Mittelstadt - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres notes: Jack Eichel misses first practice

Buffalo Sabres coach Ralph Krueger prefaced his update on the statuses of captain Jack Eichel and goalie Linus Ullmark with four words to alleviate any concern.

“All is under control,” Krueger said on a Zoom call Friday after both players missed the first session of training camp inside KeyBank Center.

Shortly before the Sabres’ first practice in almost 10 months, they announced Eichel, their MVP, would be sidelined Friday. The center suffered an upper-body injury ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Jack Eichel day-to-day with upper-body injury

Buffalo Sabres captain Jack Eichel will miss the first practice of training camp today and is day-to-day after sustaining an upper-body injury while training, the team announced this morning.

Center Casey Mittelstadt is subbing for Eichel between newcomer Taylor Hall and Victor Olofsson on the top line, according to The Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski.

Meanwhile, goalie Linus Ullmark will miss the session because he’s quarantining because of an immigration issue, according to the team. Ullmark ... Read the full article

Sabres release training camp roster, schedule; 37 players to participate

On Friday, the Buffalo Sabres will touch the KeyBank Center ice for the first time in 296 days and begin preparing for the most unusual of seasons.

The NHL will be attempting to play during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it will likely experience problems – positive tests, postponements or even cancellations – as the schedule unfolds.

But those potential roadblocks can be examined another day. The Sabres’ 10-month break is nearly over. Training camp officially ... Read the full article

Sabres re-sign Casey Mittelstadt to one-year contract

The Buffalo Sabres locked up their last restricted free agent today, signing center Casey Mittelstadt to a one-year, $874,125 contract.

Mittelstadt, 22, struggled last season, compiling four goals, nine points and minus-5 rating in 31 NHL games before the Sabres demoted him.

In the AHL, Mittelstadt scored nine goals and 25 points in 36 outings but also generated a wretched minus-15 rating during his first stint with the Rochester Americans.

It’s unclear where ... Read the full article

Sabres re-sign Victor Olofsson to two-year contract

The Buffalo Sabres have avoided arbitration with Victor Olofsson, re-signing the winger to a two-year contract with an average annual value of $3.05 million, the team announced today.

His hearing was scheduled for Wednesday.

The Sabres now have $3,495,833 of projected salary cap space, according to capfriendly.com.

Olofsson, 25, had a $767,500 cap hit as a rookie last season. He will be a restricted free agent again when the contract expires.... Read the full article

Sabres could re-sign Dominik Kahun after passing on qualifying offer

For weeks, there was speculation the Buffalo Sabres would pass on tendering defenseman Brandon Montour a qualifying offer as a restricted free agent.

Considering former general manager Jason Botterill traded a top prospect and a first round pick for Montour in 2019, the thought of letting him go seemed outrageous. But the belief was the Sabres, who have tightened their belts during the COVID-19 pandemic, did not want to pay Montour big money.

Well, Wednesday’s ... Read the full article

Sabres don’t tender Dominik Kahun qualifying offer

The Buffalo Sabres did not tender restricted free agent Dominik Kahun a qualifying offer before today’s 5 p.m. deadline, making the winger an unrestricted free agent.

That doesn’t, however, mean Kahun’s days in Buffalo are over. The Sabres could still sign Kahun, 25, to a different contract.

Kahun looked impressive in six games after arriving from the Pittsburgh Penguins before the trade deadline, scoring two goals and four points. The German quickly earned praise from ... Read the full article

Sabres move back one spot in NHL Draft Lottery, set to pick eighth

For the fourth time in the last eight years, the Buffalo Sabres will have the eighth overall pick in the NHL Draft.

The Sabres had just a 6.5% chance for the top pick, the seventh-highest odds in tonight’s NHL Draft Lottery.

So who won the lottery and the right to select ultra-talent winger Alexis Lafreniere? Well, no one did.

A placeholder was chosen in the first spot, meaning another draw will take place at ... Read the full article

Sabres fired Amerks coach Chris Taylor with no explanation

The call lasted less than a minute. Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams simply informed Chris Taylor he was being fired as Rochester Americans coach, offering no details into the sudden dismissal.

Taylor was stunned. Following a successful three-year run in which the Amerks reestablished themselves as an AHL heavyweight, the Sabres let him go Tuesday with no explanation.

“It was very short, fast, why they felt that they wanted a clean slate,” Taylor told ... Read the full article

Sabres should’ve sent Casey Mittelstadt to Amerks earlier: ‘He got rushed’

In the not-so-distant past, Buffalo Sabres prospect Casey Mittelstadt would’ve likely played two or three years of college hockey before turning pro. After leaving school, instead of being rushed to the NHL, he would’ve started an apprenticeship with the Rochester Americans.

But the NHL has changed dramatically in the last 10 years or so, morphing into a game dominated by young men. At the same time, the salary cap has whittled down teams’ depth.

Prized ... Read the full article