Granato - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Injury gave Sabres’ Mattias Samuelsson chance to reset mentally, find game

BUFFALO – Looking back on it, Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson considers the lower-body injury he suffered earlier this season to be a blessing in disguise.

A few months ago, Samuelsson, 24, acknowledged he was “just in my head about a lot of things.”

“Worrying about things we can’t control,” he told the Times Herald following Thursday’s practice in KeyBank Center. “When you’re like that, you’re obviously not playing your best and not playing free.”... Read the full article

Time as healthy scratch helped Sabres’ Jack Quinn find legs, score two goals

MONTREAL – The most trying stretch of Jack Quinn’s career ended 63 seconds into Sunday afternoon’s 5-3 loss, when the Buffalo Sabres winger navigated to open space in the left circle, grabbed JJ Peterka’s pass and unleashed a wicked wrist shot.

Quinn needed 25 games, 44 shots on goal and was scratched six times before he beat a goalie for the first time this year.

“Just nice to see one go in, take some ... Read the full article

Sabres’ losing streak hits eight games; Owen Power, JJ Peterka benched

BUFFALO – If you’re counting, after Wednesday’s 3-2 loss to the New York Rangers, the Sabres have six-one goal losses during their bizarre eight-game skid.

They’ve blown multi-goal leads and had a couple of wretched outings over the last two weeks. Still, during a stunning stretch in which they’ve lost seven times at home following a 3-0-0 trip to California, they’ve played well enough to win several games.

“What, six one-goal games?” said Sabres winger ... Read the full article

Sabres hope shifting struggling Dylan Cozens to wing can ignite him

BUFFALO – History says Dylan Cozens’ position change will be temporary. Shifting him from center to right wing is a slump-busting move by Sabres coach Lindy Ruff.

Centers, of course, are always at a premium and Cozens, 23, has been entrenched as the Sabres’ second-line pivot for years. It’s just that 10 games into the season, having scored zero goals, he’s in a rut.

Ruff needs to ignite the Yukon native, so in Thursday’s ... Read the full article

Rasmus Dahlin excited by what Lindy Ruff gives Sabres: ‘Going to be fine’

BUFFALO – Rasmus Dahlin, clad in his blue workout gear and a backwards baseball hat following his first full practice this season, stood behind a podium and spoke confidently, like a player who feels the Sabres have found something special.

After a mid-body injury sidelined him six days, Dahlin, 24, joined his teammates in a gold non-contact jersey on the KeyBank Center ice for Tuesday’s practice, their final skate before jetting to Europe to ... Read the full article

After signing contract, Sabres’ Peyton Krebs begins fight for ice time

BUFFALO – As training camp approached and Peyton Krebs remained unsigned, he finally had enough. The Sabres center told his agent he needed a new contract.

“I was just kind of taking my advice from my agent and what I needed to do, and … I just kind of said, ‘I’m done with this. Get something done. I want to be there for camp,’” Krebs said following Friday’s session of training camp.

Krebs, 23, couldn’t ... Read the full article

After signing contract, Sabres’ Peyton Krebs might have to battle for spot

BUFFALO – When the Sabres overhauled their third and fourth lines during the offseason by trading for Ryan McLeod and Beck Malenstyn and signing two free agents, center Peyton Krebs’ future here became uncertain.

Krebs, the Sabres’ last restricted free agent, is officially back for his fourth season, having signed a two-year, $2.9 million contract on Tuesday. But as training camp opens today with the first on-ice sessions in KeyBank Center, it’s unclear where he ... Read the full article

Time spent with Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau special for Sabres’ Alex Tuch

BUFFALO – Sabres winger Alex Tuch sounded nostalgic recalling those visits Johnny Gaudreau made to the Boston College campus about a decade ago. When the budding NHL star dropped by late in the summer to see his brother, Matthew, a forward with the Eagles, he always treated the rest of the hockey team.

“I knew Johnny because he came back and he would visit Matty in school before the season started every year,” Tuch said ... Read the full article

Sabres beginning process of buying out Jeff Skinner’s contract

LAS VEGAS – Winger Jeff Skinner’s enigmatic six-year career with the Buffalo Sabres is over.

General manager Kevyn Adams said Saturday following the NHL Draft the Sabres have initiated the process to buy out the remaining three seasons of Skinner’s eight-year, $72 million contract.

“It’s a step-by-step process,” Adams said in The Sphere. “That process was started early this morning.”

Update: The Sabres announced this afternoon they’ve bought out the remainder of Skinner’s contract.

The ... Read the full article

Sabres hire Michael Leone as Rochester Amerks’ new coach

The Buffalo Sabres have hired another coach from junior hockey to be the Rochester Americans’ bench boss.

The Sabres on Thursday named Michael Leone, who spent the last two seasons as the general manager and coach of the United States Hockey League’s Green Bay Gamblers, as head coach of their AHL affiliate.

The 36-year-old replaces Seth Appert, who earned a promotion to Lindy Ruff’s staff in Buffalo last month following four seasons with the Amerks.... Read the full article