The Buffalo Sabres have deployed forward Jacob Lagacé to their AHL affiliate in Portland via an amateur tryout. Recently completing his third season in the QMJHL, the 20-year old is slated to jump right into a Pirates sweater for the final weekend of the regular season beginning this Friday at Manchester.
Lagacé, the Sabres fifth round pick in the 2008 draft, arrives in the "A" after a 35-goal, 73-point performance split between Chicoutimi and Cape Breton. Leading the "Q" through December with 30 goals in 35 games, Lagacé joined fellow Sabres prospects Luke Adam and Maxime Legault in Cape Breton at the January trade deadline where he scored five goals in 25 games before going 0-3-3 and -6 in the Eagles' first round loss to Moncton. The 5'11, 196-pound right wing has produced 90 goals and 114 assists in 191 games of major-junior play.
Consider this exactly what the deal states - an amateur tryout. With Adam's agent still in negotiations with the Sabres while Nathan Gerbe and Tyler Ennis are getting NHL minutes in Buffalo, the Pirates have an obvious forward need that can be filled by a prospect looking to earn an entry-level deal.
