Michal Neuvirth will start in goal Friday. ©2014, Dan Hickling, Olean Times HeraldBUFFALO – It wasn’t a normal NHL trade deadline for the rebuilding Sabres. No one was off limits.
“If you look at the majority of the teams, they got one guy maybe they’re thinking about moving,” interim Sabres coach Ted Nolan told reporters today in Tampa Bay, a day after the deadline. “We had almost half our team in the trade mill. We didn’t really know until yesterday.
“There was a lot of anxious moments. One of the players was telling me …
Matt Moulson played less than one season with the Sabres. ©2014, Dan Hickling, Olean Times HeraldBUFFALO – Tim Murray said he began his first NHL trade deadline day as a general manager with no expectations, unsure which direction the rebuilding Sabres might go.
By the end Wednesday, Murray had made three notable deals, trading familiar names like Matt Moulson, Cody McCormick and Brayden McNabb while acquiring NHL talent and prospects. He also grabbed Canisius product Cory Conacher off waivers.
Murray, who sent franchise goalie Ryan Miller and captain Steve Ott to St. Louis on Friday, called it …
Tim Murray speaks to the media today. ©2014, Dan Hickling, Olean Times HeraldBUFFALO – Tim Murray’s first NHL trade deadline as general manager was a busy one. The Sabres made three deals, sending veterans Jaroslav Halak, Matt Moulson and Cody McCormick away. Murray also made one surprising deal, trading prospect Brayden McNabb to the Los Angeles Kings.
Here’s more from Murray:
On if today was a good day:
“I think it’s a good day. I think the combination of the picks that we’ve added and the young players we’ve added, I think it gives us …
Jaroslav Halak dressed for one Sabres game. ©2014, Dan Hickling, Olean Times HeraldBUFFALO – Jaro, we hardly knew ye.
As expected, the Sabres have flipped goalie Jaroslav Halak, trading him to the Washington Capitals today with a 2015 third-round draft pick for goalie Michal Neuvirth and defenseman Rostislav Klesla.
The Sabres acquired the 28-year-old Slovak in Friday’s Ryan Miller trade. Halak never played with the Sabres, only dressing for Monday’s 3-2 loss in Dallas.
Halak, an unrestricted free agent following the season, is 24-9-4 with a 2.23 goals-against average and .917 save percentage in 40 …
Jaroslav Halak's stay in Buffalo could be brief. ©2014, Dan Hickling, Olean Times HeraldBUFFALO – Expect the rebuilding Sabres to be busy prior to today’s 3 p.m. NHL trade deadline. No one’s off limits this year. Remember, new general manager Tim Murray has no attachment to any players on the roster.
This could be the team’s busiest and biggest deadline ever. Today might help reshape the franchise for the next five or 10 years.
Here are some Sabres who could be dealt and their contract status:
Winger Matt Moulson, unrestricted free agent
Moulson, a three-time 30-goal scorer, …
Drew Stafford has been performing well under Ted Nolan. ©2014, Dan Hickling, Olean Times HeraldBUFFALO – Drew Stafford remembers last year’s NHL trade deadline well. The Sabres winger stayed by his phone all day, stressed out. By 4 p.m., as rumors circulated he was on the move, it starting “blowing up.”
“I think that was one of my first experiences with the power of social media and how one little thing can turn into another thing as far as rumors and speculation go,” Stafford said Thursday inside the First Niagara Center. “So until it actually …
Ted Black (left) and Tim Murray discuss the Sabres' tumultuous weekend Sunday. ©2014, Dan Hickling, Olean Times HeraldBUFFALO – A Sabres icon bolted less than four months after returning to the team he loved. The franchise goalie and captain got traded.
The Sabres just endured perhaps the most trying weekend in their 43-year history. That was before the popular coach sounded like he might want to leave.
“It’s a lot for our fans to swallow in a short amount of time,” Sabres president Ted Black said Sunday, a day after Pat LaFontaine abruptly resigned as president of hockey operations.
Black …
Chris Stewart tries to score on Jaroslav Halak during their first Sabres practice Sunday. ©2014, Dan Hickling, Olean Times HeraldBUFFALO – They’re only human, you know. Leaving the St. Louis Blues, a legitimate Stanley Cup contender, for the rebuilding Sabres wasn’t easy at first for goalie Jaroslav Halak and winger Chris Stewart.
But the veterans, part of Friday’s blockbuster Ryan Miller-Steve Ott deal, have accepted they’re now playing for the NHL’s worst team, at least temporarily.
Rumors are swirling the Sabres will flip them before Wednesday’s trade deadline. Halak, an unrestricted free agent following the season, is believed to be wanted …
Ted Black (left) and Tim Murray address the media this afternoon. ©2014, Dan Hickling, Olean Times HeraldBUFFALO – Sabres president Ted Black understands Pat LaFontaine’s stunning resignation as president of hockey operations creates uncertainty for a team that had finally seemed to stabilize itself.
“It’s something that fans are going to be upset by,” Black said this afternoon inside the First Niagara Center, a day after LaFontaine abruptly bolted from the organization after less than four months.
Still, Black said, LaFontaine was only one person.
“I don’t know if it impacts the greater mission and will deter us,” he …
Ted Nolan has talked about a contract extension with the Sabres. ©2014, Dan Hickling, Olean Times HeraldBUFFALO – Pat LaFontaine’s resignation as the Sabres’ president of hockey operations has rocked interim coach Ted Nolan, his close friend.
“It’s tough,” an emotional Nolan said this morning inside the First Niagara Center. “I don’t even want to think about it right now, to tell you the truth. It’s that tough.”
Nolan hasn’t spoken to LaFontaine in the past couple of days and called his departure a “big surprise.”
“Everyone knows what kind of man Patty is,” he said. “They don’t come …
#Sabres' Zemgus Girgensons and Chris Stewart out against Panthers http://t.co/wGItLyAB0B #Buffao