Archives for April 13, 2015

‘In addition to Nolan, three of his assistant coaches also won’t return: Danny Flynn was fired, while Bryan Trottier and Tom Coolen won’t have their contracts renewed.’

‘“It’s a big offseason for everyone on this team. We all have to take a look in the mirror and understand that what happened this year isn’t acceptable, and we better be willing to put the time in and the effort in to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”’

‘“At the end of the day, it’s the guys who are going to be here, the guys that played this year who are going to be around next year, we need to be better,” Gionta said Sunday morning as the Sabres held their annual locker cleanout. “We need to improve some things. Obviously the roster is going to be changed. A lot of spots opened up and we’ll see how that goes.”’

‘To help with transparency, the NHL will post the chart of assigned combinations on its website Friday. The complete process, including video of the actual lottery, will also be posted on NHL.com following the televised announcement.’

‘Nolan was hired by Pat Lafontaine, who left the organization last season in an apparent dispute over power in the hockey department.’

‘“I don’t think it was a bad fit,” Murray said. “I don’t think it was a great fit. We both said after it’s too bad it didn’t work out. Is it chemistry? Maybe it’s just chemistry, maybe it’s just two different personalities. You need chemistry on the ice, and you need chemistry off the ice.”’

‘“I would do anything to be back here next year or years to come or whatever the case may be,” he said. “If I can give my right arm to be here, I would. I’d try to play with one arm if I had to.”’

‘The moved sparked speculation that billionaire owner Terry Pegula will take a hard run at landing Mike Babcock in the event the Red Wings coach doesn’t return to Detroit.’

‘Here’s hoping Nolan gets another shot. What happened in Buffalo this season wasn’t his doing.’

‘”I know this isn’t a popular thing,” Murray said. “To me, it’s about getting better. I feel this was an opportunity for us to improve and keep improving. And that’s certainly no disrespect to Ted.”‘