Skinner - 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

Sabres sign Riley Sheahan to one-year, $700,000 contract

When the Sabres promoted forward Riley Sheahan earlier this week after Zemgus Girgensons suffered a season-ending hamstring injury, it appeared the veteran would be sticking around Buffalo.

Sure enough, on Friday, the Sabres signed Sheahan, who came to training camp on a professional tryout, to a one-year contract worth $700,000.

Sabres coach Ralph Krueger said “the specialist that he is” helped Sheahan earn a deal.

“(He’s) strong on faceoffs, (an) excellent penalty killer, ... 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

Sabres’ Taylor Hall understands Jack Eichel’s frustrations

Few players understand what Buffalo Sabres captain Jack Eichel has endured over his first five NHL seasons better than Taylor Hall.

Hall needed 529 games, eight seasons and two organizations before making his first playoff appearance.

Eichel, having played 354 games without sniffing the postseason, has experienced a similarly frustrating start to his career.

The American, 23, was supposed to lead the Sabres’ resurgence after they drafted him second overall in 2015. Hall, 28, ... Read the full article

Finding his fit: Why Taylor Hall picked Sabres over other suitors

When free agency opened Friday, rookie general manager Kevyn Adams called Darren Ferris, Taylor Hall’s agent, and told him the Buffalo Sabres would be interested in talking to his client.

Few expected Hall, the most coveted winger available, would chose a team mired in a nine-year playoff drought. The 2017-18 Hart Trophy winner recently expressed how winning had become his top priority.

Still, Hall wanted to talk to the Sabres. Their coach, Ralph Krueger, knows ... Read the full article

Taylor Hall signs one-year, $8 million contract with Sabres

For nearly three days, the Buffalo Sabres remained quiet in free agency, adding only depth players.

Reports materialized last week the Sabres would pursue slick winger Taylor Hall, one of the most coveted players on the market. Still, few expected a team mired in an embarrassing nine-year playoff drought could lure the former Hart Trophy winner.

It appeared if general manager Kevyn Adams wanted to dramatically improve the Sabres, he would have to do so ... Read the full article

Sabres notes: Eric Staal’s acquisition helps Kevyn Adams establish credibility

Barely an hour after Kevyn Adams acquired center Eric Staal last week, he hadn’t given much thought to having completed his first trade as Buffalo Sabres general manager.

“I’ve been so focused on this process and the work that goes into it,” Adams said Sept. 16 after dishing forward Marcus Johansson to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for Staal.

Adams, 45, experienced a whirlwind summer as he began tackling the daunting task of trying to ... Read the full article

Trading for Eric Staal should be morale boost for Sabres

The Buffalo Sabres endured a rough summer before Wednesday’s acquisition of center Eric Staal from the Minnesota Wild. Gutting the front office three months ago lowered expectations for what has become perhaps the NHL’s most dysfunctional franchise.

So sending forward Marcus Johansson to the Wild for Staal, 35, should ignite a little optimism within the team and its beleaguered fan base.

In his first trade as general manager, Kevyn Adams addressed a major hole – ... Read the full article

Sabres trade Marcus Johansson to Wild for Eric Staal

Kevyn Adams made his first trade as Buffalo Sabres general manager today, sending forward Marcus Johansson to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for center Eric Staal.

Staal will likely be utilized as the No. 2 center, a position the Sabres have struggled to fill since dealing Ryan O’Reilly to the St. Louis Blues in 2018.

Johansson, a winger most of his NHL career, centered the second line much of the 2019-20 season, his first in ... Read the full article