Buffalo Hockey Beat - WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage

Sabres re-sign Zemgus Girgensons to 1-year contract

BUFFALO – The Sabres have re-signed forward Zemgus Girgensons to a one-year contract, the team announced this afternoon.

With Girgensons’ $1.15 million salary, the Sabres have $8.537 million left in salary cap space, according to generalfanager.com. Their last restricted free agent is defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen. Training camp opens in about three weeks.

Girgensons, 22, is coming off a disappointing season in which he mustered only seven goals and 18 points in 71 games. ... Read the full article

Former Sabres agitator Patrick Kaleta working for new opportunity

BUFFALO – As a 30-year-old grinder still searching for a contract, Patrick Kaleta understands his 10-year career could already be over. The passionate former Sabres winger talks openly about the inevitable end and how he is prepared for his post-playing life.

“I’m lucky enough that I love hockey and I’ll die for the sport,” Kaleta said Wednesday after skating inside HarborCenter. “I’ll die playing the sport, especially for my team. That’s how much my team ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Jack Eichel refreshed for new season

BUFFALO – Jack Eichel had a front-row seat for the commotion surrounding Jimmy Vesey, the college free agent whose negotiating rights the Sabres owned for 57 days.

As the summer wore on, crowds swelled inside the Foxborough, Mass., rink where the two skated as teammates in a recreational league. Media members and TV crews started showing up to interview and film Vesey. Some high-ranking personnel from NHL teams also attended.

“It was starting to ... Read the full article

Sabres goalie Robin Lehner out of World Cup

Buffalo Sabres goalie Robin Lehner, who’s still recovering from season-ending ankle surgery in late March, has pulled out of next month’s World Cup of Hockey, Team Sweden announced today.

Former Sabres goalie Jhonas Enroth, who signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday, will replace Lehner.

The Sabres expect Lehner, 25, to be their starting goalie in 2016-17 following a season in which he suffered a high right ankle sprain opening night and battled ... Read the full article

Jimmy Vesey signs with Rangers

Jimmy Vesey, the Hobey Baker Award winner whose negotiating rights the Buffalo Sabres owned for 57 days, signed a two-year, $1.85 million entry-level contract Friday with the New York Rangers, ending an odd five months in which the college star spurned the Nashville Predators to become a free agent.

Vesey, 23, officially became unrestricted on Tuesday, and, as expected, a slew of teams tried recruiting the high-scoring former Harvard University winger.

In addition to ... Read the full article

Jimmy Vesey’s hype the product of modern times

BUFFALO – Ten years ago, Jimmy Vesey wouldn’t have become front-page news or a household name in these parts. The Hobey Baker Award winner’s summer hockey games in Foxborough, Mass., wouldn’t have been discussed, let alone attended by fans and media members.

In an era now long gone, Vesey, whose rights the Sabres acquired June 20, would have simply been another strong prospect. Upon turning pro, the former Harvard University star would have reported ... Read the full article

Sabres need more defense depth

How remarkably healthy did the Buffalo blue line stay in 2015-16? The Sabres recalled a defenseman as an injury replacement just once.

Think about that. Over the course of the grueling six-month, 82-game season, the Sabres only dipped into the AHL on March 18, when they summoned Chad Ruhwedel to sub for Carlo Colaiacovo prior to their 72^nd contest. Ruhwedel played that night and was quickly returned to the Rochester Americans.

The Sabres almost ... Read the full article

Photo: Youngstown’s Joe Cecconi with Team USA

Right now, Youngstown native Joe Cecconi is participating in USA Hockey’s national junior evaluation camp in Plymouth, Mich., about a 20-minute drive from his college, the University of Michigan.

Come December, Cecconi, 19, will leave the Wolverines and wear the Team USA crest again in Buffalo, where he will skate in the national junior select camp. Cecconi, who will start his sophomore season soon, earned an invite thanks to a strong showing at the ... Read the full article

Sabres to host prospects tournament again in September

Alexander Nylander’s first game action in a Buffalo uniform is just six weeks away, as the Sabres will host the “Prospects Challenge” tournament from Sept. 16-19 at HarborCenter, the team announced this morning.

Nylander, the talented Swedish winger drafted eighth overall June 24, will almost certainly participate in the three-team, round-robin tournament, which also includes the Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils.

The Sabres started the tournament last season.

The game schedule:

Sept. 17, Buffalo ... Read the full article

Photo: Sabres prospect Rasmus Asplund captaining Sweden

Where will Buffalo Sabres prospect Rasmus Asplund end up next season?

Asplund, the 33^rd overall pick June 25, has already played two seasons of professional hockey at home. The talented center could return to the Swedish Hockey League in 2016-17. Or he could skate in North America, either with the Sabres or their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans.

Wherever Asplund, 18, plays, there’s a good chance he’ll be leaving in December for the world ... Read the full article