Expected Buffalo

The can could only be kicked down the road so much longer, as it has now been made official that both the Ottawa Black Bears and Philadelphia Wings have discontinued operations, and their players will be divided amongst the other 12 teams via a dispersal draft process. Why it failed in Ottawa Somehow, someway, Nassau Coliseum has outlived the Ottawa Black Bears.

Chris Kreider has become a late offseason option as the Anaheim Ducks have placed him on unconditional waivers for a mutual contract termination. You must be a member to access this content. Already a member? Log in here

Part III With 20 games left in the season, the Sabres hit the road for 5 games, starting with a 5-3 loss to Florida. After the deadline, they were shutout in Tampa Bay. Their center spine that night, in line order, was Phil Varone, Johan Larsson, Tim Schaller, and Matt Ellis, all of whom started the season in Rochester, and all of whom weren’t Mikhail Grigorenko. The 20-year-old was recalled following the Florida legs of the road trip to replace Schaller in the spine.

Part II On November 27, 2012, John Vogl of The Buffalo News wrote about a 15 year old Connor McDavid for the first time. He was 15 games into his Exceptional Status season with the Erie Otters. The NHL was still in a lockout, and the Buffalo Sabres brain trust was still being run by Darcy Regier and Lindy Ruff. Somewhere in Canada, Tim Murray was probably already well aware of the OHL’s latest phenom.

Part 1 The 2014-15 Sabres won 23 games, 10 of them came November 15 and December 27. Youth Flashes After beating the Leafs, the Sabres won 4 of their next 5, and then after losing both games of a Florida road trip, they won 4 in a row. The November stretch was their first with three straight regulation wins since March 2012 and gave the team a boost of confidence that they had not felt to start the season. The goaltending played a big part in the stretch.

Now, where were we? The journey through 2013-14 was more theme based than chronological, but with the sheer amount that happened in the next 12 months of Sabres hockey, the timeline is a bit more important. After bottoming out, and since (spoilers) they did have a better point total the next season, they did, indeed, bottom out, the salary cap floor was a big talking point in Tim Murray’s first offseason as the GM of the Buffalo Sabres.

The Sabres were in the mix for Hellebuyck this offseason and that door may be open still but as of now, they're poised to move forward with the three-goalie rotation. You must be a member to access this content. Already a member? Log in here

Jiri Kulich essentially missed the entire 2025-26 season due to blood clots. His return to the Sabres this upcoming season shouldn't be overlooked. You must be a member to access this content. Already a member? Log in here

Following today’s announcement that Matt Vinc will be retiring, it opens up the door to a lot of options for fellow former goaltender, GM Steve Dietrich, to go in the search for his replacement. Youth In House The Bandits drafted Evan Constantopoulos with the 38th overall pick in the 2023 NLL draft. The 6’6 230 lb Oakville native who doesn’t turn 22 until next month appeared in 36:25 of action across three games in 2026, the bulk of which came in relief on January 31 in a 20-9 loss to the Mammoth.

The Olen Zellweger addition this summer by the Buffalo Sabres was the final piece to complete the blue line transition. Last season, the defense group was one reason for their success. The situation with Bo Byram forced them to break that group up after having one of the best top-four defenses in the league. If you don’t recall, the Sabres acquired Zellweger from the Anaheim Ducks for the 45th overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft (acquired in the Byram trade) and prospect Anton Wahlberg.