BUFFALO – Having developed in the Ottawa organization when Tim Murray was the Senators’ assistant general manager, new Sabres goalie Robin Lehner knows the Buffalo GM well.
“He’s got a very nice smiling face,” Lehner joked about the notoriously serious Murray this afternoon on a conference call. “You guys can see that a whole lot. He’s a very serious guy to handle.”
Kidding aside, the two share a mutual respect. When the Sabres needed a starting goalie this offseason, Murray made Lehner his No. 1 target. The Sabres acquired the 23-year-old Swede with center David Legwand on Friday for the 21st pick in the NHL Draft.
“It shows he believes in me,” Lehner said. “That’s special. Some memories from (Binghamton), we won the Calder Cup (in the AHL) there. He’s been a big part of my development.”
Check back for a full story later on Lehner, who missed the final three months of last season after suffering a scary concussion. Lehner said his recovery is “going good.”
“I’ve been very anxious, started getting my head together,” he said. “My headaches, it’s been gone now for a while. I’ve been working out now for a few weeks. I sat around not doing pretty much anything at all for three, four months. That’s the first time in my career I’ve gone not moving for that long.
“I’m doing everything I can now to get back into shape. It’s two and a half months I have until go time. I’m going to make it count.”