‘Botterill told reporters Wednesday the Sabres are prepared to draft now and did not express any concern with the change to the lottery. Although Botterill said he isn’t in a position to trade numerous high draft picks, he did not rule out using his first-round selection as a trade chip.’
Archives for May 28, 2020
Jason Botterill’s chance to set a new tone for Sabres falls flat
‘Reaction: Miss the playoffs. Lather, rinse, repeat. Miss the playoffs. Lather, rinse, repeat.’
Sabres defenseman Lawrence Pilut signs contract with Russian team
‘Although there is a clause in the contract that would allow Pilut to leave for the NHL, it’s unclear if he can do so during the season. There is a chance Pilut can begin next season in the KHL and return to Buffalo when the Sabres are able to resume play. Pilut’s agent, Patrik Aronsson, declined comment when contacted by The News regarding the contract.’
Sabres’ Kyle Okposo understands frustrations: ‘I know people are mad’
‘“I understand the weight of the team that’s on the city, and I get it, because I now live here full time,” Okposo said on a Zoom call Wednesday. “I talked to a lot of people, I’ve become friends with a lot of different people, and I know people are (ticked). I know people are mad and they want to win. We want to win, too.”’
Report: Lawrence Pilut leaving Sabres, joining Russian team
‘The Swede will become a restricted free agent when the two-year, entry-level NHL contract he signed with the Sabres expires June 30.’
Criticism doesn’t alter Sabres GM’s plan to build with youth
‘“When we talk about development, it also equates to trying to find a winning environment here,” he added. “We want our young players to step in and put them in positions where they can succeed, where they can help out our core players right away.”’
Botterill: ‘At the end of the day, it’s our fault that we didn’t win more games’
‘”At the end of the day, we should have put ourselves in a better position. I think in the five or six games leading up to the start of the pause, we played well, but we didn’t get the results that we wanted. In a situation when you get into February, March and April, you have to get results. We didn’t get that.”‘
McCabe disappointed in the way the 2019-20 season ended
‘”It was tough navigating it because these are crazy times,” McCabe said during his end-of-season press conference on Wednesday via a Zoom conference call. “Any format that we decided upon and voted upon, there’s obviously going to be some push back. It’s an imperfect situation and it’s an imperfect format, no matter how you look at it or which way you go about it, but ultimately this is what was agreed upon. It’s unfortunate that we’re just going to miss out just barely, but that’s the way it goes, I guess.”‘
Report: Lawrence Pilut is considering leaving for the KHL
‘Lawrence Pilut, who has had a tough time getting minutes with the Sabres in the past two seasons, is reportedly considering leaving for the Kontinental Hockey League in Russia, according to Russian reporter Igor Zhukov.’
Continuity is a bad idea for the Sabres
‘It’s mostly about what’s happened with the franchise in his tenure, but Kim Pegula’s comments only added to my ire. The Sabres team president and co-owner told the Associated Press on Tuesday, “I realize, maybe it’s not popular with the fans, but we have to do the things that we feel are right” in explaining the reasoning for keeping Botterill for a fourth season. Pegula added, “we have a little bit more information than maybe a fan does, some inner workings that we see some positives in.”’