WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
July Edition
Buffalo signed Jason Zucker on Monday. ©2024, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – During his four-year tenure in Pittsburgh, Sabres newcomer Jason Zucker regularly enjoyed plum assignments skating alongside legendary Penguins centers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
Zucker, who believes his speed and forechecking ability are his top assets, added to grit to the future Hall of Famers’ lines, retrieving pucks and utilizing his 5-foot-11, 192-pound frame to wreak havoc around the net.
“If pucks end up in the corners, go get them back and let ... Read the full article
Jeff Skinner endured a down season in 2023-24. ©2024, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – General manager Kevyn Adams knows there are rumors the Sabres could buy out winger Jeff Skinner, who has three seasons remaining on his eight-year, $72 million contract.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on Tuesday called a buyout “a possibility,” igniting speculation about the 14-year veteran’s future.
Skinner, 32, certainly fits the criteria of a player the Sabres, who have missed the playoffs an NHL-record 13 straight seasons, would consider cutting loose.
He struggled last season, ... Read the full article
Dylan Cozens scored nine goals for Team Canada. ©2024, Micheline Veluvolu
Nine goals scored in 10 outings, two more than any player in the World Championship. A six-game goal streak. An overtime winner. A gaudy 30 percent shooting percentage.
While Sabres center Dylan Cozens fell short of earning a medal in the tournament – Team Canada finished fourth, losing Sunday’s bronze medal game 4-2 to Buffalo defenseman Rasmus Dahlin and Team Sweden – he ended his season on a high note.
Cozens struggled with the Sabres ... Read the full article
Dylan Cozens has excelled at the World Championship. ©2024, Micheline Veluvolu
Buffalo Sabres center Dylan Cozens often plays his best when he’s ticked off, so it wasn’t surprising he responded by scoring a power-play goal for Team Canada in Sunday’s 3-2 win after Team Switzerland’s Kevin Fiala kneed him.
Shortly after Fiala, a winger with the Los Angeles Kings, was ejected, Cozens scored his second of the game and sixth of the World Championship in Czechia.
The Yukon native, of course, just endured a difficult year ... Read the full article
Lindy Ruff talks Tuesday. ©2024, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Before the Sabres re-hired Lindy Ruff, one of the coach’s prominent former players, Jason Pominville, said he texted some friends and told them, “It has to be him. They have to bring him back.”
“Like, this is the time to bring him back,” Pominville wrote to them.
He had no inside information during the Sabres’ search for Don Granato’s replacement. The former winger simply knew Ruff could help a young, talented ... Read the full article
Victor Olofsson has scored four goals this season. ©2024, Micheline Veluvolu
Buffalo Sabres winger Victor Olofsson, who scored a career-low eight goals this season, will represent Team Sweden at the upcoming World Hockey Championship.
The Sabres are expected to let Olofsson, 28, leave as an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Players who have expiring contracts often don’t want to risk injury and turn down invitations to the tournament. Sabres defenseman Henri Jokiharju and goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, both of whom can become restricted free agents, said ... Read the full article
Tage Thompson knows the Sabres must change. ©2024, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Well, now we know. As expected, Sabres players praised Don Granato, their former coach, crediting him for boosting their careers and acknowledging they could’ve done more to help him.
Still, they clearly wanted a different type of leader.
In discussing Granato’s dismissal, Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams said his players “are craving accountability, structure,” a sentiment they echoed Wednesday as they held exit meetings in KeyBank Center following a disappointing 84-point finish.
While ... Read the full article
Noah Ostlund also joined Rochester last season. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – The Sabres on Wednesday assigned forward prospect Noah Ostlund, the 16th overall pick in 2022, to the Rochester Americans.
Ostlund, 20, recently completed his first season in the Swedish Hockey League, scoring 12 goals and 23 points in 38 games for Vaxjo HC.
The 5-foot-11, 163-pound Ostlund joined the Amerks last season during the Calder Cup Playoffs but did not play.
The Amerks have two games left before the postseason.
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Sabres ... Read the full article
Don Granato lasted three full season as Buffalo’s coach. ©2024, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – In firing coach Don Granato following a disappointing season in which the Sabres missed the playoffs for an NHL-record 13th consecutive year, general manager Kevyn Adams has shifted the onus to himself.
Adams has always accepted blame for the Sabres’ troubles, and in discussing Tuesday’s dismissal of Granato and the state of his team for 45 minutes in KeyBank Center, he again shouldered his share of the responsibility for an 84-point campaign.
But ... Read the full article
Don Granato lasted three full seasons as coach. ©2024, Micheline Veluvolu
The Buffalo Sabres this morning fired coach Don Granato, less than a day after they completed a disappointing 84-point season in which they missed the playoffs for an NHL-record 13th consecutive year.
No replacement was named.
The Sabres also let go of assistant coach Jason Christie and video coordinator Matt Smith.
General manager Kevyn Adams will address the media at 3 p.m. in KeyBank Center. The Sabres are looking for their seventh coach since 2013-14, ... Read the full article
