Buffalo Hockey Beat - WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage

Jochen Hecht heading to Germany with goal of NHL return

BUFFALO – In September, former Sabres forward Jochen Hecht said he had a standing offer to join his hometown Mannheim Eagles, a DEL club in his native Germany.

Hecht kept that option on the backburner, however.

Instead of returning home, the 35-year-old free agent made the NHL his No. 1 option. Hecht stayed in Buffalo, skating with some locked-out Sabres at the Northtown Center a few times a week.

But with the lockout 87 days ... Read the full article

Latest cancellations frustrate Sabres’ McCormick

AMHERST – Of course, the NHL’s fifth round of cancellations – games from Saturday through Dec. 30, including eight more Buffalo Sabres contests – was only a formality. The league had been expected to axe more games after collective bargaining negotiations with the NHL Players’ Association imploded last week.

Still, knowing something will happen doesn’t always soften the blow.

“It’s terrible,” Sabres forward Cody McCormick said about the cancellations Monday after skating inside the Northtown ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Regehr still optimistic for season despite recent blowup

AMHERST – Even as promising signs kept emerging from the NHL and the Players’ Association’s marathon collective bargaining sessions earlier this week, Robyn Regehr never felt a deal was close to ending the 84-day lockout.

“Personally, no,” the Buffalo Sabres defenseman said Friday inside the Northtown Center, a day after the once-promising talks imploded spectacularly at a New York hotel. “I think a lot of players and a lot people kind of have felt that ... Read the full article

Report: Sabres’ Myers injures ankle in Austria

BUFFALO – Uh-oh.

Sabres defenseman Tyler Myers, who’s playing for Klagenfurter AC in Austria during the NHL lockout, injured his ankle tonight. He was helped off the ice and underwent an MRI, according to this report.

Myers hasn’t wowed in the EBEL like some might’ve been expecting. The 22-year-old has two goals, nine points and a minus-8 rating in 15 games, according to hockeydb.com.

UPDATE: Myers has a left ankle strain and ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Regehr never thought CBA was imminent

AMHERST – I chatted with Buffalo Sabres defenseman Robyn Regehr this morning inside the Northtown Center, less than a day after collective bargaining negotiations to end the 83-day NHL lockout imploded badly.

The 32-year-old, a lockout veteran, didn’t mince words.

Here are some quick highlights:

On if a deal was really that close:

“Personally, no. I think a lot of players and a lot people kind of have felt that way at different parts ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Steve Ott hopes charity game wows fans

BUFFALO – In Steve Ott’s mind, the special “Rockout The Lockout” charity hockey game he’s helping present Saturday could become more than a mere exhibition contest.

Eighty-three days into the NHL lockout, players are starving for some game action, the Sabres winger said.

So don’t expect the event “to be just an all-star game,” he said. Players are becoming increasingly competitive as they wait for the season to start. Some haven’t played a game in ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Ryan Miller has long history of displaying passion

BUFFALO – If you’ve spent any time following Ryan Miller’s career, then you’re aware the Sabres goalie might be the NHL’s most passionate player.

Miller says whatever he thinks, a rarity in sports today. Sometimes he’s lauded for it. Other times he’s flayed for it.

But he’ll stand up for whatever he believes is right.

So it’s hardly surprising details are emerging that Miller, one of the 18 or so players negotiating with owners in ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Leopold ‘cautiously optimistic’ CBA meetings moving process forward

AMHERST – Finally, 81 days later, the NHL lockout may mercifully be nearing an end. Eighteen players, including Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller, and six owners held a marathon day of collective bargaining meetings Tuesday in New York.

When the sides emerged, NHL Players’ Association special counsel Steve Fehr, flanked by NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly, said, “In some ways I’d say it might be the best day we’ve had, which isn’t too overly ... Read the full article

Sabres players hoping meeting with owners will get labor talks rolling

AMHERST – Perhaps today’s meeting between players and owners in New York can facilitate some meaningful dialogue, even generate a breakthrough in the contentious negotiations between the NHL and the Players’ Association.

Eighty days into the NHL lockout, adding a fresh dynamic to the stale labor talks could be beneficial, some Buffalo Sabres players said.

“I don’t know if it will (facilitate dialogue), but it’s worth a shot,” Sabres winger Thomas Vanek said Monday after ... Read the full article

Sabres players not interested in meeting owners

AMHERST – Mediation, as expected, failed to ignite talks between the NHL and the Players’ Association.

Seventy-seven days into the lockout, nothing has gotten the sides on the same page. The clock’s already ticking on the 2012-13 season.

So what about that meeting limited only to players and owners NHL commissioner Gary Bettman proposed Thursday after the two days of supervised talks broke down? Could that work?

Bettman and NHLPA executive director Don Fehr would ... Read the full article