Free Agency Edition
The Buffalo Sabres made a trade early on the second day of the NHL Draft, sending the 38th and 100th picks to the San Jose Sharks so they could move up and grab German forward J-J Peterka 34th overall.
The Sabres don’t have another pick today until the fifth round, 131st overall.
The 5-foot-11, 192-pound Peterka spent last season playing against men for Red Bull Munich in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), scoring seven goals ... Read the full article
The smile on Kevyn Adams’ face said everything. What promises to be the oddest offseason in NHL history is about to kick into high gear, and the Buffalo Sabres’ rookie general manager couldn’t hide his excitement.
During a 30-minute Zoom call Monday, Adams, 45, rarely stopped grinning. After preparing nearly four months throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to reshape the Sabres, Adams and his staff will be busy this week.
Following the NHL Draft – the ... Read the full article
Barely an hour after Kevyn Adams acquired center Eric Staal last week, he hadn’t given much thought to having completed his first trade as Buffalo Sabres general manager.
“I’ve been so focused on this process and the work that goes into it,” Adams said Sept. 16 after dishing forward Marcus Johansson to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for Staal.
Adams, 45, experienced a whirlwind summer as he began tackling the daunting task of trying to ... Read the full article
The friendship between Buffalo Sabres newcomer Eric Staal and general manager Kevyn Adams dates back 17 years, to their days as teammates on the Carolina Hurricanes.
Back then, Adams, a veteran, often invited the budding superstar to his family’s house for dinner.
“He was very good to me as a young player in Carolina,” Staal said on a Zoom call Friday “I was at his house numerous times as a young guy. We just got ... Read the full article
The Buffalo Sabres endured a rough summer before Wednesday’s acquisition of center Eric Staal from the Minnesota Wild. Gutting the front office three months ago lowered expectations for what has become perhaps the NHL’s most dysfunctional franchise.
So sending forward Marcus Johansson to the Wild for Staal, 35, should ignite a little optimism within the team and its beleaguered fan base.
In his first trade as general manager, Kevyn Adams addressed a major hole – ... Read the full article
Kevyn Adams made his first trade as Buffalo Sabres general manager today, sending forward Marcus Johansson to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for center Eric Staal.
Staal will likely be utilized as the No. 2 center, a position the Sabres have struggled to fill since dealing Ryan O’Reilly to the St. Louis Blues in 2018.
Johansson, a winger most of his NHL career, centered the second line much of the 2019-20 season, his first in ... Read the full article
The Buffalo Sabres have loaned top goalie prospect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to HC TPS, a Finnish Elite League team.
The move gives Luukkonen, 21, an opportunity to practice and play while he waits for the 2020-21 North American season to begin. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the AHL to target Dec. 5 as a possible start date instead of October.
The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Luukkonen shuttled between the AHL and ECHL as a rookie in 2019-20, playing ... Read the full article
Rasmus Ristolainen understands that if the Buffalo Sabres make significant moves this offseason, he could be dealt.
“If changes will happen, I know I’m one of the first ones probably who is going to get traded,” the defenseman said on a Zoom call Thursday, two days after the Sabres’ season officially ended. “It’s part of the business and I’m ready, whatever happens. I have really enjoyed my time in Buffalo. It’s home for me.”
Buffalo ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – It was in 2016, after Keith Aucoin returned home following a championship season overseas, when he called a friend in the scouting business and asked if he had heard of a young, undersized center turning heads in Germany.
The 20-year-old’s name? Dominik Kahun.
The scout knew nothing about Kahun, who had grabbed Aucoin’s attention during their first year as teammates with Red Bull Munich.
“I’m like, ‘Well, you guys might want to ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – Marcus Johansson and Victor Olofsson started developing their chemistry in September, when they spent part of training camp as linemates.
But nearly six months passed before the Swedes shared any meaningful ice time during the regular season.
Olofsson, 24, earned a plum assignment at left wing beside top Sabres center Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart, and he thrived there nearly all season, morphing into one of the NHL’s top rookies.
Meanwhile, Johansson, ... Read the full article
