WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
October Edition
Cody Hodgson is the team’s top center. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – In awarding Cody Hodgson, a youngster with only 77 points in 139 career NHL games, a six-year, $25.5 million contract, the Sabres are betting on more than the center’s abundant talent. The team’s banking that Hodgson will keep dedicating himself to becoming an elite player.
“He wants to be a No. 1 guy from the standpoint he wants to be counted on, and he wants to be recognized in a leadership position,” ... Read the full article
Cody Hodgson will receive $25.5 million. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Finally, Cody Hodgson can settle down. The Sabres center had spent his first three professional seasons bouncing around, never staying an entire year in one city.
Now, the 23-year-old, who signed a six-year, $25.5 million deal Wednesday, has some security.
“I’m really happy to have some concrete steps, concrete knowledge of where I’m going to be the next few years,” Hodgson said this morning after the first training camp session inside the ... Read the full article
Cody Hodgson earned a huge contract despite only 34 points last season. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – On Wednesday morning, an optimistic-sounding Darcy Regier said the Sabres would “make every attempt” to have unsigned restricted free agent Cody Hodgson on the ice today for the first session of training camp.
“The efforts that are being made by both sides would indicate that we want to get something done as quickly as possible,” the general manager said inside the First Niagara Center as the Sabres reported for camp and underwent their ... Read the full article
Cody Hodgson had 34 points last season. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – This morning, an optimistic-sounding Darcy Regier said the Sabres would “make every attempt” to have unsigned restricted free agent Cody Hodgson on the ice Thursday for the first session of training camp.
“The efforts that are being made by both sides would indicate that we want to get something done as quickly as possible,” the general manager said inside the First Niagara Center as the Sabres reported for camp and took their physicals.... Read the full article
Locals have welcomed Ryan Miller back to Buffalo. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Playing an 11th season with the rebuilding Sabres isn’t a bad situation, Ryan Miller said. The goalie, the subject of rampant trade speculation for months, is returning to a familiar city he considers a home.
Miller said he’s only received warm greetings from fans, many of whom jeered the 33-year-old and his teammates last season as they missed the playoffs again, since arriving back in town last week.
He understands why locals ... Read the full article
Ron Rolston took over as coach on Feb. 20. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – The Sabres convene for training camp physicals today inside the First Niagara Center, for better or worse, almost the same team that ended a disappointing, 11th-place season 137 days ago.
Other than a busy draft day and reacquiring 34-year-old defenseman Henrik Tallinder, the rebuilding club remained quiet throughout the summer.
Starting goalie Ryan Miller and leading scorer Thomas Vanek, two veteran stars rumored to be on the trading block, ... Read the full article
Corey Tropp played 34 NHL games in 2011-12. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – The Sabres re-signed ferocious winger Corey Tropp, an NHL regular late in 2011-12 before tearing knee ligaments early last season, to a one-year contract today.
The 24-year-old damaged the medial collateral ligament and anterior cruciate ligament Oct. 15 after scoring twice in Rochester’s opening-night win. Tropp made a surprising return to the Americans’ lineup March 29. But with a weakened knee, he only played five games.
Prior to the lockout last ... Read the full article
Alexander Sulzer (52) never played regularly before joining the Sabres. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – When free agency opened Friday, Alexander Sulzer shopped around, drawing interest from a “number of teams,” his agent said.
Ultimately, though, the defenseman couldn’t leave the Sabres, who helped him become an NHL regular for the first time.
The 29-year-old German signed a one-year, $725,000 contract today.
“He really enjoyed playing there,” Scott Greenspun, Sulzer’s agent, told the Times Herald. “Buffalo was a place that gave him an opportunity to prove he was ... Read the full article
Two years ago, the Sabres signed Ville Leino, a winger, to a six-year, $27 million contract to play center. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – The focus during free agency, general manager Darcy Regier said, will be on adding supporting pieces to the Sabres’ younger core group. The crazy spending of the past appears to be over, at least for this summer.
So, when free agency opens at noon today, don’t expect the Sabres to wildly overpay or overreach for any Ville Leino-types again. And don’t expect them to throw tens of millions of dollars at any ... Read the full article
Darcy Regier should be busy today. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
NEWARK, N.J. – By tonight, following what promises to be a busy, even chaotic day at the NHL Entry Draft inside the Prudential Center, the Buffalo Sabres could be radically reshaped for the future.
With four of the first 52 picks in a deep draft, including the eighth and 16th selections, the Sabres should nab some elite prospects. But general manager Darcy Regier’s rebuild goes beyond simply adding draft picks.
Starting goalie Ryan Miller ... Read the full article