Buffalo News

'The move gave the Sabres nine picks in the NHL draft, which begins with the first round Friday night at The Sphere in Las Vegas and concludes Saturday with rounds two through seven. They may not select that many players, though. Adams is still shopping the 14th pick to try to upgrade his NHL roster, and he’s informed teams that he’d move either of Buffalo’s second-round … [Read more...] about Sabres notes: GM Kevyn Adams trading back in first round could lead to bigger move

'Florida’s win in the winner-take-all game had a terrific 10.4 local rating, raising the local average to 5.3, well above the NBA average.' … [Read more...] about Alan Pergament: Florida’s Stanley Cup victory loaded with former Sabres gets huge ratings in WNY

'The Sabres could have afforded Mittelstadt, especially on a bridge contract like the one he received from Colorado, and he expressed interest in signing a long-term pact to be a franchise pillar with Thompson, Cozens, Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power and others. But General Manager Kevyn Adams preferred to take advantage of a robust trade market for Mittelstadt to acquire the young, … [Read more...] about Casey Mittelstadt’s contract in Colorado may be a sign of Sabres’ plan at center

'Most haven’t contributed in the NHL yet. Of the 35 prospects drafted by the Sabres since 2020, only Jack Quinn, JJ Peterka, Zach Benson and Owen Power have appeared in at least 10 games with Buffalo. A few recent picks, most notably defenseman Mats Lindgren, are now free agents because the club chose not to sign them.' … [Read more...] about Sabres’ prospect pipeline filled with potential trade chips for GM Kevyn Adams

'Their success, as well as that of Montour and Rodrigues, is a reminder that Buffalo’s had players throughout the drought who are capable of excelling when the Stanley Cup is on the line. Ryan O’Reilly, Zach Bogosian and Jack Eichel also won after leaving. The Sabres failed to build necessary depth around those players, and the franchise’s progress was hindered by the … [Read more...] about Kyle Okposo’s Cup victory with Panthers earns Sabres a higher pick in NHL draft

'The franchise-altering trades of the Sabres’ latest rebuild helped Adams accumulate a stockpile of draft picks that he has used to select 35 players since he became general manager in 2020. JJ Peterka, Owen Power, Jack Quinn and Zach Benson already have made an impact in the NHL. Several others, most notably Jiri Kulich and Isak Rosen, had significant roles in each of the … [Read more...] about Finding playoff performers among the challenges facing Sabres scouts before draft

'“I will take that problem. Let’s absolutely sign up for that problem next year,” Adams cracked when he met the media Thursday in KeyBank Center. “It’s a lot. As a general manager, that’s why you have really good people around you. For (Edmonton and Florida GMs, respectively) Kenny Holland and Bill Zito, I promise you they’re not as focused on the draft or conversations as I am … [Read more...] about Inside the NHL: As an unexpected Game 7 will finish one season, draft will drop the puck on next one

'“Look, I know you have to ask the question,” Adams responded. “It’s not something I certainly will get into specifics on any, you know, these type of things, but I know there’s rumors out there. There are rumblings on different scenarios. What I can tell you is from the day our season ended, after my conversations with Terry (Pegula) and kind of where we go from here, every … [Read more...] about ‘Nothing’s off the table’ for Sabres as report surfaces about possible Jeff Skinner buyout

'“He’s been around a long time, and he’s had a lot of different roles in the hockey world,” Sabres General Manager Kevyn Adams told The News. “We just felt that he’s done a really nice job leading [our amateur scouting staff] and, honestly, the way our scouting staff, amateur and pro, function day to day won’t change at all. It’s really just promoting him to getting involved in … [Read more...] about Why Sabres promoted Jerry Forton to assistant general manager before draft day

'“The hooking, holding and obstruction was at a level that the league knew that they were going to have to change it,” Ruff said. “The game was getting down to a crawl. Dallas had some big bodies and had to slow us down. In today’s rules, the penalties would have been about 35-25 and the whole game would have been power play.”' … [Read more...] about Mike Harrington: Lindy Ruff, Ken Hitchcock look back as Buffalo Sabres’ ‘No Goal’ loss turns 25

'(Mark Jakubowski, one of the Sabres’ two assistant general managers) spoke to Markus on Friday. We’ll see him at the draft. Overall, they know we’re excited about UPL, and we want to get him signed. He’s a priority. They know we’re open to shorter, medium and long-term deals. It just has to make sense, and I think they’re open to each of those options, as well. I don’t … [Read more...] about Sabres Q&A: Kevyn Adams on UPL’s contract, Zemgus Girgensons’ status and more

'They have the option to use their draft picks, prospects and salary-cap space this summer to fill the void created by Mittelstadt’s departure. New coach Lindy Ruff needs someone reliable to lead the Sabres’ third line, and Adams must decide if Krebs can handle the assignment at this stage of his career.' … [Read more...] about Peyton Krebs faces pivotal offseason as he tries to find his place with Sabres

'They’re not going to part with Jiri Kulich. The 2022 first-round pick already has scored 51 goals in the American Hockey League and doesn’t turn 21 until April. Otherwise, it’s difficult to see any of these prospects as untouchable in a trade. The Sabres would need to receive a high-end player to consider moving someone such as Matt Savoie, but it’s not out of the question. … [Read more...] about Sabres Mailbag: Will one of the top prospects finally be moved in a trade?

'The NHL clearly should have brought CapFriendly into its purview long ago. The league, however, continues to frown on running any part of its site to include cap information. Commissioner Gary Bettman laughably said at a Stanley Cup Final a few years ago that fans didn’t have much interest in the information and putting it on a league site was a “media-drive” issue.' … [Read more...] about Inside the NHL: Caps’ stunning purchase of CapFriendly.com is hard hit to league’s information flow

'Ruff has used defense coach Marty Wilford as a sounding board about a lot of the games and new assistant Seth Appert for insight into the players, especially some of the younger ones who came through Rochester. “He knows these players better than I do, at this point,” Ruff said. “We’ll talk about (JJ) Peterka. We’ll talk about Jack Quinn, about lots of guys. He gives me a real … [Read more...] about Mike Harrington: Lindy Ruff already has started his deep dive on Sabres’ issues