Eichel - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres coach Don Granato to discuss filling out staff

As the Buffalo Sabres’ interim coach, Don Granato worked with a staff he inherited.

When general manager Kevyn Adams fired coach Ralph Krueger and assistant coach Steve Smith on March 17, he moved Matt Ellis, his director of player development, and Dan Girardi, a development coach, behind the bench.

Ellis replaced Granato, who ran the power play as an assistant under Krueger. Girardi, meanwhile, took over Smith’s role in charge of the defense.... Read the full article

Don Granato paid dues, defied odds to become Sabres’ new coach

When the Buffalo Sabres named Don Granato their interim coach, he was expected to simply be a fill-in. After their disastrous season ended, general manager Kevyn Adams could start searching for Ralph Krueger’s permanent replacement.

But a funny thing happened. Granato, who was named the 20th head coach in franchise history Tuesday, quickly emerged as the Sabres’ best long-term option.

After losing their first six games under Granato, 53, the Sabres looked like a ... Read the full article

Michigan star Kent Johnson intriguing option for Sabres early at NHL Draft

Barely a year before Jeff Tambellini would start coaching Kent Johnson, he was introduced to the ultra-talented forward during a summer skate in 2017.

Some pro hockey players from Vancouver would occasionally invite teenagers from the local Power Edge Pro training group to join them. So Tambellini, then a 33-year-old preparing to possibly play his 14th pro season, found himself on the same ice as Johnson, a skinny 14-year-old from nearby Burnaby, British Columbia.... Read the full article

Sabres hope special player drafted first overall will change course of franchise

Kevyn Adams said his heart was racing before Wednesday’s NHL Draft Lottery. The Buffalo Sabres general manager looked intense. At one point, Terry Pegula texted him and told him to smile.

Leading up to the announcement, Adams said all the adversity the Sabres endured during a hellish season in which they finished dead last was flashing through his mind. He was also thinking about how much the top pick would mean to owners Terry ... Read the full article

Sabres GM Kevyn Adams ready to learn more about Jack Eichel’s recovery

After Sabres captain Jack Eichel suffered a season-ending neck injury March 7, doctors wanted him to go through a conservative rehab and be reevaluated after 12 weeks.

Sunday ended that period, so general manager Kevyn Adams plans to begin gathering information on the progress Eichel has made in his recovery from a herniated disc.

Eichel, who was non-committal in April about his future in Buffalo, wants to undergo a surgery that has never been performed ... Read the full article

Sabres will have opportunity to draft dynamic prospect with first pick

The Buffalo Sabres, by virtue of their embarrassing last-place finish this season, have the highest odds to secure the top pick in tonight’s NHL Draft Lottery, just 16.6%.

The league has changed this year’s lottery to two draws, meaning the Sabres can fall no lower than the third pick. Of course, given the large swath of talent available early in this year’s draft, where the Sabres pick might not matter much.

There’s no consensus first ... Read the full article

If Sabres pass on Don Granato, hiring an ex-NHL head coach could be wise move

Right now, Don Granato must wait as Kevyn Adams conducts what could be an exhaustive search for the Buffalo Sabres’ next head coach.

The general manager reiterated last week he plans to talk to a lot of people, so it might take several weeks before he makes the most critical decision of his short tenure.

If Adams gets it wrong, it will likely set the franchise back years.

Granato’s work transforming the Sabres as interim ... Read the full article

Strong message: Sabres’ Kevyn Adams wants ‘people that want to be here’

Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams said it five times during his 43-minute virtual news conference, first when he was talking about disgruntled captain Jack Eichel and later when center Sam Reinhart and defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen’s frustrations came up.

Adams stated it a few different ways, but the last four words and the strong message remained the same.

“We are going to get this right with the people that want to be here,” Adams said ... Read the full article

Kevyn Adams says Sabres don’t have disconnect with Jack Eichel

Kevyn Adams cut right to the chase, addressing the topic on everyone’s mind before he could be asked about it. The general manager doesn’t feel there has been a disconnect between the Buffalo Sabres and their captain, Jack Eichel, over how they’ve handled his season-ending neck injury.

“There has been constant communication,” Adams said on an end-of-season Zoom call this morning. “Constant communication, from myself to Jack, our organization to Jack’s agents, doctors to Jack, ... Read the full article

Sabres’ top young players excited for future: ‘Got a real good group here’

The contrast was stark. A day after Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart and Rasmus Ristolainen all essentially said they’d welcome a change of scenery after enduring years of losing and turmoil, several of the Sabres’ top young players spoke optimistically about their futures in Buffalo.

“Nothing but excitement,” winger Tage Thompson, 23, said on a Zoom call Tuesday as the Sabres held end-of-season meetings inside KeyBank Center after finishing dead last. “Obviously, we have ... Read the full article