Jason Pominville scored 19 goals in just 18 games for Rochester in 2005-06. ©2023, Rochester Americans

Amerks Hall of Fame: Before starring role in Buffalo, Sabres could’ve lost Jason Pominville on waivers

ROCHESTER – No one, it seems, except for perhaps Jason Pominville himself, could believe the Buffalo Sabres did it.

Sure, the team was stacked up front in 2005 as the NHL emerged from the lockout. But why would they waive Pominville, one of their top prospects? He was out of options, and if they wanted to assign him to the Americans again, he would have to clear.

Every other team would have a chance to ... Read the full article

Ryan Miller is Buffalo’s all-time wins leader. ©2021, Dan Hickling

Former Sabres star Ryan Miller to retire; Buffalo still special place for goalie

Ryan Miller felt he owed something to Buffalo. Having arrived as a 22-year-old fresh out of Michigan State, the ex-Sabres goalie experienced a lot of firsts in the city.

“Buffalo is always going to have a big part of my heart,” an emotional Miller said on a Zoom call Thursday to announce his retirement at the conclusion of this season. “I feel like I really grew up there.”

So Miller, the Sabres’ all-time wins leader, ... Read the full article

Alexander Nylander is the Sabres’ top prospect in Rochester. ©2017, Hickling Images, Olean Times Herald

Sabres GM Jason Botterill plans to make Rochester a priority

BUFFALO – Very quietly, general manager Jason Botterill played a key role in the development of the talent that once made the Sabres a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.

Botterill played three seasons with the Rochester Americans, piling up goals while helping prospects like Paul Gaustad, Ryan Miller, Jason Pominville, Derek Roy and Thomas Vanek acclimate to the AHL and eventually graduate to the Sabres.... Read the full article

Nashville’s Paul Gaustad fights Zenon Konopka on Tuesday. ©2014, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald

Reeling Sabres fall to Predators, clearly miss departed veterans

BUFFALO – Three straight losses. Two total goals. One team searching for confidence.

The rebuilding Sabres have become a mess again without the veterans they traded before the NHL’s trade deadline.

“We have what we have,” interim Sabres coach Ted Nolan said. “We got to work through it. We got to get better.”

In Tuesday’s boring 4-1 loss inside the First Niagara Center, they generated little against the Nashville Predators, sprinkling only 24 shots on ... Read the full article

Ted Nolan said he likes tough but respectful hockey. ©2014, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald

Ted Nolan doesn’t believe he’s softened since first Sabres stint

BUFFALO – Eighteen years later, the 1995-96 Sabres, a rebuilding club that missed the playoffs, still rank among the most popular teams in franchise history.

That team, Ted Nolan’s first as coach, played hard and fought a lot. The Sabres accumulated 2,195 penalty minutes that season, earning Nolan a reputation as a coach who loved fisticuffs.

These days, however, Nolan’s Sabres hardly fight. They’ve scrapped only eight times since he took over Nov. 13. ... Read the full article

Eric Locke skates at development camp last week. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald

Coach believes Sabres prospect Eric Locke has Brett Hull-like shot

BUFFALO – Sabres prospect Eric Locke possesses a “rocket” shot so quick and lethal it reminds his coach of a former NHL teammate.

Which one? The greatest goal scorer Greg Gilbert ever played with.

“Brett Hull, to be honest with you,” Gilbert, Locke’s junior coach with the Saginaw Spirit, said by phone earlier this week. “I mean, Hully was special, there’s no question about it. But Eric’s got that potential. He’s got that quick release. ... Read the full article

Darcy Regier is putting the Stanley Cup, the ultimate goal, ahead of simply reaching the postseason. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald

Regier warns Sabres’ Stanley Cup goal ‘may require some suffering’

BUFFALO – The Sabres want their rabid fan base to understand something, general manager Darcy Regier said. The organization’s new philosophy – one that embraces building for a Stanley Cup, not simply making the playoffs – could require some suffering.

“We have gone with more determination in a very distinct direction, which is about the Stanley Cup,” Regier said Monday during a contentious and even bizarre 46-minute season-ending news conference inside the First Niagara Center. ... Read the full article

Darcy Regier said his goal is to win a Stanley Cup, not simply make the postseason. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald

Regier wants Sabres fans to know Stanley Cup goal could cause ‘suffering’

BUFFALO – The Sabres want their rabid fan base to understand something, general manager Darcy Regier said. The organization’s new philosophy – one that embraces building for a Stanley Cup, not simply making the playoffs – could require some suffering.

“We have gone with more determination in a very distinct direction, which is about the Stanley Cup,” Regier said this afternoon during a contentious and even bizarre 46-minute season-ending news conference inside the First Niagara ... Read the full article

The Sabres acquired Cody Hodgson at last season’s trade deadline. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald

Sabres’ recent trade-deadline activity has yielded mixed results

PITTSBURGH – With the NHL trade deadline hitting at 3 p.m. Wednesday, here’s the Buffalo Sabres’ Eastern Conference standing and their activity since 2006:

2006, third place, 83 points

General manager Darcy Regier made no additions, only trading No. 3 goalie Mika Noronen to Vancouver for a second-round pick (current backup goalie Jhonas Enroth). Some argued the inactivity bit the surprising Sabres, who lost four defensemen to injury during their run to the Eastern Conference ... Read the full article

Nathan Gerbe has had a tough time scoring the past two seasons. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald

Why can’t Sabres’ Gerbe score regularly?

In about 10 minutes during the first period Thursday, diminutive Buffalo Sabres winger Nathan Gerbe scored as many goals as he had in the previous 38 games, a stretch dating back to Feb. 11, 2012.

First, Gerbe opened the scoring 6:30 into the tilt, utilizing an “NHL 94 move” to perfection by stopping in the right circle and cutting sharply before roofing a shot by Florida Panthers goalie Scott Clemmensen.

Fresh off his first ... Read the full article