"Robyn Regehr's life is pretty busy. He's a month away from welcoming his second child into the world. He's preparing for the funeral of the man who signed his paychecks for 11 years. So with all that going on, he never figured he'd be sitting at the airport Saturday afternoon waiting for three unexpected guests.

Yet there he was, hanging out in the terminal in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. Know what? He was actually pleased to do it.

The defenseman decided late Friday night to waive his no-movement clause with the Calgary Flames, paving the way for Saturday morning's trade to the Buffalo Sabres. Hours later, he went to the airport to pick up team owners Terry and Kim Pegula, and coach Lindy Ruff, for a team welcome session.

It was a meeting that almost didn't happen. Regehr originally declined to waive his contract option in order to examine other trade scenarios. After talking with numerous people connected to the Sabres' organization, he changed his mind.

"There were a lot of things, a lot of questions that I asked," Regehr told The News by phone. "I had some really great conversations, and I'm very happy with the decision we made."

Not as happy as the Sabres, of course. They pushed hard to convince the 31-year-old to come to Buffalo. The 6-foot-3, 226-pounder fills several needs. He's a physical presence on the blue line and a veteran leader, one who will help tutor a defense corps that has four players aged 25 or younger."