WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
Calder Cup Playoffs Edition
Kyle Okposo will sign a lucrative contract. ©2016, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – The pickings are so slim in NHL free agency this year, perhaps the most coveted player available, Kyle Okposo, has never cracked the 30-goal or 70-point marks.
Okposo, of course, is a talented winger. The Minnesota native is coming off a 22-goal, 64-point season with the New York Islanders. He has 139 goals and 369 points in 529 NHL games over nine years, including three 20-goal seasons and two 60-point campaigns.
Yes, Okposo ... Read the full article
Tim Murray could have a busy summer ahead of him. ©2016, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – In his two and a half years as general manager, Tim Murray has developed a well-deserved reputation for wheeling and dealing to rebuild the Sabres, a team the previous regime gutted into a laughingstock.
So it’s only natural to assume Murray, who has the Sabres positioned to contend for their first playoff spot since 2011, will be active again at the NHL Draft his team is hosting this weekend, starting with tonight’s first ... Read the full article
Rasmus Ristolainen has been a strong pick for the Sabres. ©2016, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – To thrive in the modern NHL, teams must build through the draft. It’s that simple. The days of loading up with veteran players through free agency or trades are long gone. The league belongs to the 20-somethings now, and if teams draft poorly, they’re doomed.
How good are the Sabres at drafting? Judge for yourself below. Since drafts usually don’t start paying dividends for a few years, here’s a look at their selections ... Read the full article
Tim Murray has a history of making big trades. ©2016, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – The Sabres’ acquisition of Hobey Baker Award winner Jimmy Vesey’s rights Monday could be the first of several notable moves general manager Tim Murray makes this NHL Draft week.
Murray, of course, has a penchant for wheeling and dealing, and with the Sabres hosting the draft and 11 picks in their arsenal, he might want to make a big splash.
The Sabres traded a 2016 third-round pick, 76th overall, for the 6-foot-2, ... Read the full article
Logan Brown enjoyed a huge second half in 2015-16. ©2016, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – As fall turned to winter and Logan Brown kept struggling, the 6-foot-6 Windsor Spitfires center began searching for answers to his goal-scoring woes.
In his draft season, traditionally a breakout campaign for junior prospects, Brown had mustered only six goals by the 35-game mark.
“I believe he was humbled by his start, and when you get humbled like that, you look for help,” Windsor coach Rocky Thompson said.
Earlier in his career, Brown, ... Read the full article
Chad Johnson talks Sunday. ©2016, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Chad Johnson often talks about his desire to be a starting goalie, so not surprisingly, the Sabres veteran has already examined the jobs that could be open when he hits unrestricted free agency July 1.
“It’s hard not to,” Johnson said Sunday as the Sabres held their end-of-season meetings. “I try to stay as in the moment (as possible). I’m not going say which teams, but there’s four teams that need goaltenders or ... Read the full article
Cody McCormick has still been around the rink. ©2016, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – The blood clots Cody McCormick developed halfway through 2014-15 will force the rugged Sabres forward to retire, general manager Tim Murray said Monday.
“Cody McCormick is not going to jeopardize his life or his family by trying to play again,” Murray said inside the First Niagara Center. “We support him in that. He was around this winter and did some other things when players were rehabbing. So I don’t know if that’s going ... Read the full article
Tim Murray smiles this afternoon. ©2016, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Following a 27-point improvement in 2015-16, a season in which the Sabres morphed from the NHL’s laughingstock into a legitimate team again, the playoffs “may actually be a realistic goal” next year, general manager Tim Murray said.
“So that will be our statement to the players, that yes, the goal is to reach the playoffs, and that we actually do expect that we can do that,” Murray said this afternoon during an end-of-season ... Read the full article
Ryan O’Reilly can smile about the Sabres’ future. ©2016, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – When center Ryan O’Reilly joined his new teammates seven months ago, the stench leftover from consecutive 30th-place finishes – the culture of losing, it could be called – still lingered around the Sabres.
“I think you could sense it a bit, for sure,” O’Reilly said Sunday as the Sabres held their end-of-season meetings inside the First Niagara Center following a 35-36-11 finish. “I think there’s a lot of habits, when you ... Read the full article
Robin Lehner recently underwent ankle surgery. ©2016, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Sabres goalie Robin Lehner knew his pain threshold would be tested when he returned in mid-January from the high right ankle sprain he suffered opening night.
“Since that day it’s been pain, it’s been swelling after every practice, every game,” Lehner said Sunday as the Sabres held their end-of-season meetings inside the First Niagara Center.
After missing more than three months, Lehner started 20 times, often performing like the No. 1 goalie the ... Read the full article
