Buffalo News

‘The crossed swords crest will be displayed in fluorescent gold and navy blue, rather than white and blue. Five stripes — one representing each of the franchise’s decades — are embroidered on both sleeves as well as the jersey’s bottom. Four are gold and one wider one is in blue.’

‘The home opener Oct. 5 against New Jersey will be the first theme night as it will be “Captains Night”, with captains from throughout franchise history being honored in a pregame ceremony.’

‘That jersey is primarily white, with the gold accent stripes matching the color the Sabres having been using on all their promotional materials for what the team has dubbed its “Golden Season.”‘

‘“I feel better when — I don’t even know how to describe it; almost like when you’re tired, I feel better,” Skinner told The Buffalo News following his workout with Bowler. “The offseason, a lot of things are fun for me. I’m very fortunate to be able to play a sport for a living and the sport allows opportunities to meet people who are sort of at the top of their game. … It’s not a grind. You’re always learning and growing as a person.”’

‘”We like the situation we’re in right now,” Botterill said. “We don’t have to make a trade to become cap compliant. We’ve gone over a zillion different scenarios. As much as the last couple weeks have been difficult weeks going through the salary arbitration process, what’s great about it is we have all the contracts done now. There’s no holdouts. We can focus in on how we’re going to get things going, and we’ll continue to have discussions with other teams on, ‘Hey, is there a trade that makes sense for us?’”‘

‘The five games are all on NBCSN and equal the number of national TV games the Sabres played last season and two less than they were scheduled for during the 2017-18 season.’

‘ince Ullmark and McCabe avoided an arbitration decision Saturday, Buffalo’s window will open Tuesday and it has at least two possible buyout candidates: center Vladimir Sobotka and defenseman Marco Scandella.’

‘According to CapFriendly.com, the team had roughly $300,000 in salary cap space before signing Ullmark. His new deal seemingly puts the Sabres just over the cap by $235,000. Buffalo still has the option of taking advantage of a second buyout period, however, General Manager Jason Botterill declined to buy out a player in June. Trades are also a possibility, especially with the surplus on the blue line.’

‘According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, McCabe’s representatives are seeking a 2019-20 salary of $4.3 million, while the Sabres want to pay him $1.95 million. An indepedent arbitrator will hear each side’s argument before rendering a verdict, which will likely result in splitting the difference.’

‘That said, I’m not convinced the Sabres have added enough to keep up with other teams in the Eastern Conference. Think about the big-name additions made by the New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils and Florida Panthers, among others.’