WGR

‘”[We’re] excited about bringing in a veteran player such as Wayne Simmonds. We’ve talked a lot about this group playing meaningful games. For Wayne, playing meaningful games in the month of March and April is something that he’s very accustomed to. I think you’ve heard Ralph [Krueger] talk a lot about net-front presence, playing a physical game. I think these are things that come natural for Wayne. We also know that we have a young group, he has a strong personality and I think his leadership is going to help our group out a lot.”‘

‘The winger is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.’

‘TSN’s Pierre LeBrun adds to the depth of this trade by saying that the Devils will retain 50% of his current salary, which will add $2.5 million to the Sabres’ salary cap. LeBrun also adds that there are no talks of a contract extension in place with Simmonds, but it’s certainly a possibility for the pending unrestricted free agent this summer.’

‘In goal, Jonas Johansson was the star of the game, stopping 25 of 26 shots that he faced to earn his first win in the National Hockey League.’

‘The blue and gold played solid defensively over the final 10 minutes of the game. The Jets last shot on goal came thanks to Mark Scheifele with 9:24 to go in regulation. From that point forward, Buffalo protected the puck and the front of the net well so that Johansson was not forced to make any more big saves.’

‘It didn’t take the Sabres long to take the early 1-0 advantage when Zemgus Girgensons potted his 11th goal of the season just 14 seconds into the game. The 26-year-old managed to get to the front of the net, and linemate Kyle Okposo managed to feed a nice pass from behind the net to Girgensons, who fired his shot through the five-hole of Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry.’

‘The Sabres had the better of the play to start all three periods in this game. Sheary and Jimmy Vesey nearly combined to extend Buffalo’s lead back to three goals on their first shift of the frame. Jarry had to come up with a save on Vesey right at the top of the blue paint.’

‘In 243 career games with the Sabres, Bogosian has scored 13 goals and registered 54 assists for 67 points, but has missed a total of 170 games as a healthy scratch or due to a number of injuries suffered throughout his entire career.’

‘According to TSN hockey insider Darren Dreger while on with The Instigators on Friday, once Bogosian becomes a free agent, he will have until 3 p.m. on Monday to sign with a new team in order for him to be eligible to play for the rest of the season.’

‘”He still wants to add a player, a forward with term. He’s had so many conversations with a number of different clubs, and we’ve speculated on the possibility of [Vincent] Trocheck of the Florida [Panthers] or maybe Kyle Palmieri of [the New Jersey Devils]. That makes more sense, to me, in the offseason than it does right now, but I still think Botterill needs that financial flexibility (with terminating Bogosian’s contract). If something surfaces between now and Monday, he’s going to want to be in a position, from a cap perspective, to be able to do it.”‘