Buffalo Hockey Beat - WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage

Three Sabres file for salary arbitration

Three of the Buffalo Sabres’ four remaining restricted free agents – goalie Linus Ullmark and wingers Victor Olofsson and Sam Reinhart – filed for salary arbitration before today’s deadline.

Only defenseman Brandon Montour passed on it.

Update: Montour has signed a one-year, $3.85 million contract.

Filing, of course, doesn’t mean a player will go to arbitration. Negotiations can continue. The sides usually reach a deal before the arbitration hearing.

Last year, four Sabres filed ... Read the full article

Reports: Former Sabre Johan Larsson signs two-year contract with Coyotes

Former Buffalo Sabres center Johan Larsson is going to take a paycut to join the Arizona Coyotes.

Larsson’s new two-year contract carries an average annual value of $1.4 million, according to Sportsnet. He had a one-year deal worth $1.55 million last season.

ArizonaCoyotesInsider.com first reported Larsson was close to joining the Coyotes as a free agent.

Larsson, 28, spent seven years in Buffalo, compiling 38 goals and 97 points in 392 games. The Swede was ... Read the full article

Joe Daley played one maskless season with Buffalo before putting on protection later in his career. Photo courtesy of Joe Daley

Flashback: Meet Joe Daley, the maskless Sabres goalie

Fifty years ago today, the Buffalo Sabres played their first game, beating the Penguins 2-1 on Oct. 10, 1970 at Pittsburgh Civic Arena.

Jim Watson and Gilbert Perreault scored for the Sabres that night. Roger Crozier, whose presence offered the expansion team instant credibility, made 35 saves.

Crozier’s goalie partner that inaugural season was a journeyman named Joe Daley, a 27-year-old who had spent most of his career in the minors.

Daley played just one ... Read the full article

Sabres sign three depth players during odd day of free agency

The COVID-19 pandemic promised to make this offseason unusual.

NHL teams have generated little or no revenue over the past seven months. The league has frozen the salary cap at $81.5 million for 2020-21, a season it would like to start in January. That, of course, could be difficult.

The uncertainty surrounding the season created an odd opening day of free agency Friday. Many teams are operating on internal budgets far below the cap.

Instead ... Read the full article

Sabres sign Matt Irwin to one-year contract; Brandon Davidson inks deal

The Buffalo Sabres added some depth late this afternoon, signing left-shot defenseman Matt Irwin to a one-year, $700,000 contract, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

Update: The Sabres have officially announced the deal.

Irwin, 32, helps balance the blue line a bit. The Sabres now have three left-handed defensemen and four righties.

The 6-foot-1, 207-pound Irwin compiled zero goals, three assists and a minus-15 rating in 36 total games last season with the Nashville Predators and ... Read the full article

Sabres sign Tobias Rieder to one-year contract

More than three hours after free agency opened, new Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams has added his first player, signing winger Tobias Rieder to a one-year, $700,000 contract, according to The Score’s John Matisz and The Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski.

Update: The Sabres have officially announced the deal.

The 5-foot-11, 186-pound Rieder, 27, scored four goals and 10 points in 55 games with the Calgary Flames last season. He also scored three short-handed goals ... Read the full article

Sabres could be looking to add goalie through free agency or trade

When Kevyn Adams took over the Buffalo Sabres and started gathering information on his team, he made it a priority to ask the coaches their feelings about the goaltending.

“One of the most important first conversations,” said the general manager, who will likely be busy Friday when free agency opens at noon.

Linus Ullmark, 27, thrived last season in his first prolonged run as an NHL starter, developing into the Sabres’ backbone. After beginning the ... Read the full article

Reports: Sabres close to re-signing Zemgus Girgensons

The Sabres are close to re-signing winger Zemgus Girgensons to a three-year contract extension, according to The Buffalo News and TVA.

The deal has an average annual value of around $2 million, according to Sportsnet.

Update: The contract has a $2.2 million average annual value, according to TSN.

Girgensons could hit the open market Friday as an unrestricted free agent.

Update: The Sabres have officially announced the new contract.

The Latvian, 26, has developed into ... Read the full article

Sabres could re-sign Dominik Kahun after passing on qualifying offer

For weeks, there was speculation the Buffalo Sabres would pass on tendering defenseman Brandon Montour a qualifying offer as a restricted free agent.

Considering former general manager Jason Botterill traded a top prospect and a first round pick for Montour in 2019, the thought of letting him go seemed outrageous. But the belief was the Sabres, who have tightened their belts during the COVID-19 pandemic, did not want to pay Montour big money.

Well, Wednesday’s ... Read the full article

Prospect J-J Peterka thrilled Sabres traded up to draft him

As the NHL Draft progressed Tuesday night, J-J Peterka started getting a little upset. The German forward many had pegged as a first-round selection kept waiting to be picked.

Two of his fellow countrymen – forwards Tim Stutzle (third overall, Ottawa Senators) and Lukas Reichel (17th, Chicago Blackhawks) – went off the board early.

When the first round ended, Peterka, 18, was still available. Meanwhile, rookie general manager Kevyn Adams was trying to move up ... Read the full article