WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
Offseason Edition
Tim Murray spokely vaguely about re-signing Patrick Kaleta. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – The Sabres are still interested in re-signing agitating winger Patrick Kaleta, although it appears they would likely want the veteran for insurance purposes or a mentorship role with the Rochester Americans.
Sabres general manager Tim Murray never mentioned the AHL, but he strongly hinted an NHL spot isn’t available for the free agent right now.
“I have an interest in him, for sure,” Murray said this afternoon inside the First Niagara Center. ... Read the full article
Free agent Patrick Kaleta, who wore a black NHLPA jersey earlier this week, sported a gold Sabres jersey he turned inside out Thursday. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Among all the blue and gold on the ice during an informal late-summer workout of local players earlier this week, one color stood out, the black Patrick Kaleta was wearing.
Instead of proudly sporting a Sabres jersey, the passionate Kaleta, a free agent, skated in an NHLPA sweater the union gave its players during the lockout three years ago.
Two weeks before NHL training camps open, Kaleta, 29, doesn’t have a job for ... Read the full article
Andrej Sekera might get snatched up early in free agency. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – For a rebuilding team fresh off two consecutive 30th-place finishes, the Sabres’ shopping list entering free agency, which opens today at noon, is relatively small. A weekend of wheeling and dealing at the NHL Draft pretty much set the roster for the upcoming season.
The Sabres have two goalies, four forward lines and almost a full defense corps. Not bad for a team that finished 2014-15 using a patchwork lineup filled ... Read the full article
Sabres general manager Tim Murray is offering Mikhail Grigorenko a two-way contract. ©2015, Margaret Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – General manager Tim Murray knows 21-year-old center Mikhail Grigorenko is frustrated the Sabres are offering a two-way contract. The restricted free agent dislikes the deal so much he’s reportedly fielding offers from the KHL, a league in his native Russia.
“I hear rumors,” Murray said Thursday during a news conference inside the First Niagara Center to discuss next week’s NHL Draft.
Clearly, the Sabres and Grigorenko’s camp have vastly different opinions of the ... Read the full article
Nikita Zadorov’s rookie season was rough at times. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Tim Murray called his end-of-season meeting with 19-year-old Sabres rookie Nikita Zadorov, whose maturity was an issue all year, an “interview.” In reality, the general manager’s chat with the defenseman was probably more of a lecture.
“A big part of … our talk today was me putting the onus on him to grow, to get better to get fitter and become a man,” Murray said Sunday inside the First Niagara Center. “We’ll see ... Read the full article
Josh Gorges’ first season with the Sabres ended Feb. 10. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – A player’s mind stays focused on the current season, Sabres defenseman Josh Gorges said. Athletes live in the present. They don’t think a year ahead like their team’s brass.
“You come in with a mindset of we’re going to win, we’re going to try to win,” the veteran said Sunday morning as the Sabres cleaned out their lockers following a 30th-place finish. “As players, our job is not to play for ... Read the full article
Patrick Kaleta had another injury-filled season. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Following the end of another injury-filled season in which he played only 42 games, Sabres winger Patrick Kaleta received some good news.
“I passed my physical for the first time in five years, so that was a positive this morning,” Kaleta said Sunday as the Sabres cleaned out their lockers inside the First Niagara Center.
That’s how banged up the passionate Kaleta has been over the years.
This season, a year after tearing ... Read the full article
Brian Gionta was named captain in October. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Sabres captain Brian Gionta has finally started scoring again. With two more assists Wednesday, the winger has four goals and 11 points in the last nine contests, his hottest stretch in more than a year.
Gionta, after months of offensive struggles, looks like the slick veteran who has averaged 26 goals in his full NHL seasons. The production has helped buoy the Sabres’ late-season goal surge and a two-game winning streak entering tonight’s ... Read the full article
Patrick Kaleta had tears in his eyes when he was presented a jersey with an ‘A’ sewn on. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – It was Wednesday morning, and before the Sabres hit the ice, Ted Nolan had some business to take care of in a team meeting. The coach handed Mike Weber a jersey, which the defenseman then tossed to winger Patrick Kaleta.
The jersey was Kaleta’s No. 36 with an ‘A’ stitched on it, meaning Weber wanted the heart-and-soul player to take over his alternate captaincy.
Emotion overwhelmed Kaleta. The 28-year-old Angola native had ... Read the full article
Patrick Kaleta wore the ‘A’ for the first time Wednesday. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – It was Wednesday morning, and before the Sabres hit the ice, Ted Nolan had some business to take care of in a team meeting. The coach handed Mike Weber a jersey, which the defenseman then tossed to winger Patrick Kaleta.
The jersey was Kaleta’s No. 36 with an ‘A’ stitched on it, meaning Weber wanted the heart-and-soul player to take over his alternate captaincy.
Emotion overwhelmed Kaleta. The 28-year-old Angola native had ... Read the full article
