Ehrhoff was presented with a white No. 10 jersey by president Ted Black, GM Darcy Regier and coach Lindy Ruff of the Buffalo Sabres.
"Christian fits the way we play," said coach Lindy Ruff. "We’re a team that has our defense involved and gets up ice. If you look at the way Vancouver’s defense played and were involved in the offensive side of the game, it’s an automatic fit."
The Sabres introduced defenseman Christian Ehrhoff to the media for the first time Wednesday morning in the HSBC Arena Harbour Club, and the team's new $40 million man said ownership’s commitment to winning a Stanley Cup was the No. 1 reason he signed with Buffalo after the team acquired his rights from the New York Islanders. Thus, he never entered the unrestricted free agent pool.
"I didn’t see that [Cup chance] with the Islanders, so I decided not to take their offer, which was a great offer they made [five years for $23 million]," he said. "The next morning I woke up and was with Buffalo and went through the process again of talking to ownership, management, and the coach."
Ehrhoff also spoke with fellow German Olympian Jochen Hecht, former San Jose teammate Mike Grier, and former Sabre and German teammate Daryl Shannon.
"Everybody just had good things to say about the city of Buffalo," he said. "About it being a great place to live with your kids and a good place for them to grow up, which was another criterion I was looking for. Terry has shown he’s very committed to putting a team together that can win the Stanley Cup. For me, it made sense and why I joined the team."
Ehrhoff may have had 40 million reasons to sign with the Sabres, but remember how close he came in June, as the Canucks got to Game Seven of the Stanley Cup final before losing to Boston. So he’s a player who clearly puts a priority on winning.