WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
2026-27 Season Edition
Jack Eichel has missed the last 18 games. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams said this afternoon that captain Jack Eichel will miss more time recovering from his upper-body injury.
Eichel, 24, has missed 18 games since suffering what appeared to be a neck injury when the New York Islanders’ Casey Cizikas hit him behind the net March 7.
Adams did not rule out Eichel returning for some late-season games.... Read the full article
Curtis Lazar signed a two-year contract in the offseason. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
Ex-Buffalo Sabres center Curtis Lazar signed a two-year contract prior to the season and quickly solidified a regular spot in the lineup, so he wasn’t expecting to be traded before this afternoon’s deadline.
“Yeah, it completely caught me off guard,” said Lazar, who was dealt to the Boston Bruins earlier today with winger Taylor Hall in exchange for forward Anders Bjork and a second-round pick in 2021.
At 11 p.m. Sunday, Lazar, 26, said he ... Read the full article
Taylor Hall has a no-movement clause in his contract. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
In October, before winger Taylor Hall signed a one-year, $8 million contract with the Buffalo Sabres, he said he was “really close” to joining the Boston Bruins as a free agent.
“I was ready to be a Bruin and just some other things kind of didn’t work out,” Hall said on a Zoom call Monday morning hours after being traded to the Bruins. “But it was not like any hard feelings or anything like ... Read the full article
Taylor Hall played 37 games with Buffalo. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
Winger Taylor Hall’s decision to sign a one-year, $8 million contract with the Buffalo Sabres six months ago stunned the hockey world.
But Hall, 29, had strong reasons for choosing a team that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2011.
After two down seasons, Hall wanted another chance to play for Ralph Krueger, a coach he had thrived under with the Edmonton Oilers.
The opportunity to skate beside Sabres captain Jack Eichel also enticed Hall. ... Read the full article
Jeff Skinner enjoyed perhaps his best game this season Sunday afternoon. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
On Sunday afternoon, Don Granato said the Buffalo Sabres’ belief they could roar back and win was stronger and more collective than in previous games. The interim coach could feel it up and down the bench.
“More confident speak, less emotional speak,” Granato said after the Sabres rallied to stun the Philadelphia Flyers 5-3 at Wells Fargo Center.
The Sabres, who ended their 18-game winless skid March 31, possessed little or no confidence just a ... Read the full article
Arttu Ruotsalainen scored in only his second NHL game. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
Buffalo Sabres rookie Arttu Ruotsalainen said when linemate Dylan Cozens delivered a short, soft pass to him in the right circle Sunday afternoon, he simply closed his eyes and shot the puck.
A second later, Ruotsalainen’s lethal one-timer blew by Philadelphia Flyers goalie Carter Hart 4:42 into the second period. The Finnish winger’s first NHL goal tied the game at 2.
“It’s awesome. It’s a dream,” a smiling Ruotsalainen said following his second NHL game, ... Read the full article
Brandon Montour played 112 games with the Sabres. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Defenseman Brandon Montour, like so many of the Sabres’ other notable acquisitions in recent years, left town having never sniffed the playoffs.
The Sabres on Saturday traded Montour, who turns 27 today, to the Florida Panthers in exchange for a third-round pick in 2021.
Barely two years ago, ex-Sabres general manager Jason Botterill paid a steep price for Montour, sending defense prospect Brendan Guhle and a first-round pick to the Anaheim ... Read the full article
Dylan Cozens has missed the last six games. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Over his first three months in the NHL, Sabres center Dylan Cozens has battled two injuries and COVID-19. The rookie hasn’t played more than six consecutive games all season.
So after Cozens, 20, suffered an upper-body injury in the first period March 29 – he appeared to hurt his left arm – he was upset. He had only played five times since returning from another upper-body injury.... Read the full article
Brandon Montour joined Buffalo before the 2018-19 trade deadline. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – The Sabres this afternoon made their first trade before Monday’s deadline, dealing defenseman Brandon Montour to the Florida Panthers in exchange for a third-round pick in 2021.
At the end of this afternoon’s practice inside KeyBank Center, Montour, who did not skate, said goodbye to his teammates from the bench.
Montour, who turns 27 on Sunday, has registered five goals, 14 points and a minus-13 rating in 38 games this season. He signed ... Read the full article
Steven Fogarty is Rochester’s captain. ©2021, Micheline Velvuvolu, Rochester Americans
The Buffalo Sabres this morning recalled forward Jean-Sebastien Dea from the AHL to the taxi squad and sent winger Steven Fogarty from the taxi squad back to the Rochester Americans.
Dea, 27, went pointless in one game for the Sabres earlier this season. He has scored four goals and 13 points in 11 outings with the Amerks this year.
Meanwhile, Fogarty, 27, has played seven games for the Sabres this season, recording one goal and ... Read the full article