Beat coverage of the Buffalo Sabres from the Olean Times Herald
Summer Edition
BUFFALO – You won’t find any slick youngsters like Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, Auston Matthews or Patrik Laine – franchise-changing talents capable of starring in the NHL immediately – at the top of this year’s draft class.
“You don’t have that headliner, like (people) used that word ‘generational’ player,” Dan Marr, the NHL’s director of Central Scouting, told the Times Herald on Friday. “The fact you had back-to-back years with McDavid and Eichel ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – Given the speed at which the offseason moves, the Sabres must find a new general manager soon, perhaps in the next month, to replace Tim Murray, who was fired with coach Dan Bylsma on Thursday.
Of course, given owner Terry Pegula’s track record, would the Sabres even hire a GM first?
Remember, Pegula hired Pat LaFontaine as the team’s president of hockey operations in November 2013. LaFontaine lasted less than four months ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – Right away, everything has clicked for center Ryan O’Reilly. In just half a season here, the 24-year-old has quickly become the Sabres’ MVP and perhaps their most popular player.
O’Reilly plays more minutes than any other NHL forward. He leads the Sabres in scoring and has 17 points in the last 17 games. No one in the league has taken more faceoffs. Following losses, he regularly takes responsibility for his performance and ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – A scorching start buoyed by the NHL’s best offense. Young superstar talent. Terrific depth.
When did the Dallas Stars’ Lindy Ruff have all that before? Nine years ago, when Ruff coached a slick young Sabres team to the 2006-07 Eastern Conference final following a 113-point regular season.
Back then, Ruff had a stacked club led by co-captains Daniel Briere and Chris Drury and young talent like Brian Campbell, Ryan Miller, Jason Pominville and ... Read the full article
Daniel Briere, the popular high-scoring center and clutch co-captain of two powerhouse Buffalo Sabres teams, has retired from the NHL.
The 37-year-old announced the end of his 17-year career in a column in Le Droit, a French-Canadian newspaper. Read the article here and the translation here.
Briere knew the end was coming. During a Dec. 20 visit to Buffalo with the Colorado Avalanche, his third team in three seasons, he said he wanted to ... Read the full article
Former Buffalo Sabres co-captain Chris Drury has been elected to the United States Hockey Hall of Fame, USA Hockey announced today.
Drury, 38, played three seasons in Buffalo, scoring 85 goals and 189 points in 244 games. The Sabres reached the Eastern Conference final in 2006 and 2007 before the center signed with the New York Rangers. He retired in 2011.
The Connecticut native represented Team USA at eight major international events, and won silver ... Read the full article
SUNRISE, Fla. – Youngstown native Joe Cecconi said he started getting “a little bit scared” as the NHL Draft wore on Saturday. The defense prospect still hadn’t been picked almost halfway through the fifth round.
“I was like something might not happen, I might not get chosen,” a smiling Cecconi said after the Dallas Stars selected him 133rd overall inside the BB&T Center. “But seeing Dallas was up and they called my name, the ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – Right away, Lindy Ruff and Jason Spezza buried the hatchet. For years, as Ruff coached the Sabres and Spezza starred for the Ottawa Senators, the two were adversaries.
At the height of the fierce post-lockout Sabres-Senators rivalry, Ruff sent Adam Mair on the ice to jump Spezza, a move that helped ignite the infamous 2007 brawl between the teams after Chris Neil leveled Sabres co-captain Chris Drury.
Spezza, who was dealt to Ruff’s ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – Right away, Lindy Ruff and Jason Spezza buried the hatchet. For years, as Ruff coached the Sabres and Spezza starred for the Ottawa Senators, the two were adversaries.
At the height of the fierce post-lockout Sabres-Senators rivalry, Ruff sent Adam Mair on the ice to jump Spezza, a move that helped ignite the infamous brawl between the teams after Sabres co-captain Chris Drury was injured.
Spezza, who was dealt to Ruff’s Dallas Stars ... Read the full article
TORONTO – Coach Ted Nolan noticed a little smirk on Andrej Meszaros’ face following the defenseman’s recent Buffalo Sabres debut.
Meszaros had just skated a whopping 29 minutes, 39 seconds in Tuesday’s 2-0 win against Carolina. The minutes felt like a warm welcome.
“It felt pretty good,” Meszaros said last week.
Meszaros, 28, hadn’t played that much in a 60-minute game since May 6, 2011. Back then, the Slovak had just been named Philadelphia’s top ... Read the full article
