Bill Hoppe - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres’ Alexander Nylander enjoying strong camp

BUFFALO – Coaches regularly jumble their preseason line combinations as they evaluate talent and move players in and out. What you see during exhibition games usually doesn’t stick together for the regular season.

Still, one intriguing trio the Sabres will utilize tonight could remain intact.

This morning inside KeyBank Center, coach Phil Housley assembled three first-round picks – center Casey Mittelstadt and Alexander Nylander and Tage Thompson – for the Sabres’ road tilt against the ... Read the full article

Sam Reinhart practices, happy to be back with Sabres

BUFFALO – Sam Reinhart’s short time back in Vancouver tested his patience, even made the Sabres winger miserable.

Sitting at home as a contract holdout can do that, especially when your teammates start a training camp filled with so much optimism.

“It was probably one of the most challenging week and a halves that I’ve been a part of,” Reinhart said following Thursday’s session of training camp.

By Tuesday night, as the Sabres played an ... Read the full article

Sabres notes: Zach Bogosian being eased along after hip surgery

BUFFALO – The Sabres have a plan for Zach Bogosian. Instead of throwing the oft-injured defenseman right into the fray, they’re easing him into training camp.

Bogosian, 28, underwent hip surgery last winter and hasn’t played a game Jan. 9. So the Sabres held him out of practice earlier this week before letting him skate on his own.

Bogosian practiced with his teammates again Thursday inside HarborCenter.... Read the full article

Sabres’ Sam Reinhart ends holdout, signs team-friendly bridge deal

BUFFALO – Given the premium paid for scoring, the two-year, $7.3 million contract winger Sam Reinhart signed Wednesday, ending his short holdout, could be a bargain for the Sabres.

Reinhart’s torrid second half last season – following an awful start, he recorded 18 goals and 37 points in the final 38 contests – signaled he might be ready to crack the 30-goal or 70-point marks.

If Reinhart, 22, hits or even approaches those numbers, his ... Read the full article

Sabres re-sign Sam Reinhart to two-year, $7.3 million contract

BUFFALO – Sam Reinhart’s holdout is over. The Sabres have re-signed the winger to a two-year, $7.3 million contract, the team announced late this morning.

Reinhart, 22, was the team’s last unsigned restricted free agent and missed the first five days of training camp.

Reinhart will receive $3.55 million this season and $3.75 million in 2019-20, according to The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun. He will be an RFA again after the contract expires.

A bridge deal ... Read the full article

Sabres rookie Rasmus Dahlin calms nerves, looks strong in debut

BUFFALO – Rasmus Dahlin never looks nervous. For months, whatever the situation – the NHL Draft, development camp or training camp – the ultra-talented Sabres rookie has always showcased a cool demeanor.

But on Tuesday, before the first overall pick’s NHL exhibition debut, he said he started feeling some nerves.

Then Dahlin, 18, made his first pass, and his first-game jitters disappeared.... Read the full article

Sabres forwards Conor Sheary, Sean Malone out with injuries

BUFFALO – Sabres winger Conor Sheary, a newcomer expected to skate on a top line, is week-to-week after suffering an upper-body injury during Friday’s practice.

“In the first day (of training camp), he took a hit the wrong way, and we’re just making sure we’re on top of that,” said Sabres coach Phil Housley, who is dealing with three notable injuries just five days into camp.

Center Sean Malone will miss six weeks after ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Brandon Hickey ready for preseason debut

BUFFALO – When Sabres defenseman Brandon Hickey received word he would be playing in tonight’s preseason opener, he said a “whole bunch of anxious energy” started running through his body.

“It’s my first taste of pro hockey,” Hickey said this morning. “I’ve been looking forward to this my whole life. I’m pretty excited to get things going tonight.”

Hickey, 22, is a bit old for a rookie. Despite being picked by the Calgary Flames in ... Read the full article

Poor season forced Sabres’ Johan Larsson to change

BUFFALO – Instead of talking about Johan Larsson’s rough season, Sabres coach Phil Housley chose to praise the Swedish center for the transformations he has made.

Larsson struggled mightily in 2017-18, enduring his worst NHL campaign. How bad was he? His wretched minus-30 was the fourth-worst rating among NHL forwards. He scored two of his career-low four goals into empty nets.

But Larsson, 26, accepted Housley and general manager Jason Botterill’s challenge to change ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Nathan Beaulieu motivated to prove last season was fluke

BUFFALO – Nathan Beaulieu had never experienced anything as trying as last season, so when it mercifully ended, the Sabres defenseman said he “let it eat me up for a little bit.”

“This is kind of new grounds for me,” Beaulieu said Saturday following another session of training camp inside HarborCenter. “I’ve never really been in this situation. It’s kind of my first year in the NHL that didn’t really go my way at all, ... Read the full article