Cunneyworth - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres will likely draft center at No. 2, still want to add another high pick

BUFFALO – In eight days, Sabres general manager Tim Murray fully expects Florida – or whoever the Panthers trade the No. 1 overall pick to – will grab defenseman Aaron Ekblad.

So what will the rebuilding Sabres do with the next selection at the NHL Entry Draft?

“We’re taking the best player available,” Murray said this morning inside the First Niagara Center.

Murray acknowledged the obvious, that, yes, the Sabres will likely select one of ... Read the full article

Sabres fire assistant coaches from old regime

BUFFALO – The Sabres have fired or reassigned all of the assistant coaches Ted Nolan inherited from the previous regime.

Jim Corsi, the team’s popular goalie coach since 1998, is gone, the club announced today. So is Teppo Numminen, whose contract wasn’t renewed after three seasons. Joe Sacco and Jerry Forton have been offered new jobs within the organization’s hockey department after just one season with the team.

Nolan replaced Ron Rolston on an interim ... Read the full article

Sabres promote Randy Cunneyworth to new roles with Amerks

BUFFALO – The Sabres have promoted Randy Cunneyworth to be a special assistant and player development coach for the Rochester Americans.

Cunneyworth will work to develop players there and serve as a liaison between the AHL affiliate and the Sabres. He rejoined the Sabres as a pro scout in November and has also been working with some Amerks players.

The 52-year-old served as Montreal’s interim head coach for 50 games in 2011-12. He coached ... Read the full article

Patrick Kaleta trying to embrace demotion from Sabres to Amerks

BRIGHTON – Inevitably, early during Patrick Kaleta’s stint with the Rochester Americans, an opponent will try taking the hard-hitting, ultra-aggressive winger over the edge.

As a former NHL regular in the AHL, a league full of yahoos, Kaleta will have a target on his back as he works at redesigning his game and earning another roster spot with the Buffalo Sabres. General manager Darcy Regier gave Kaleta a strong message after waiving him Saturday: ... Read the full article

Sabres hope waiving Patrick Kaleta will help winger develop calmer style

BUFFALO – The Sabres’ surprising decision to waive Patrick Kaleta, general manager Darcy Regier said Saturday, could give the hard-hitting winger an opportunity to “redesign his game” in Rochester.

If Kaleta, who’s been suspended twice in his last 21 games, clears and begins his first AHL stint since 2007-08, he has “a significant amount of work that he will have to do,” Regier said.

But the Sabres couldn’t let Kaleta, fresh off a 10-game ban ... Read the full article

Sabres captain Steve Ott will keep playing fierce style

BUFFALO – Steve Ott, the high-octane, fun-loving and helmet-licking agitator, won’t alter his style now that he’s the Sabres’ captain.

“I want to play a fine line edge of the game,” Ott said Wednesday after the Sabres prepared for tonight’s road tilt against the New York Rangers. “But I also can’t be a deterrent to my teammates, no difference if I was a captain or was not a captain.”

In Monday’s 4-3 loss to Dallas... Read the full article

Habs coach Cunneyworth experiencing difficult acclimation to Montreal

BUFFALO – Jason Pominville grew up in Quebec and still makes his offseason home there. The bilingual Sabres captain knows the Montreal Canadiens market well. He understands “the circumstances of the public wanting a French-speaking coach.”

“But at the same time,” Pominville said Friday morning inside the First Niagara Center, “I don’t think you can pass up a guy that could be your best option even though he doesn’t speak the language.”

Randy Cunneyworth, the ... Read the full article