Bill Hoppe - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Jon Cooper beats out Sabres’ Lindy Ruff and Dan Muse for Jack Adams Award

The Tampa Bay Lightning’s Jon Cooper on Wednesday won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s coach of the year, beating out the Buffalo Sabres’ Lindy Ruff and the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Dan Muse.

Cooper, the NHL’s longest-tenured coach, had never won the award. He has led the Lightning to two Stanley Cup championships and two other appearances in the final.

With some of his top players absent throughout this season, Cooper, 58, led the Lightning ... Read the full article

Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin finishes third in Norris Trophy voting

Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin placed third in the Norris Trophy voting, the NHL announced Tuesday, tying him for the highest finish in franchise history with Jim Schoenfeld in 1979-80.

Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski won the award for the first time, earning 1,589 points and 113 first-place votes. Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar finished second, registering 1,191 points and 47 first-place votes.

Dahlin received 657 points and 13 first-place votes.

... Read the full article

Sabres give up rights to three unsigned draft picks

Goalie Ryerson Leenders, a prospect the Buffalo Sabres selected in the seventh round in 2024, can re-enter the NHL Draft later this month, according to Puckpedia.com.

As an unsigned 2024 draftee who played in the Canadian Hockey League through age 20 and has no college commitment, Leenders, the 219th overall pick, became eligible for the 2026 draft on Monday, according to Puckpedia.com.

Leenders has spent the past four seasons playing junior in the Ontario ... Read the full article

Watch: Sabres’ Konsta Helenius finishes year by scoring golden goal for Finland

Buffalo Sabres center Konsta Helenius on Sunday capped a breakout season by scoring the golden goal in overtime to clinch the World Championship for Team Finland.

Helenius, who joined the tournament shortly after the Montreal Canadiens eliminated the Sabres from the Stanley Cup Playoffs, scored 10:42 into the first overtime to give his country a 1-0 win over host Switzerland.

After Helenius, 20, carried the puck from the left corner into the right circle and ... Read the full article

By scoring and agitating in postseason, Sabres’ Zach Benson grabbed attention of NHL: ‘A true core piece’

BUFFALO – Long before he gave the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens fits in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Zach Benson’s high-octane game rankled opponents.

The diminutive winger’s ultra-aggressive style helped him crack the NHL at just 18 and later establish himself as one of the Sabres’ most valuable forwards.

“I’ve kind of played like this forever,” Benson said last week in KeyBank Center. “I’ve kind of always played with that edge.”... Read the full article

Sabres sign prospect Jake Richard to entry-level contract

The Buffalo Sabres on Thursday signed forward prospect Jake Richard, a sixth-round pick in 2022, to a two-year, entry level-contract.

Richard, 21, played three seasons at the University of Connecticut, compiling 32 goals, 88 points, a plus-30 rating and 88 penalty minutes in 108 career games.

The Jacksonville native enjoyed his best season as a sophomore in 2024-25, registering 15 goals, 43 points and a plus-26 rating in 34 contests and earning NCAA Hockey ... Read the full article

Following injury-plagued year, Sabres express belief in Michael Kesselring: ‘We’ve seen the potential’

“Honestly, I think it’s been pretty good for me, and whenever the next opportunity comes, I’ll be probably the most ready I’ve been all year.” – Michael Kesselring on March 25 prior to sitting out his sixth straight game as a healthy scratch

BUFFALO – As he morphed into a spare part down the stretch, Sabres defenseman Michael Kesselring tried to make the most of a difficult situation.

If the arrival of defensemen Logan ... Read the full article

After keeping Colten Ellis, Sabres open to using three goalies again: ‘It worked’

BUFFALO – It felt like goalie Colten Ellis’ stay here would be brief. Perhaps after filling the backup role for a couple of weeks as Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen recovered from an injury, the Sabres would place the rookie back on waivers or trade him.

But Ellis looked sharp in his first NHL action and fit in well, giving the Sabres extra depth at a critical position and the ability to try different things.

Shortly after Luukkonen ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Jarmo Kekalainen, Lindy Ruff established strong relationship before new contract

BUFFALO – Jarmo Kekalainen established a strong relationship with coach Lindy Ruff long before the Sabres promoted him to general manager.

Following his arrival one year ago as a senior advisor to former GM Kevyn Adams, Kekalainen spent every day with the Sabres, even participating in coaches meetings.

In their early days together, two hockey lifers developed mutual respect for each other.... Read the full article

End-of-season injury updates on Owen Power, Tage Thompson, Sam Carrick, Justin Danforth and other Sabres

BUFFALO – When Owen Power crashed feet first into the boards last Thursday, it appeared the Sabres might lose the stud defenseman for the rest of their second-round series against the Montreal Canadiens.

Power briefly left Game 5 before returning to the bench and testing the injury during breaks. Late in the contest, he played two shifts.

He kept gutting out the injury in the Sabres’ final two games of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. In Monday’s ... Read the full article