Meehan - Buffalo Hockey Beat

In 1989, Rick Dudley fought to bring a relatively unknown coach named John Tortorella to the Buffalo Sabres

Rick Dudley said he had no idea what he would’ve done if the Sabres had said no. John Tortorella had been his right-hand man, serving as an assistant coach alongside him with the New Haven Knighthawks, the Los Angeles Kings’ top affiliate.

In the one season they had worked together, Dudley and Tortorella led a team expected to finish at the bottom of the AHL to the Calder Cup final.

Now, having earned his first ... Read the full article

Flashback: Gerry Meehan explains why (and how) the Sabres traded for goalie Dominik Hasek

In 2022, as the 30th anniversary of the Dominik Hasek trade approached, I sat down with former Sabres general manager Gerry Meehan at a local golf course to discuss one of the most lopsided deals in NHL history.

How did it go down? When did the Czech first land on his radar? Could he have ever imagined Hasek would become perhaps the greatest goalie ever?

The trade, of course, was hardly a blockbuster at the ... Read the full article

Former Sabres captain and GM Gerry Meehan dies at 79

Gerry Meehan, a member of the inaugural 1970-71 Buffalo Sabres who later served as the team’s general manager and orchestrated Alexander Mogilny’s defection from the Soviet Union in 1989 and traded for Dominik Hasek, died Friday. He was 79.

As a player, Meehan, a center, spent parts of five seasons in Buffalo and assisted on the first goal in franchise history. After taking over as captain in 1971-72, he led the Sabres to their first ... Read the full article