Kennedy Gets One Million

BUFFALO (WIVB) - Tim Kennedy is getting a raise, although not as big as he hoped.  An NHL arbitrator has awarded the Sabres forward a one year, $1 million dollar contract for 2010-11.  The ruling comes two days after Kennedy and the team presented their case in Toronto.

Last season, his first in the NHL, the South Buffalo native made $635,000.  Reports say Kennedy asked for a contract of $1.4 million, while the Sabres offered a slight raise of around $700,000.

The Sabres have to accept the offer.  NHL rules say a team can not reject any salary less than $1.6 million dollars.

General Manager Darcy Regier addressed the ruling Thursday afternoon.

"For us, it was a little higher than we expected, but we'll work with it.  Tim is a player we think will improve, and we expect him to improve."

Regier said the team would like to see Kennedy improve his point total to the 35-45 point range.

As for the rest of the team, Regier says he is talking with a few other teams about trades.  But he seemed to indicate that free agent shopping is over by saying the roster is "fairly set."

The GM also said that captain Craig Rivet is ahead of schedule from shoulder surgery, and could be ready for the start of training camp in September.  He believes the defenseman will be able to start the season.

In 78 games, Kennedy scored 10 goals and 26 points.  He added one goal and two assists in the playoffs.