Regier even implied he knew it was a mistake letting both co-captains go before Quinn jumped in to fortify the Sabres’ official stance.
They fucked up. They admitted it. There is no back up plan. Drury and Briere are closer than most people think and Buffalo tried to screw one of them by pitting them against each other and ended up losing them both.
From the end of the season, Drury and Briere talked about their situations. Anyone who had a connection with either also knew becuase they talked about it with people stating they wanted to stay in Buffalo. They both were gonna play together or go their separate ways. I personally have no hate towards them for making the choice they made becuase they were not respected by Sabres management.