Dale Hawerchuk is one of the NHL’s all-time greats. ©2020, Dan Hickling, Hickling Images

The quiet superstar: Sabres remember Dale Hawerchuk for humility, greatness

Earlier this week, word began spreading among Dale Hawerchuk’s friends that the Hockey Hall of Famer, whose stomach cancer returned in July, wasn’t doing well.

So around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Pat LaFontaine said he texted his former Buffalo Sabres teammate to say he was thinking about him and praying for him. About a minute later, Hawerchuk messaged LaFontaine, thanking him.

LaFontaine took Hawerchuk’s quick reply as positive news.

But later in the day, as LaFontaine ... Read the full article

Clint Malarchuk (left) and Drew Ryan talk about more than hockey. ©2020, Drew Ryan

Former Sabres goalie Clint Malarchuk passionate about helping veterans

They spent an hour catching up. Hockey, as it often does during conversations with Clint Malarchuk, was discussed. Drew Ryan, a goalie like Malarchuk, explained how a stretching regimen has added seven inches to the butterfly motion he plans to utilize.

Ryan treats tending goal for the USA Warriors Ice Hockey team so passionately he recently started developing a new, more composed style. He’s 57.

The retired Army colonel likes to say he’ll do ... Read the full article

Clint Malarchuk gives about 30 talks a year. ©2017, Hickling Images, Olean Times Herald

Book gives former Sabres goalie Clint Malarchuk new purpose

Three years after Clint Malarchuk bared his soul in the gritty memoir “A Matter of Inches: How I Survived in the Crease and Beyond,” the book has given the former Buffalo Sabres goalie a new purpose in life.

Malarchuk has become a visible mental health advocate, using his harrowing experiences to help others.

The 30 or so talks he gives to various groups throughout the year detail his battle with the post-traumatic stress disorder he ... Read the full article

Clint Malarchuk promoted his book earlier this month in Buffalo. ©2014, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald

Former Sabres goalie Clint Malarchuk bares soul in new book

BUFFALO – In his gritty new memoir, “A Matter of Inches: How I Survived in the Crease and Beyond,” former Sabres goalie Clint Malarchuk describes the brief time in his turbulent life he felt like a king and a savior in Buffalo.

It was March 1989, and the Sabres had just acquired Malarchuk for their playoff run. In his first appearance, he shut out the New York Rangers in Madison Square Garden. He ... Read the full article

Matt Ellis played his first NHL game since Feb. 2 on Saturday. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald

Matt Ellis on special recall to Sabres: ‘It couldn’t have happened any better’

BUFFALO – Moments after Matt Ellis scored the shootout winner in Friday’s wild Rochester outdoor game, Americans coach Chadd Cassidy found his captain at center ice in the midst of the celebration.

Cassidy had a special message for Ellis, who also had a goal and an assist in the “Frozen Frontier” game, an exciting 5-4 triumph played in 18-degree temperatures.

“(He) said, ‘The only thing that made tonight better is me getting to ... Read the full article