‘“The transition was quick, but when you put yourself in situations, this doesn’t come overnight,” Rolston said. “It’s a process where it’s been 23 years coaching, and it’s a profession, it’s a passion.”‘

‘In two-plus years since Terry Pegula purchased the franchise, management took a team that was a few players away from becoming a Stanley Cup contender and turned it into a small-time operation. They keep selling, and people keep buying whether it’s ownership or an apologetic minority of the fan base or, in this case, both.’

‘“I’m doing pretty good for an old guy,” said Jeanneret. “I have 70-year-old aches and pains.”’

‘“Starting with when he took over, I was very impressed with the work that he did,” Regier said.’

‘“It became more and more evident that he was a very good fit, not only for the present, but for the future,” Regier said inside the First Niagara Center in announcing Rolston’s hiring.’

‘The reason that Terry Pegula keeps Darcy Regier is because Regier has learned how to keep the seats filled while still showing a profit. The NHL, just like any other sports league, is a business. Terry Pegula can say that he doesn’t care if he loses money with the Sabres, but he has found out the hard way that it matters a lot.’

‘“I’m not going to be doing all the games, I will be cutting back to a certain extent, but I have no idea of how many. The Olympics will play a part of it, they haven’t confirmed that they are going, but trust me, they are going,” said Jeanneret, who started with the team on radio during the 1971-72 season.’

‘Rolston led the Sabres to a 15-11-5 record after Ruff was fired Feb. 20 following a 6-10-1 performance. Ruff spent 16 years as coach of the Sabres and 10 years as a player.’

‘”I was very impressed with the work he did individually and with the players, and I look forward to him continuing that,” said Sabres general manager Darcy Regier at a press conference Tuesday.’

‘General manager Darcy Regier was impressed with the effort of the Sabres late in the season, especially after dealing away team captain Jason Pominville. Before his two seasons at Rochester, Rolston won three gold medals as head coach of USA Hockey’s Under-18 team.’

‘The Sabres may feel Rolston, who is considered a strong teacher of the sport, is the right man for the job as they rebuild their roster. There could be a number of young players on the roster next season who will need to develop their game.’

‘Regier did not do a search as Rolston was the only person he spoke with. Regier said, “It was a process that we worked through, conversations about players, a little bit about the staff, a little bit about players in Rochester that we had an opportunity to see last week in their playoffs, so it’s time that we had available to spend that we really didn’t have during the season when Ron was focused on winning hockey games.” Regier went on to say, “I think that the time that we spent together it was about me confirming what I thought and just locking it in.”’

‘Today Rolston was named coach, as in permanent. The Sabres put a ring on his finger. And the fans shrugged.’

‘Early in Rolston’s tenure, the 23-year-old defenseman revealed he’d been told by his new coach that he should focus on defensive play only and that Rolston “didn’t care if he scored another point all season.” Well, he didn’t score much under Buffalo’s new head man – only five points in 23 games – but the defensive aspects of his game improved.’

‘Before joining the Americans as head coach in 2011, Rolston spent seven seasons as head coach with USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program, where he became the first coach in U.S. history to lead the United States Under-18 team to three gold medals (2005, 2009, 2011) at the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Under-18 Championship, adding a silver medal (2007) in his other appearance as head coach.’