BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) The first of what could potentially be five ownership groups is preparing to file a bid to purchase the financially troubled Buffalo Sabres.

Sherry Bassin, owner of the Ontario Hockey League's Erie Otters, is less than a week away from formally submitting an offer on the NHL team, Bassin's partner Alan Maislin told a number of Buffalo media outlets on Friday.

Maislin said his group, which also includes a third partner, will present an all-cash bid. Maislin's family operates a major trucking firm near Montreal, and said that the National Hockey League introduced him to Bassin.

Maislin added that the group is committed to keeping the team in Buffalo.

"You're not even allowed to get in to look at the team if you weren't committed to keeping the team in Buffalo," Maislin told WNSA-Radio.

Bassin, attending OHL meetings north of Toronto, failed to return messages left for him by The Associated Press.

During a visit to Buffalo last month, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman revealed that there were five groups expressing interest in the team. One of those groups is headed by Buffalo businessman Mark Hamister, who owns the Arena Football League's Buffalo Destroyers, and another includes Utica businessman Frank DuRoss.

The two other groups have not come forward publicly.

The NHL took over control of the Sabres last June as a result of John Rigas' financial troubles. Rigas, accused of stealing hundreds of millions of dollars from Adelphia cable television company, remains the Sabres' owner in name only.

The NHL, which has set no deadline for selling the team, is expected to extensively review any of the bids for the Sabres before making a recommendation to its board of governors for approval. It's unclear how the team's sale would affect the Sabres $157 million debt to Adelphia.

The NHL and the Sabres declined to comment on Bassin's potential offer.

DuRoss, who previously said he wouldn't be against merging with any of the other ownership groups, wouldn't say whether he's had any conversations with Bassin. DuRoss owns the American Hockey League's Providence Bruins and met with Bettman to discuss the Sabres last month

Without providing a timetable, DuRoss said he is still researching his own bid.

"I'm still at the due diligence stage, but I'm certainly much further ahead today than I was three weeks ago," he said. "I've said from the beginning that I want to evaluate the Sabres, make a good business decision. And if it makes sense, submit a proposal."

DuRoss added that he believes it's feasible for an ownership group to potentially turn a profit with the Sabres, whose purchase would also likely include HSBC Arena.

"I think when you combine the building and the Sabres, hopefully with a new collective bargaining agreement down the road, I think it does make sense that you can certainly break even, ultimately," DuRoss said.

Earl Wells, a spokesman for Hamister, said Bassin's bid does not affect Hamister's pursuit of the Sabres.

"He still has the intention of submitting a bid at some point," Wells said.

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