Botterill - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres hire Phil Housley as coach

BUFFALO – The Sabres today hired Hall of Fame defenseman Phil Housley as the 18th head coach in team history.

Housley, 53, will be formally introduced at a 4 p.m. news conference inside KeyBank Center. He replaces Dan Bylsma, who was fired with general manager Tim Murray on April 20.... Read the full article

Reports: Sabres close to hiring Phil Housley as coach; Update: Housley officially hired

BUFFALO – The Sabres are close to hiring Hall of Fame defenseman Phil Housley as their next head coach, according to multiple reports.

Update: The Sabres have officially hired Housley. He will be introduced at 4 p.m.

Housley, an assistant with the Predators, met with the Sabres on Monday in Nashville and could be in Buffalo today, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger. He tweeted the team wants to have a new coach by next Monday.... Read the full article

Report: Sabres did not contact Rick Tocchet about coaching vacancy

For weeks, Rick Tocchet and Phil Housley have been considered the leading candidates for the Buffalo Sabres’ head coaching job. But the Sabres did not contact Tocchet, who just won his second straight Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger.

It was widely assumed Sabres general manager Jason Botterill, an assistant GM with Pittsburgh until last month, would speak with Tocchet after the Penguins clinched Sunday.... Read the full article

Sabres re-sign goalie Linus Ullmark

BUFFALO – The Sabres have re-signed goalie Linus Ullmark to a two-year, $1.5 million contract, the team announced this afternoon.

Ullmark, 23, spent most of last season with the Rochester Americans, playing an AHL-high 55 games and just one NHL contest. He was due to become a restricted free agent.

If the Vegas Golden Knights don’t select Ullmark in the upcoming expansion draft – given the Swede has morphed into top prospect, he could be ... Read the full article

Report: Panthers set to hire former Sabre Bob Boughner

Scratch one coaching candidate off the list for the Buffalo Sabres.

The Florida Panthers are close to hiring San Jose Sharks assistant coach and former Sabres defenseman Bob Boughner, according to TSN’s Bob McKenzie. That would leave the Sabres, who reportedly interviewed Boughner, as the only NHL team without a head coach.

The Sabres want to interview Nashville Predators assistant coach Phil Housley and Pittsburgh Penguins assistants Rick Tocchet and Jacques Martin following the ... Read the full article

Report: Sabres prospect Rasmus Asplund to stay in Sweden next season

Rasmus Asplund, perhaps the Buffalo Sabres’ top center prospect, will play in Sweden again next season.

The Sabres, who recently hired general manager Jason Botterill and still need to find a coach, want contract flexibility, Asplund, 19, told Värmlands Folkblad, a Swedish news service.

So the 33rd overall pick in 2016 will play a fourth pro season with Färjestad BK, a team in the Swedish Hockey League.... Read the full article

Former Amerks coach, Sabres assistant Dan Lambert hired by Spokane

Former Rochester Americans coach and Buffalo Sabres assistant Dan Lambert is heading back to the junior hockey to lead the Spokane Chiefs.

The Western Hockey League club hired Lambert, 47, as head coach today. He previously spent four years with the Kelowna Rockets, including a championship season in 2014-15, his only as head coach.... Read the full article

Sabres pass on signing Giorgio Estephan

BUFFALO – The Sabres have apparently passed on signing center prospect Giorgio Estephan.

NHL teams had until 5 p.m. today to ink their 2015 non-collegiate draft picks to entry-level contracts. While a late contract announcement could be made, it is highly unlikely.

Estephan, 20, enjoyed a big junior season with the Lethbridge Hurricanes in 2016-17, scoring 35 goals and 89 points in 68 games. He added 11 goals and 24 points in 18 playoff ... Read the full article

Sabres prospect Cal Petersen leaves school; Giorgio Estephan still unsigned

Buffalo Sabres goalie prospect Cal Petersen announced Wednesday he will forego his final season of NCAA eligibility with Notre Dame and sign a pro contact this summer.

Now, does that mean Petersen, 22, will sign with the Sabres, who drafted him in the fifth round, 129th overall, in 2013? Not necessarily.

The Sabres have 30 days to sign Petersen, one of the NCAA’s best goalies and the Fighting Irish’s captain, or they lose his rights. ... Read the full article

Report: Sabres interview Bob Boughner for coaching job

Buffalo Sabres general manager Jason Botterill interviewed San Jose Sharks assistant Bob Boughner for the team’s vacant head coaching job Tuesday, according to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun.

The Sabres haven’t had a coach since firing Dan Bylsma with GM Tim Murray on April 20.

Boughner, 46, has spent the last two seasons as an assistant in San Jose. He previously spent eight seasons coaching the Ontario Hockey League’s Windsor Spitfires, winning two championships. He was also ... Read the full article