Regier - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Forgetting about Sabres helped Amerks star Luke Adam find AHL game

BRIGHTON – Whatever’s going on with the Buffalo Sabres right now, well, Luke Adam doesn’t care about it. Whatever general manager Darcy Regier or coach Ron Rolston are saying, the 23-year-old Rochester Americans winger isn’t worried about it.

“I’m not focused on what the Sabres are doing,” Adam said Tuesday inside Bill Gray’s Iceplex. “Frankly, I don’t care what’s going on up there, what people are saying or how everything’s going.”

Adam, whose scorching eight-goal, ... Read the full article

Patrick Kaleta trying to embrace demotion from Sabres to Amerks

BRIGHTON – Inevitably, early during Patrick Kaleta’s stint with the Rochester Americans, an opponent will try taking the hard-hitting, ultra-aggressive winger over the edge.

As a former NHL regular in the AHL, a league full of yahoos, Kaleta will have a target on his back as he works at redesigning his game and earning another roster spot with the Buffalo Sabres. General manager Darcy Regier gave Kaleta a strong message after waiving him Saturday: ... Read the full article

Patrick Kaleta grateful for opportunity with Amerks

BRIGHTON – Patrick Kaleta knows his Buffalo Sabres career hasn’t ended.

Instead of jettisoning him from the organization, his hometown club sent the hard-hitting winger to the Rochester Americans with a strong message from general manager Darcy Regier: redesign your game, stop getting suspended and you could have a roster spot again in the future.

The Sabres haven’t closed the door on Kaleta, and the 27-year-old plans on using his first AHL assignment in nearly ... Read the full article

Patrick Kaleta clears waivers, will report to AHL

BUFFALO – Patrick Kaleta cleared waivers today, meaning the agitating winger will report to Rochester, his first AHL stint since 2007-08.

The Sabres waived Kaleta on Saturday, believing a stint in the minors would help him “redesign his game,” general manager Darcy Regier said.

The 27-year-old has been suspended twice in his last 21 games and four times in four seasons. The NHL most recently banned him 10 games for hitting Columbus’ Jack Johnson ... Read the full article

Sabres hope waiving Patrick Kaleta will help winger develop calmer style

BUFFALO – The Sabres’ surprising decision to waive Patrick Kaleta, general manager Darcy Regier said Saturday, could give the hard-hitting winger an opportunity to “redesign his game” in Rochester.

If Kaleta, who’s been suspended twice in his last 21 games, clears and begins his first AHL stint since 2007-08, he has “a significant amount of work that he will have to do,” Regier said.

But the Sabres couldn’t let Kaleta, fresh off a 10-game ban ... Read the full article

Sabres waive Patrick Kaleta to make room for Corey Tropp; John Scott calls out Pierre McGuire

BUFFALO – Patrick Kaleta just finished serving his 10-game suspension for hitting Columbus’ Jack Johnson in the head last month. The agitator is also fully healthy after recently undergoing nose surgery.

Still, the 27-year-old winger wasn’t on the ice this morning prior to tonight’s tilt against the Anaheim Ducks inside the First Niagara Center.

Now we know why.

In a surprising move, the Sabres have waived Kaleta, a native of nearby Angola.

The Sabres had ... Read the full article

Corey Tropp, Patrick Kaleta hoping to ignite struggling Sabres

BUFFALO – Injuries have severely limited Corey Tropp’s time here. The ferocious Sabres winger tore up his right knee last season waiting out the NHL lockout in Rochester. Then he broke his jaw during a Sept. 22 preseason fight in Toronto.

Tropp has played just 34 NHL games, the last coming April 5, 2012. Still, the 24-year-old has developed a good feel for this blue-collar city.

“I think this is a city, if you’re ... Read the full article

Sabres trade Thomas Vanek to Islanders for Matt Moulson and picks

BUFFALO – In the short-term, the hapless Sabres are no better after dealing co-captain and top scorer Thomas Vanek to the New York Islanders late Sunday for 30-goal winger Matt Moulson and a first-round pick in 2014 and second-round selection in 2015, general manager Darcy Regier said.

But the shocking trade, which Regier worked on with counterpart Garth Snow “off and on for a while,” wasn’t about improving the 2-10-1 club immediately.

“This is more ... Read the full article

Former Sabres coach Lindy Ruff returns home to Buffalo with Stars

BUFFALO – This city, of course, is still Lindy Ruff’s home. Always will be, the former Sabres coach said shortly after his stunning Feb. 20 dismissal.

At times, it felt as if Ruff, having survived so much turmoil and change over his 15 seasons, would never leave.

But 250 days ago, Darcy Regier, Ruff’s close friend, drove to his Clarence home and fired him, the Sabres’ regression too much for the general manager ... Read the full article

Sabres trade co-captain Thomas Vanek to Isles

BUFFALO – In a stunning development, the Sabres have traded 29-year-old co-captain Thomas Vanek, arguably their top player, to the New York Islanders for Matt Moulson, their 2014 first-round pick and a 2015 second-round pick.

The slick winger, an upcoming unrestricted free agent, has expressed an interesting in leaving the Sabres if their rebuilding process takes too long.

Clearly, the Sabres’ awful 2-10-1 start couldn’t convince Vanek to stick around.

In the 29-year-old Moulson, the ... Read the full article