Buffalo News

'All I wanted to do is win for you. It didn’t happen, obviously. I am sorry, and I take that personally. I can tell you I gave absolutely everything I had to the organization and the city. In return, the city took in my family and I with open arms.' … [Read more...] about Ex-Buffalo Sabres captain Kyle Okposo’s thank-you letter to city, franchise

'“I think it’s awesome seeing how many guys come out of the Jr. Sabres organization,” McCarthy said. “We’ve all skated on this ice since we were younger, so it’s cool seeing each other out there and hanging out at camp and being around each other. It’s great to see.”' … [Read more...] about Impact of Jr. Sabres is felt at Sabres development camp and throughout the season

'A look at the forward group suggests the Sabres may be done, though. Peterka, Tuch, Quinn and Zucker or Benson are the top-six wingers. Adams would have to package multiple NHL players in a trade to create room for an addition such as the Flyers’ Farabee.' … [Read more...] about Sabres mailbag: Is Ryan McLeod the last offseason addition for Lindy Ruff?

'The Sabres have eight road trips of at least three games next season − and that’s the most in franchise history, according to the team pages of Hockey-Reference.com. They have four runs with four straight road games, although two of them likely will have a trip back to Buffalo after the first contest before jetting to far-off locales for the remaining games.' … [Read more...] about Inside the NHL: Pondering points of the Sabres’ 2024-25 schedule at a quiet time in offseason

'“Speed was always my main strength,” Aube-Kubel, 28, said this week on a video call with Buffalo media. “The way you are on the forecheck, I bet some ‘D’ men will say I’m hard to play against on that ... I built my game around that speed, and Beck really helped me last year.”' … [Read more...] about Nicolas Aube-Kubel offers speed that Sabres haven’t had on their fourth line

'“Emotional but super excited,” McLeod told reporters during a video conference call Wednesday afternoon. “A little bit of a whirlwind. You really don’t know what’s going on or anything. I think it’s a great opportunity. They have a great group there and it seems like a great group of guys. I’m excited to get down there and meet everyone.” ==; … [Read more...] about Ryan McLeod’s ‘whirlwind’ trade has new Sabres center ‘excited’ to get to Buffalo

'Helenius was a standout performer last week at the Sabres' post-draft development camp, where he showcased the playmaking and mature two-way game that convinced General Manager Kevyn Adams to select him after Buffalo traded down from the 11th pick to No. 14 to acquire an additional second-round selection.' … [Read more...] about Sabres sign 2024 first-round draft pick Konsta Helenius to entry-level contract

'The overhaul of the Sabres’ roster lacks the star power that hockey diehards in Buffalo wanted – aside from the $9 million-per-season winger that was given his walking papers – but Adams cannot be accused of inaction after the general manager turned over a portion of a roster that underperformed while finishing with seven fewer standings points in 2023-24.' … [Read more...] about Do the Sabres need a goal-scorer after landing Ryan McLeod to center the third line?

'“A lot of it’s about deployment,” Zucker said last week during a video call with Buffalo reporters. “There’s so many aspects of my game that I feel I can play up and down the lineup. But at the same time, if you look up and down on essentially any roster, the point productions as you go down the lineups typically decrease. In Arizona, there was a ton of skill at the top of the … [Read more...] about Inside the NHL: Jason Zucker is betting on himself to bring Sabres some offense

'Scouts, development coaches and managers for the Sabres love Savoie's competitiveness, intensity and work ethic. Adam Mair, their director of development, gushed about the 5-foot-10 forward this week at development camp. The issue, however, is that it became evident that Savoie's quickest path to the NHL was on the wing instead of center. The Sabres drafted Finnish center … [Read more...] about Sabres trade top prospect Matt Savoie to Oilers for Ryan McLeod, Tyler Tullio

'Jokiharju, 25, had three goals and 17 assists in 74 games for the Sabres last season. His 20 points were a career high as was his plus-14 rating last season that led the team.' … [Read more...] about Sabres re-sign Henri Jokiharju to one-year deal worth $3.1 million

'“The more we thought about Buffalo, the more we liked it and the opportunity here,” Lafferty told reporters on a video conference call after the 29-year-old signed a two-year contract to join the Sabres’ revamped bottom six. “I’ve always been a big fan of this hockey club and the players they had, so it got me excited, the opportunity to play with a lot of these guys, … [Read more...] about Sam Lafferty ready to help Sabres shut down opponents, win faceoffs

'After three days of drills where his pure hockey skill was plainly evident, the 14th overall pick last week in Las Vegas was a standout Thursday under game conditions. Helenius led Team Perreault to a three-game sweep and the championship, scoring a slick shootout goal to secure a 3-2 victory over Team Martin, adding two goals and an assist in a 5-3 win over Team Robert and … [Read more...] about First-round pick Konsta Helenius shows off smooth hands at Sabres camp tournament

'Leinonen has played only 52 games since the Sabres took him 41st overall in the draft because of various minor injuries. The team wanted him to get more experience in pro hockey this past season, but most of his 19 games played were in junior hockey. He didn’t play well, either. Leinonen had an .871 save percentage in four regular-season games with JYP’s Under-20 team. That … [Read more...] about Sabres prospect notes: Topias Leinonen wants to rebound from ‘really hard season’

'“Definitely a defensive-first player,” said Gilbert. “I try to be extremely hard to play against. You can look at that in a multitude of ways. Obviously, I’ve been willing to fight in my career and that’s something that’s not going to change. But also, there’s a different – you can do things that are hard to play against that aren’t just fighting. It’s being super physical. … [Read more...] about Sabres’ Dennis Gilbert wants to bring ‘snarl’ and ‘anger’ to hometown team