Winter Edition
BUFFALO – Williamsville native Justin Bailey’s career in the Sabres organization is over.
The Sabres traded Bailey, a winger with 52 games of NHL experience, to the Philadelphia Flyers for forward Taylor Leier late Thursday.
The 5-foot-11, 180-pound Leier, 23, has compiled two goals and seven assists in 55 games with the Flyers over the last three seasons.
Leier, however, has mostly played in the AHL over the past five years, scoring 56 goals ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – Over the last week or two, Sabres winger Kyle Okposo has finally started showcasing signs of his old self, playing a heavier, straight-line game.
“He’s going to the net a lot better,” Sabres coach Phil Housley said prior to Saturday’s 5-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning inside KeyBank Center. “I think he’s attacking off the wing and he’s shooting a lot more.”
Not surprisingly, Okposo has started scoring a bit. After enduring ... Read the full article
Buffalo Sabres winger Jeff Skinner will be playing for the Atlantic Division in the upcoming NHL All-Star Game.
Skinner, the NHL’s second-leading goal scorer with 29, earned a spot today as part of the “Last Men In” online voting the NHL conducted for the last week.
More than 11.5 million votes were cast, including more than 2 million Thursday, the final day of voting, according to the league.... Read the full article
BUFFALO – The Sabres assigned winger Scott Wilson to the Rochester Americans after he cleared waivers today.
Wilson, 26, broke his ankle Sept. 30 and hasn’t played yet this season.
Coach Phil Housley said Tuesday he wants Wilson, who began practicing with the Sabres late last month, to play games.
After the Sabres finish a three-game road trip next week, they don’t play again for 11 days. So joining the Amerks gives Wilson an opportunity ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – Former Sabres winger Drew Stafford still remembers the first time he saw Mike Grier.
It was the mid-1990s, more than a decade before they became teammates with the Sabres for two seasons. Stafford would sometimes help his uncle, Barry, the Edmonton Oilers’ equipment manager, as a stick boy. Grier, meanwhile, was just beginning his 14-year NHL career as a winger.
“I was like, ‘This is the largest human being I’ve even seen ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – Tonight’s tilt will be lacking some star power and its two main attractions.
An upper-body injury will sideline Sabres captain Jack Eichel, who skated with his teammates again this morning, a third straight game.
“We’re just being cautious with that,” coach Phil Housley said after the Sabres prepared for the New Jersey Devils inside KeyBank Center.
Meanwhile, a lower-body ailment will shelve New Jersey winger Taylor Hall, the reigning Hart Trophy winner, ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – Sabres captain Jack Eichel’s upper-body injury doesn’t appear to be serious.
Eichel, 22, missed Thursday’s 4-3 win against the Florida Panthers inside KeyBank Center and will also sit out Saturday’s road tilt against the Boston Bruins, Sabres coach Phil Housley said.
The slick center, who earned a spot in the NHL All-Star Game on Wednesday, will be reevaluated early next week, Housley said.
“It’s very encouraging,” Housley said of the news. “Obviously, Jack’s ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – Late in the 2016-17 season, the Sabres rewarded C.J. Smith with two NHL games after the forward left UMass Lowell following his junior year.
Then Smith, 24, quietly began the next season in the AHL, where he morphed into a top scorer and an intriguing prospect with the Rochester Americans.
Still, the Sabres kept Smith in the AHL nearly a year and a half before finally summoning him prior to Monday’s 3-1 ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – Late in the 2016-17 season, the Sabres rewarded C.J. Smith with two NHL games after the forward left UMass Lowell following his junior year to sign an entry-level contract.
And then, Smith, 24, quietly went to the Rochester Americans, where he morphed into a top scorer and an intriguing prospect.
Still, the Sabres kept Smith in the AHL nearly a season and a half before finally summoning him this morning.... Read the full article
BUFFALO – Kyle Okposo’s offensive slump has become startling.
The Sabres winger has a career-long 21-game goal drought entering tonight’s home tilt against the New York Islanders, his old team. The former NHL All-Star hasn’t even mustered an assist in the last 14 contests, the longest pointless stretch of his 12-year career.
Following a strong start, Okposo stopped producing around mid-November.
Incredibly, Okposo, who usually skates on the second line and power-play unit, is ... Read the full article
