"We've been told that Terry Pegula will spare no expense in building the Sabres into a champion. All right, a big free agent just hit the street. Rick Dudley has been fired as general manager by the new Winnipeg franchise. Pegula should waste no time and offer Dudley a job in Buffalo's hockey department.

Dudley is a proven personnel man. He helped build Stanley Cup winners in Tampa Bay and Chicago. He improved the Atlanta roster that has been transplanted to Manitoba. Dudley would give Pegula and team president Ted Black a fresh set of eyes in the front office, a desperately needed outsider's perspective.

The Sabres are expanding the scouting operation. They could make Dudley assistant to GM Darcy Regier and head of scouting. Regier might resist the arrangement. He'd probably see Dudley as a threat. Tough. A little creative tension might be just what Regier needs after years of running the show on his own.

I would bring in Dudley as Regier's boss. Pegula isn't likely to do that. But if he's serious about spending to win the Cup, the new owner needs a strong, versatile front office. This isn't about expanding the locker room. It's about finding the best players to work inside it.

Pegula has been reaching out to former Sabres. Dudley played in the glory days. He owns a home in Lewiston. Reaching out to Dudley would be good for business, good for PR and, most vital of all, good for the product on the ice."