Bill Hoppe - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres re-sign Marcus Foligno to 1-year deal

BUFFALO – The Sabres re-signed another restricted free agent today, inking winger Marcus Foligno to a one-year contract worth a reported $2.25 million.

While Foligno, 24, was coming off a season in which he set career highs across the board, he earned the same salary last year.

Very quietly, the Sabres are creeping toward the salary cap for the first time in years. Generalfanager.com projects the team at $9,687,978 under the $73 million cap.

The ... Read the full article

Sabres prospect Will Borgen adjusted quickly to college hockey

BUFFALO – By around November, just weeks into his St. Cloud State University career, Sabres prospect Will Borgen’s superb play began attracting attention college freshmen rarely receive.

“The scary thing for us, for everybody, was almost from the get-go he was ready to go,” St. Cloud State coach Bob Motzko said. “It was very early we knew we had something kind of special here.”

So did the decision-makers in charge of Team USA’s entry at ... Read the full article

Sabres GM Tim Murray knows Jimmy Vesey could sign elsewhere

BUFFALO – The constant talk about whether former Harvard University star Jimmy Vesey will sign with the Sabres amazes general manager Tim Murray.

No one, of course, has more invested in Vesey than Murray, who traded a third-round pick for the Hobey Baker Award winner’s rights on June 20, a deal he has called a “gamble.”

If Vesey signs, Murray might have a first- or second-line winger to skate beside Jack Eichel or Ryan O’Reilly. ... Read the full article

Sabres prospect Michael Campoli released from hospital

BUFFALO – For about 20 minutes Tuesday morning, as defenseman Michael Campoli stayed motionless on the ice, the 1,000 or so fans inside HarborCenter watching a three-on-three Sabres prospects tournament barely made a sound.

Campoli, an invite to development camp, had just been hit into the boards by winger William Carrier. The defenseman managed to get up but stumbled and fell down again.

The ensuing scene, with Sabres medical staff and Buffalo Fire Department ... Read the full article

Sabres GM Tim Murray on Jimmy Vesey: ‘This is his show right now’

BUFFALO – Tim Murray sounded like he was venting a bit. For the Sabres general manager, the pursuit of Jimmy Vesey, the NCAA star whose rights he recently acquired, is just one thing on his plate.

“I’ve talked about this literally less than anyone else in Buffalo,” Murray said this afternoon after development camp ended inside HarborCenter. “I hear the guys on the radio and people are mad. This is like top-end news. I ... Read the full article

Sabres prospect Michael Campoli transported to hospital

BUFFALO – Sabres prospect Michael Campoli was stretchered off the ice this morning with his neck stabilized after getting hit into boards late in a three-on-three development camp scrimmage.

Campoli, 18, was knocked by William Carrier and tried to skate off the HarborCenter ice before falling down. Campoli, a defenseman, stayed motionless on the ice for about 20 minutes surrounded by team medical personnel and the Buffalo Fire Department.

New Update: The Sabres and Campoli ... Read the full article

Sabres prospect Eric Cornel ready for pros after big junior season

BUFFALO – Sabres prospect Eric Cornel figured, hey, as a second-round NHL pick fresh off a big junior season, hockey might be easy for him.

But instead of thriving after the Sabres drafted him 44^th overall in 2014, Cornel struggled to build on a 25-goal, 62-point breakout season with the Peterborough Petes.

The winger’s offensive output dropped to 14 goals and 52 points in 2014-15. His rating plummeted from a plus-2 to an ugly ... Read the full article

Impaired driving charge against Sabres’ Ryan O’Reilly dropped

The impaired driving case against Buffalo Sabres center Ryan O’Reilly was dropped by the Crown this morning shortly after his trial began, according to the London Free Press.

The only identification witness couldn’t place O’Reilly at the Tim Hortons the Ontario Provincial Police said he fled after driving his pickup into on July 9, 2015, according to the paper.

Following the alleged incident, O’Reilly, 25, was arrested and charged with impaired driving and leaving the ... Read the full article

Prospect Judd Peterson could be back in Sabres’ plans

BUFFALO – Technically, Judd Peterson still belonged to the Sabres, but the NHL club wasn’t too interested in evaluating the St. Cloud State University forward.

Just a year ago, Peterson appeared to have no future with the organization that had drafted him out of high school in the seventh round, 204^th overall, in 2012.

After participating in two development camps run by the team’s old regime, Peterson, 22, wasn’t invited back in 2014 or ... Read the full article

Cheektowaga’s Frank Hora living Sabres dream at development camp

BUFFALO – Michael Hora can’t make it to HarborCenter this afternoon, but one way or another, he’ll find a way to watch his son, Frank, a Cheektowaga native the Sabres are evaluating at development camp.

“He always finds a way to watch my games,” Frank Hora, a 20-year-old defense prospect, said Friday after preparing for the annual Blue and Gold scrimmage.

His father, who’s at a hockey camp in Virginia with another son, Anthony, bought ... Read the full article