Rochester Americans - Buffalo Hockey Beat

West Seneca’s Sean Malone signs two-way contract with Predators

Forward Sean Malone’s time in the Buffalo Sabres organization has ended.

The West Seneca native has signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Nashville Predators for the 2020-21 season, the team announced today.

Malone, 25, spent the last three seasons with the Rochester Americans, compiling 28 goals and 65 points in 169 games. The Harvard graduate played one game with the Sabres, jumping straight to the NHL shortly after his college career ended in 2017.... 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’ decision to fire Amerks coach Chris Taylor looks foolish

In 2017, former general manager Jason Botterill and his assistant, Randy Sexton, took an unusual first step in rebuilding the Buffalo Sabres’ struggling AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans.

Barely a year after the Sabres’ previous regime had let Chris Taylor go as an assistant coach from the Amerks, Botterill and Sexton, who also served as Rochester’s GM, rehired him as head coach.

The move made sense. Taylor, who was fired again Tuesday, spent his ... Read the full article

Disconnect with Pegulas costs Jason Botterill job as Sabres GM

If the NHL could’ve held its draft as scheduled next week, Jason Botterill would likely still be employed as the Buffalo Sabres’ general manager. But the COVID-19 pandemic forced the league to postpone the annual event until the fall.

The extra time gave Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula an opportunity to discuss and plan the team’s future – “Really start digging in,” Kim Pegula said on a Zoom call Tuesday to discuss Botterill’s firing ... Read the full article

Sabres fire Amerks coach Chris Taylor and assistants

In his three years as Rochester Americans coach, Chris Taylor helped re-energize the Buffalo Sabres’ moribund AHL affiliate.

For the first time in years, the Amerks morphed into a consistent winner. Players, meanwhile, regularly raved about the affable Taylor and his staff.

When the Sabres needed an assistant to fill in behind the bench early this season, they elevated Taylor, who is often talked about as a future NHL coach.

But on Tuesday, hours after ... Read the full article

After firing Jason Botterill, Sabres will go forward as ‘leaner’ operation

Sabres fire GM Jason Botterill, name Kevyn Adams replacement

In a stunning move this morning, the Buffalo Sabres fired general manager Jason Botterill after three seasons and replaced him with Kevyn Adams, who had been serving as the team’s senior vice president of business administration.

“This morning, we informed Jason Botterill he will no longer be the general manager of the Sabres,” Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula said in a statement. “This decision was made after many candid discussions with Jason during ... Read the full article

Why did Lawrence Pilut bolt from Sabres to Russian team?

Following two productive seasons in the Buffalo Sabres organization, it seemed like a formality defenseman Lawrence Pilut would re-sign this offseason as a restricted free agent.

Pilut, 24, quickly acclimated to a new brand of hockey following his arrival from Sweden in 2018, developing into one of the AHL’s most dynamic defensemen as a rookie with the Rochester Americans. Less than two months into his North American career, he earned his first recall to ... Read the full article

Lawrence Pilut officially leaves Sabres, contract with KHL team announced

Defenseman Lawrence Pilut’s two-year contract with Traktor Chelyabins, a Russian team in the Kontinental Hockey League, was officially announced today.

Pilut, who signed a two-year, entry-level NHL contract with the Buffalo Sabres in 2018, is a pending restricted free agent. The Sabres must give him a qualifying offer to retain his rights.

The Buffalo News reported last month Pilut would be leaving the Sabres for the KHL. It’s unclear if he can return to the ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Victor Olofsson possesses talents to develop into elite NHL scorer

Shortly after Ralph Krueger awarded rookie Victor Olofsson the coveted spot beside captain Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart out of training camp, the coach broke up the Buffalo Sabres’ top line.

“We did not play too well together,” Reinhart acknowledged on a Zoom call last week. “Maybe the first couple we played well, and then (Olofsson) actually moved away from us for a game or two.”

When Krueger moved Olofsson back to the top left-wing ... Read the full article