BUFFALO, N.Y. -- A day before the NHL meets with Adelphia Communications to discuss the Sabres' future, a Buffalo-based group expressed in interest in buying the financially troubled team.

Erie County Executive Joel Giambra wouldn't divulge the group's members, but said Wednesday that it is mostly comprised of local business people intent on keeping the franchise in Buffalo.

''(They're) as close as they need to be in the event the team is offered for sale,'' said Giambra, working to keep the team in Buffalo. "It's a pretty strong group and they're almost there.

"I'm optimistic the team is going to be here for a long time. I really am.''

The Sabres' future has been in question for the past two months as a result of the sudden meltdown of team owner John Rigas' fortune, which had been tied to the debt-ridden Adelphia Communications.

Rigas, who stepped down last month as the cable television giant's chairman, has operated the Sabres separately, but used the company's resources to help buy the team in the mid-1990s.

One of the reasons the NHL plans to meet with Adelphia is to clarify the company's position on the Sabres.

Another concern is the Sabres' ongoing cash-flow crunch.

"We still have issues regarding our cash flow and we're trying to work through them,'' Sabres spokesman Michael Gilbert said. Gilbert added that payroll will be met Friday, and that the team continues to prepare for next week's NHL draft in Toronto.

NHL spokeswoman Bernadette Mansur said the league is "exploring any and all opportunities,'' in regards to the Sabres, and maintains an intent to keep the franchise in Buffalo.

Mansur added: "We have been moving as quickly as possible to resolve the situation in any way we can.''

The sooner the better, said Larry Rubin, Erie County commissioner of environment and planning. Rubin played a leading role in negotiating the 30-year lease the Sabres agreed to in moving into the HSBC Arena in 1996.

While the lease includes a clause preventing the franchise from relocating, those terms could be broken should Adelphia or Rigas claim bankruptcy.

"Yeah, there's some sense of urgency,'' Rubin said. "This is going out on a limb, but I think it would be best if this got settled before, if or when Adelphia goes into bankruptcy, because that just adds another level of complexity to the matter.''

Adelphia faces a Saturday deadline on a $44.7 million debt payment, for which the company already received a 30-day grace period. The nation's sixth largest cable company faces regulatory and criminal investigations, and has been delinquent in filing financial reports and accounting for billions in off-the-books debt.

Among those previously reported to be interested in buying the Sabres include Mark Hamister, chairman of the Buffalo-based National Health Care, who also owns the Arena Football League's Buffalo Destroyers. Two years ago, in an interview with The Associated Press, Hamister said that he had an informal group in place in the event the NFL's Buffalo Bills were ever put up for sale.

Wednesday, Hamister declined to comment on his interests in the Sabres.