Brandon Montour’s plus-13 rating led Buffalo last season. ©2020, Micheline Veluvolu

Sabres re-sign Brandon Montour to one-year contract

The Buffalo Sabres have re-signed defenseman Brandon Montour to a one-year, $3.85 million contract, the team announced tonight.

Montour was the Sabres’ only restricted free agent to pass on filing for salary arbitration earlier today.

The right-handed Montour struggled early last season playing on the left side for new coach Ralph Krueger. A hand injury Montour suffered in the preseason also sidelined him 14 games.... Read the full article

Dominik Kahun looked comfortable in Buffalo last season. ©2020, Micheline Veluvolu

Sabres could re-sign Dominik Kahun after passing on qualifying offer

For weeks, there was speculation the Buffalo Sabres would pass on tendering defenseman Brandon Montour a qualifying offer as a restricted free agent.

Considering former general manager Jason Botterill traded a top prospect and a first round pick for Montour in 2019, the thought of letting him go seemed outrageous. But the belief was the Sabres, who have tightened their belts during the COVID-19 pandemic, did not want to pay Montour big money.

Well, Wednesday’s ... Read the full article

Kevyn Adams couldn’t stop smiling Monday. ©2020, Hickling Images

NHL Draft, free agency will be critical tests for Sabres GM Kevyn Adams

The smile on Kevyn Adams’ face said everything. What promises to be the oddest offseason in NHL history is about to kick into high gear, and the Buffalo Sabres’ rookie general manager couldn’t hide his excitement.

During a 30-minute Zoom call Monday, Adams, 45, rarely stopped grinning. After preparing nearly four months throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to reshape the Sabres, Adams and his staff will be busy this week.

Following the NHL Draft – the ... Read the full article

Jack Eichel is the Sabres’ captain and biggest star. ©2020, Micheline Veluvolu

Sabres GM Kevyn Adams has no plans to trade Jack Eichel

The Buffalo Sabres have no intention of trading captain Jack Eichel, general manager Kevyn Adams said Monday.

Eichel’s comment following last season he was “fed up” with losing ignited speculation he could want out. Last week, after Eichel’s name surfaced in rumors, TSN’s Bob Mackenzie reported Eichel hadn’t requested a trade and the Sabres had no intention of dealing their top center.

“People call every day,” Adams said on a Zoom call in advance ... Read the full article

Johan Larsson has played seven seasons with the Sabres. ©2020, Micheline Veluvolu

Johan Larsson’s long career with Sabres could be over

Johan Larsson looked looser early last season. The Sabres center, affectionately nicknamed “Angry Larry,” even occasionally smiled, a rarity throughout his turbulent seven-year career in Buffalo.

Naturally, as the season progressed, the Sabres’ annual implosion sapped some of his happiness.

Still, Larsson, 28, enjoyed perhaps his best NHL campaign. The tenacious Swede entrenched himself between Zemgus Girgensons and Kyle Okposo early in 2019-20, helping the trio morph into one of the league’s best checking ... Read the full article

Kevyn Adams acquired an old friend in Eric Staal. ©2020, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans

Sabres notes: Eric Staal’s acquisition helps Kevyn Adams establish credibility

Barely an hour after Kevyn Adams acquired center Eric Staal last week, he hadn’t given much thought to having completed his first trade as Buffalo Sabres general manager.

“I’ve been so focused on this process and the work that goes into it,” Adams said Sept. 16 after dishing forward Marcus Johansson to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for Staal.

Adams, 45, experienced a whirlwind summer as he began tackling the daunting task of trying to ... Read the full article

Mike Weber joined Windsor as an assistant coach shortly after retiring. ©2020, Dan Hickling, Hickling Images

Ex-Sabres Adam Mair, Mike Weber ready for new challenge with Amerks

When the Buffalo Sabres named ex-Americans coach Chris Taylor an interim NHL assistant a year ago, Adam Mair moved from his role as a development coach to Rochester’s bench.

Mair, 41, said he had always aspired to become a bench coach, and the seven weeks he spent assisting interim coach Gord Dineen “confirmed the passion that I sought out to achieve right when I stopped playing.”

“Being on the bench was the best way for ... Read the full article

Matt Ellis instructs Sabres propsects at development camp. ©2020, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans

Playing career prepared Matt Ellis for new development role with Sabres

During his playing days, former Buffalo Sabres forward Matt Ellis embraced what he calls the “art of preparation.”

Ellis, the Sabres’ new director of player development, kept a training notebook he still consults. He constantly searched for ways to evolve and maximize his potential.

“I was always a chronic explorer,” Ellis said by phone Wednesday.

In the 2009 offseason, for example, Ellis, then 27, overhauled his shot, changing it so he could create more ... Read the full article

Matt Ellis captained Rochester during his playing days. ©2020, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans

Sabres name Matt Ellis director of player development

General manager Kevyn Adams has turned to an old friend, Matt Ellis, to be the Buffalo Sabres’ new director of player development.

The Sabres today named Ellis, 39, to his first NHL front office post.

Ellis played 356 NHL games over nine seasons, including 286 contests with the Sabres, after going undrafted. Following his retirement in 2016, Adams hired Ellis as a development coach at the Academy of Hockey at Harborcenter.... Read the full article

Seth Appert joined Rochester from Team USA’s National Team Development Program. ©2020, Rena Laverty, USA Hockey NTDP

Coach Seth Appert confident Amerks can develop talent for Sabres and win

After 11 years at RPI, Seth Appert said he started to slip. The coach of a small college is responsible for the entire program, meaning he is essentially a CEO.

“There’s so much you do that isn’t coaching that can grind you down that you don’t even realize,” Appert said on a Zoom call Tuesday, shortly after the Rochester Americans announced him as their new head coach.

Appert recruited more kids than the premier NCAA ... Read the full article