Karmanos - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres notes: Rasmus Asplund traded; Injured Rasmus Dahlin practices

BUFFALO – Following his first season as an NHL regular and a standout performance at the World Championship, forward Rasmus Asplund was expected to become a big contributor to the Sabres this year.

Instead, Asplund, 25, lost his regular spot in the lineup in late November, quickly morphing into a spare part.

The Swede had played just two of the last 18 games and 27 overall this season when the Sabres dealt him to the ... Read the full article

Amerks’ Jack Quinn found game late in playoffs, could graduate to Sabres

By the end of the Rochester Americans’ thrilling 10-game playoff run, winger Jack Quinn recaptured some of the slick form that made him a dynamic scorer during the regular season.

Three times in the final two games, including once in overtime of Wednesday’s season-ending, 6-5 loss to the Laval Rocket, Quinn, 20, had Cayden Primeau beaten but the puck hit the knob of the goalie’s stick or the post. On Monday, Quinn pumped a career-high ... Read the full article

Sabres growing close, winning and don’t want season to end

BUFFALO – Just 11 games remain in a grueling season in which the Sabres will miss the playoffs again, and veteran winger Kyle Okposo is disappointed.

Okposo, 33, is having a blast and wants it to keep going. The team has grown close this season. And after a decade of futility, the Sabres appear to have finally turned a corner, winning 10 of their last 17 games (10-4-3) entering tonight’s road game against the Carolina ... Read the full article

Sabres prospect JJ Peterka developing more mature game with Amerks

ROCHESTER – Sabres prospect JJ Peterka was recently working his way back into the lineup when the Americans wanted him to start killing penalties during practice.

For Peterka, 20, earning the coaches’ trust signaled his development had reached another level three months into his rookie season.

“He was very proud, he was very excited,” Amerks coach Seth Appert told the Times Herald last week.

The German was so excited that whenever he made a nice ... Read the full article

Sabres notes: Kraken take Will Borgen in NHL Expansion Draft

If the Seattle Kraken hadn’t selected Will Borgen from the Sabres in Wednesday’s NHL Expansion Draft, he likely would’ve competed for a spot among Buffalo’s top-six defensemen next season.

Borgen, 24, was close to enjoying regular duty last season before breaking his forearm.

So after six years of development – the Sabres drafted Borgen in the fourth round in 2015, 92nd overall – he departed just as he was maturing into an NHL talent.... Read the full article

Sabres name Sam Ventura VP of hockey strategy and research

The Buffalo Sabres have made a significant analytics hire, naming Sam Ventura vice president of hockey strategy and research, the team announced Monday.

Ventura, 33, spent the last six seasons in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ front office, winning the Stanley Cup in 2016 and 2017. In Pittsburgh, he worked under Jason Karmanos, who was hired as the Sabres’ associate general manager April 13.

Jason Nightingale, who recently served as the director of analytics and assistant ... Read the full article

Sabres must make difficult decisions before NHL Expansion Draft

Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams knows all about the expansion draft, having been picked in it 20 years ago this month by the Columbus Blue Jackets.

In 2000, Adams was a 25-year-old forward fresh off playing 52 regular-season games and another 12 playoff contests for the Toronto Maple Leafs. After spending most of the previous three seasons in the minors, he had finally arrived in the big leagues.

Adams remembers Toronto GM Pat Quinn ... Read the full article

Jason Karmanos impressed with Sabres prospects J-J Peterka, Jack Quinn

During Jason Karmanos’ tenure with the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Buffalo Sabres’ new associate general manager said he was “intimately involved” in the NHL Draft.

So Karmanos arrived in Buffalo last month with strong knowledge of the Sabres’ prospect base.

“I’m excited they’re here, because these are guys that I liked on my own and that our previous staff liked,” Karmanos said on a Zoom call Monday.

Karmanos, who was fired as Pittsburgh’s assistant GM on ... Read the full article

Sabres notes: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen could make NHL debut this weekend

Top goalie prospect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s highly anticipated NHL debut could take place this weekend, Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams said.

The Sabres have become woefully thin in net, losing Linus Ullmark and Carter Hutton to injuries after trading Jonas Johansson.

If Luukkonen hadn’t suffered a lower-body injury with the Rochester Americans, the Sabres likely would’ve recalled him before Thursday’s 5-2 road win over the Washington Capitals at Capital One Center. The Finn missed ... Read the full article

Sabres captain Jack Eichel to have neck injury re-examined in early May

When Buffalo Sabres captain Jack Eichel was diagnosed with a herniated disc in his neck last month, doctors told him to rehab, general manager Kevyn Adams said.

Perhaps the disc would move enough over time and Eichel could be cleared to play. But when the center was examined last week, Adams said the injury showed only “slight improvements.”

“There still wasn’t a comfort from anyone it was the right time to jump back into the ... Read the full article