Reinhart - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres leave NHL Draft feeling good about future

SUNRISE, Fla. – Tim Murray isn’t one for reflection. The gruff Buffalo Sabres general manager usually focuses on one task before quickly moving to the next one.

But at some point today, after an arduous NHL Draft weekend in which he added major assets, Murray will hop on a plane home to Buffalo and feel a sense of satisfaction.

Murray enjoyed arguably the best two days of any GM by drafting future cornerstone Jack Eichel... Read the full article

Dan Bylsma excited about Sabres’ bold moves

SUNRISE, Fla. – Coach Dan Bylsma and general manager Tim Murray disagree over how much the Buffalo Sabres improved in about a whirlwind nine-hour span Friday.

Murray, in keeping with his personality, would only say the Sabres got a little bit better.

“I said, ‘Tim, I think we got more than a little bit better,’” Bylsma said this morning at the NHL Draft inside the BB&T Center. “He said, ‘No, we just got a ... Read the full article

Sabres send strong message with big trades at NHL Draft

SUNRISE, Fla. – If the Buffalo Sabres win the Stanley Cup someday, remember Friday as the perhaps one of the most pivotal days in the franchise’s 45-year history.

In addition to drafting center Jack Eichel second overall, the rebuilding team swung two significant trades, including a blockbuster deal with the Colorado Avalanche that brought center Ryan O’Reilly to Buffalo.

After two wretched seasons in which they finished 30^th and became the NHL’s laughingstock, the ... Read the full article

History shows No. 2 pick will become special player for Sabres

SUNRISE, Fla. – Recent history says Jack Eichel, the mega-prospect the Buffalo Sabres will select second overall Friday at the NHL Draft, could become a franchise talent.

Just take a look at the list below.

It can be argued 15 of the last 16 No. 2 picks have been strong hits. The list includes 50-goal scorers, perennial NHL All-Stars and even future Hall of Famers. Only Sam Reinhart, a center the Sabres selected second a ... Read the full article

Sabres want Mikhail Grigorenko to spend more time in minors

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

Dan Bylsma had eye on Sabres job

BUFFALO – There was a time before the Sabres hired Dan Bylsma on Thursday that the coach and general manager Tim Murray both represented the Anaheim Mighty Ducks.

Back in the early 2000s, as Bylsma finished up his journeyman playing career, Murray was the team’s director of player personnel.

“I complained about him a lot,” Murray cracked Thursday during a news conference to introduce Bylsma as the Sabres’ 17^th coach in franchise history. “That’s ... Read the full article

Updated with quotes: Sabres name Dan Bylsma coach

BUFFALO – The Sabres finally have a new coach. The rebuilding team today named Dan Bylsma, a 2009 Stanley Cup winner, the 17^th coach in franchise history.

The 44-year-old Bylsma, who spent Wednesday visiting with the Sabres, will be formally introduced at a 4 p.m. news conference at the First Niagara Center.

Update: Bylsma has a five-year contract, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger.

Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula went big again, bringing in ... Read the full article

Sabres prospect Sam Reinhart hopes for NHL success with new style

ROCHESTER – It wasn’t easy for Sam Reinhart to change his style. After all, the slick Buffalo Sabres prospect spent three seasons dominating junior hockey as an elite scorer.

“It’s hard in junior to force yourself to play the way you’re going to need to in the AHL and NHL,” Reinhart said Friday following his AHL debut with the Rochester Americans.

But Reinhart’s nine-game NHL trial in October taught the 19-year-old center some valuable lessons ... Read the full article

Sabres lose lottery to Oilers, will draft Jack Eichel with No. 2 pick

TORONTO – All season long, as the Sabres stayed in the basement and Connor McDavid mania reached a fever pitch, this was the likely scenario: the rebuilding club would lose the NHL Draft Lottery and Jack Eichel, not hockey’s most coveted prospect, would come to Buffalo.

Sure enough, it played out Saturday in a room inside the CBC building.

Incredibly, the Edmonton Oilers, who had only an 11.5 percent chance at the No. 1 ... Read the full article

Sabres lose lottery to Oilers, get No. 2 pick

TORONTO – With only a 20 percent chance of winning, Tim Murray expected the Sabres would lose the NHL Draft Lottery tonight. The general manager was right. Sorry, Buffalo, Connor McDavid is going to the Edmonton Oilers.

The Oilers, with only an 11.5 percent chance, snagged hockey’s most coveted prospect.

The Sabres, of course, received a pretty nice consolation prize, slick Boston University center Jack Eichel. The 18-year-old Boston native would likely be the No. ... Read the full article