WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
Stanley Cup Playoffs Edition
Jeff Skinner, seen here facing off against Riley Nash last season, hasn’t played a game since March 9. ©2020, Micheline Veluvolu
Four new NHL divisions, including one comprised entirely of Canadian teams. A 56-game schedule. The Stanley Cup awarded in July.
The COVID-19 pandemic, which is still ravaging the United States and Canada, forced the NHL and NHL Players’ Association to make some major changes for the 2020-21 season.
The Buffalo Sabres, for example, have temporarily been shifted to the new East Division, a group of eight teams that normally play in the Atlantic and Metropolitan.... Read the full article
Nathan Paetsch spent most of 2005-06 in Rochester before going up to Buffalo. ©2020, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans
In April, when MSG replayed the Buffalo Sabres’ gut-wrenching Game 7 loss from 2006, Nathan Paetsch decided it was time to relive the craziest night of his NHL career.
For almost 14 years, the defeat stung so badly that Paetsch, who retired Friday, avoided watching the final game of the classic Eastern Conference final series against the Carolina Hurricanes.
“I never looked back on it,” Paetsch said of the memorable 4-2 loss during a Zoom ... Read the full article
Nathan Paetsch played 258 games for Rochester. ©2020, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans
Former Buffalo Sabres defenseman Nathan Paetsch, who also spent parts of seven seasons with the Rochester Americans over three stints, has retired, the AHL club announced today.
The popular Paetsch, 37, played 870 games over 17 pro seasons, including 157 contests with the Sabres. He compiled 23 goals and 100 points in 258 career games with the Amerks.
Paetsch, who would sometimes moonlight as a forward, embraced a new role when he returned to ... Read the full article
Rick Vaive was still a 30-goal scorer when he joined the Sabres. ©2020, Janet Schultz
In his new book, “Catch 22: My Battles, in Hockey and Life,” three-time 50-goal scorer Rick Vaive, who played four seasons with the Buffalo Sabres, offers a thoughtful account of his struggles with alcohol.
For much of his life, Vaive, a Toronto Maple Leafs legend and former captain, combated his undiagnosed anxiety by drinking. But after a doctor prescribed him medication to treat the anxiety, he kept drinking.
As his 35th birthday approached, ... Read the full article
The Sabres drafted Ryan Johnson 31st overall in 2019. ©2020, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans
Buffalo Sabres defense prospect Ryan Johnson has earned a spot on Team USA’s 25-man roster for the upcoming World Junior Championship.
USA Hockey announced the roster today.
Johnson, 19, has compiled zero goals and four assists in six games this season as a sophomore at Minnesota. The Sabres drafted Johnson 31st overall in 2019.
The American is the son of former NHL forward Craig Johnson.... Read the full article
A 52-goal season helped put Jack Quinn on Team Canada’s radar. ©2020, Terry Wilson, OHL Images
Buffalo Sabres prospects forward prospects Dylan Cozens and Jack Quinn have earned spots on Team Canada’s 25-man roster for the upcoming World Junior Championship.
Hockey Canada, which paused the team’s camp on Nov. 25 for 14 days following two positive COVID-19 tests, announced the roster today.
Cozens, 19, won a gold medal in last year’s tournament, scoring two goals and nine points in seven games. The center, the seventh overall pick in 2019, is ... Read the full article
Jack Eichel hasn’t had a chance to celebrate in front of Sabres fans in nine months. ©2020, Micheline Veluvolu
The COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the Buffalo Sabres’ value dropping 4% to $385 million in 2020, according to Forbes estimates.
Only three NHL teams – the Arizona Coyotes, Florida Panthers and Columbus Blue Jackets – are worth less the than Sabres, who lost $10.9 million in 2020, according to Forbes.
Forbes tabbed the New York Rangers as the NHL’s most valuable franchise, worth $1.65 billion. Four other teams – the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal ... Read the full article
The Sabres began sending prospects to Cincinnati in 2017-18.
The Cincinnati Cyclones, the Buffalo Sabres’ ECHL affiliate, will not play in the 2020-21 season, according to Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek and The Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski.
The Kalamazoo Wings and Idaho Steelheads will also sit out the season, according to Marek.
The COVID-19 pandemic has decimated minor league teams, which rely on gate revenue to operate.
On Nov. 18, the ECHL’s six-team North Division – the Adirondack Thunder, Brampton Beast, Maine Mariners, Newfoundland Growlers and ... Read the full article
Matt Irwin spent 2015-16 as Colby Cave’s teammate in Providence. ©2020, Alan Sullivan, Providence Bruins
It was the summer of 2015, and after spending three seasons with the San Jose Sharks, defenseman Matt Irwin felt a strong desire to return to the East Coast.
Having attended UMass for two years and developed three seasons with San Jose’s AHL affiliate, the Worcester Sharks, Irwin felt comfortable in Massachusetts. When an opportunity materialized to the join the Boston Bruins as a free agent, he pounced on it, signing a one-year contract.
Irwin ... Read the full article
J-J Peterka has played eight games with Salzburg. ©2020, GEPA, Red Bull
It was just a small gathering at the rink. J-J Peterka’s family, agent and some personnel from EC Red Bull Salzburg gathered in the early-morning hours to watch the first round of the NHL Draft.
In NHL history, only five Germans had been first-round picks. But Germany has started producing elite talent, and this year, three forward prospects – Peterka, Tim Stutzle and Lukas Reichel – possessed the potential to be taken among the first ... Read the full article