Adams - Buffalo Hockey Beat

After Robert Hagg deal, Sabres could make more trades before deadline

BUFFALO – Expect a quiet deadline day for the Sabres. General manager Kevyn Adams made one trade Sunday, sending defenseman Robert Hagg to the Florida Panthers. Perhaps a few more veterans on expiring contracts will be dealt before 3 p.m.

This deadline lacks the intrigue of a year ago, when Adams was trying to trade winger Taylor Hall, a free agent bust, or in 2020, when ex-GM Jason Botterill loaded up for a playoff ... Read the full article

If Sabres trade Craig Anderson, Mark Pysyk, could they return next season?

BUFFALO – When the Sabres signed a slew of cheap free agents to one-year contracts last summer, it appeared their tenures here would be short.

After a season or less, they might become expendable. Some of organization’s prospects would mature and the rebuilding Sabres might also acquire better talent.

Well, so far, some prospects – defenseman Casey Fitzgerald and Mattias Samuelsson, for example – have graduated from the minors and earned regular duty. Others like ... Read the full article

Mattias Samuelsson earning trust, big minutes from Sabres: ‘An athletic giant’

BUFFALO – The poise Mattias Samuelsson possesses belies his experience. Barely 30 games into his NHL career, the Sabres consistently utilize the rookie against the opposition’s top talent.

On Thursday, Samuelsson faced Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid. In Sunday afternoon’s 5-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, the defenseman was often tasked with shutting down Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, one of the NHL’s elite duos.

At one point Sunday, with Marner roaring toward him, ... Read the full article

One year after hiring, Don Granato has dramatically changed the Sabres

BUFFALO – Sabres coach Don Granato kept rattling off names. There was Taylor Hall, Brandon Montour, Sam Reinhart, Rasmus Ristolainen and Eric Staal.

“I’m probably missing a couple more,” Granato said following Wednesday’s practice at LECOM Harborcenter.

Then two more names, Jack Eichel and Jake McCabe, popped into his head.

One year ago today, Granato inherited a veteran-laden team at its nadir. The Sabres were 12 losses into what would become a stunning 18-game winless ... Read the full article

Sabres display growing maturity in win over Maple Leafs at Heritage Classic

HAMILTON, Ont. – If the Buffalo Sabres crack the postseason in the near future, the last four days, punctuated by Sunday afternoon’s 5-2 victory in the Heritage Classic, will be remembered as a significant stretch in their maturation.

Before a capacity, pro-Toronto crowd of 26,119 fans outdoors at chilly Tim Hortons Field, the Sabres scored three third-period goals to down the playoff-bound Maple Leafs.

It was a game, just like Thursday’s 3-1 win over ex-captain ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Jacob Bryson elevating game to new level

BUFFALO – Three weeks ago, as the Sabres began rotating defensemen, coach Don Granato told general manager Kevyn Adams he believed watching a game would help Jacob Bryson.

Getting scratched wasn’t a punishment for poor play. Granato simply wanted to utilize his entire blue line, so for a seven-game stretch, four defensemen – Bryson, Robert Hagg, Mark Pysyk and Mattias Samuelsson – moved in an out.

When Bryson, 24, sat out Feb. 10, he ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Casey Mittelstadt could return from upper-body injury this weekend

BUFFALO – Understandably, Casey Mittelstadt wants to play right now. Having missed 41 of the Sabres’ 48 games this season, the center is likely running out of patience.

Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams said Mittelstadt wants to return from his upper-body injury tonight against the Ottawa Senators.

“We’re trying to calm him down a little bit,” Adams said this morning inside KeyBank Center.... Read the full article

Sabres’ Drake Caggiula to undergo season-ending neck surgery

BUFFALO – Sabres winger Drake Caggiula will undergo season-ending fusion surgery today in Los Angeles to repair a herniated disc in his neck, general manager Kevyn Adams said this morning.

Caggiula, 27, has a six to eight month recovery, according to Adams.

“He’s been seeing some different specialists and gathered all the information and then made the decision a few days ago that he was moving forward with the surgery,” Adams said inside KeyBank Center.... Read the full article

Sabres notes: NHL All-Star nod shows Rasmus Dahlin on right path

BUFFALO – For Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, earning a spot in the NHL All-Star Game is more than an honor. His first selection to the prestigious event is an affirmation.

“It’s very exciting and makes me proud, for sure,” Dahlin told the Times Herald following last Friday’s practice at LECOM Harborcenter. “And then it makes me get more confident. It’s accepting that I’ve done stuff right.”

Over the past two months, Dahlin, 21, has ... Read the full article

Sabres prospect JJ Peterka developing more mature game with Amerks

ROCHESTER – Sabres prospect JJ Peterka was recently working his way back into the lineup when the Americans wanted him to start killing penalties during practice.

For Peterka, 20, earning the coaches’ trust signaled his development had reached another level three months into his rookie season.

“He was very proud, he was very excited,” Amerks coach Seth Appert told the Times Herald last week.

The German was so excited that whenever he made a nice ... Read the full article