the draft with the likes of Jack Eichel and others than the Sabres have drafted over the years. But they’ve got a good coaching staff headed by Danny Bylsma.

“There’s a lot of speculation that they’re going absolutely all-in on Steven Stamkos. I mean, some of the numbers being rumored – and I always hate throwing out or building off rumors, because as an Insider, our job is to separate fact from fiction. But Newport isn’t talking and neither is the Tampa Bay Lightning, so nothing has changed there. But some of the numbers being speculated on are upwards of $12 million per year coming out of Buffalo.

“I mean, if the Buffalo Sabres are going to spend that kind of dough in free agency on Steven Stamkos… if I’m Jimmy Vesey, and I’m looking at what we have in Jack Eichel, the aggressiveness if they’re able to land another piece like Stamkos, why wouldn’t I consider (Buffalo) as the real deal.”

Source: TSN 690/ Transcript: Nichols

Dreger on speculation Sabres ‘going absolutely all-in’ on Stamkos