Reinhart - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres switch up lines, move Tage Thompson up, Jeff Skinner down

After a 10-month layoff, the Buffalo Sabres play 10 games in an 18-day stretch, starting with Thursday’s season opener against the Washington Capitals.

That includes three back-to-back sets. The early stretch will be rigorous and likely test the Sabres’ depth. They’re going to have to roll four lines.

“Right now, we need to be a good four-line team early in the season,” Krueger said on a Zoom call Friday.

So Krueger, who pretty much kept ... Read the full article

Jeff Skinner, Eric Staal excited to team up as duo with Sabres

During the six years Jeff Skinner and Eric Staal spent together as teammates with the Carolina Hurricanes, they usually skated on separate lines.

Back then, the Hurricanes were in the midst of a marathon 14-year playoff drought. As one of the NHL’s bottom-feeders, they possessed little depth up front. So the coaches would often play their top scorers on different lines.

“We were pretty thin,” said Staal, who joined Skinner and the Buffalo Sabres in ... 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

Sam Reinhart excited about Sabres’ moves, fine with one-year contract

For the first time since Sam Reinhart played for the Vancouver NW Giants in 2010-11, the Buffalo Sabres winger is spending the fall at home.

Normally, Reinhart, who turns 25 on Friday, would be one month into a new hockey season. Since leaving home in 2011, he has spent his Octobers and Novembers in Kootenay, British Columbia, where he played junior, or Buffalo.

But the COVID-19 pandemic has forced the NHL to push back the ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Victor Olofsson eager to build on standout rookie season

As the 181st overall pick in 2014, Buffalo Sabres winger Victor Olofsson faced long odds to play in the NHL.

For some perspective, consider the Sabres drafted 16 prospects in the seventh round from 2005 until 2016. Only two – Olofsson and defenseman Brady Austin, who played five games in 2016-17 – have cracked the big leagues.

So when Olofsson, 25, signed his second NHL contract Thursday – his 20-goal rookie season earned ... 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 sign Sam Reinhart, Linus Ullmark to one-year contracts

The Buffalo Sabres avoided arbitration with winger Sam Reinhart and goalie Linus Ullmark by signing the restricted free agents to a pair of one-year contracts Sunday.

Reinhart, whose hearing was scheduled for Tuesday, inked a $5.2 million deal. Meanwhile, Ullmark, whose hearing was set for today, signed a $2.6 million contract.

The Sabres now have $6,545,833 in salary cap space remaining, according to capfriendly.com. They still have one arbitration hearing scheduled: winger Victor Olofsson’s ... Read the full article

Sabres re-sign Sam Reinhart to one-year, $5.2 million contract

The Buffalo Sabres have avoided arbitration with Sam Reinhart, re-signing the winger to a one-year, $5.2 million contract, the team announced today.

His hearing was scheduled for Tuesday.

Reinhart, 24, earned $3.7 million in 2019-20 in the final season of a two-year, $7.3 million contract. He will be a restricted free agent again next year.

The Sabres now have $8,445,833 in salary cap space remaining, according to capfriendly.com. Goalie Linus Ullmark (Monday) and winger ... Read the full article

Report: Sabres, Linus Ullmark $2.3 million apart before arbitration hearing

The Buffalo Sabres and goalie Linus Ullmark are $2.3 million apart heading into Monday’s arbitration hearing, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

The Sabres offered Ullmark $1.8 million, while he countered with $4.1 million, Friedman tweeted this morning.

Ullmark, 27, earned $1.325 million last season.

The Swede enjoyed his best NHL season in 2019-20, recording a 17-14-3 record with a 2.69 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage in 34 games.

From Nov. 16 until Jan. ... Read the full article

Johan Larsson had little dialogue with Sabres before leaving for Coyotes

If Jason Botterill hadn’t been fired as general manager, then perhaps center Johan Larsson would’ve returned to the Buffalo Sabres.

Larsson, 28, just enjoyed arguably his best NHL season, becoming one of coach Ralph Krueger’s trusted forwards. The checking line the Swede pivoted between Zemgus Girgensons and Kyle Okposo quickly solidified itself as the Sabres’ steadiest combination. Krueger kept the trio intact nearly all season.

It appeared Larsson, who signed a two-year contract with ... Read the full article