Heather Engel
@engelheather
Buffalo Sabres correspondent, NHL.com. Writer. Editor. PR. Montréalaise. Opinions are mine.
The Sabres’ home opener will be Saturday, Oct. 3 against the Chicago Blackhawks. They’ll seemingly start their season on the road two days earlier as the visitors for the Blue Jackets’ home opener. Full schedule will be released tomorrow.
Sabres add to their goaltending depth. The team announced it has signed Matt Villalta to a one-year, two-way contract.
Happy Free Agency and Happy Canada Day! Day 3 of development camp gets going soon.
The Sabres have announced some hires and promotions: www.nhl.com/sabres/news/...
Daxon Rudolph said his first interview with the Sabres was this morning.
Jarmo says they tried to convince Bowen Byram to stay but he didn’t want to negotiate/sign.
Things look a little different from when I was last here a year ago.
Good morning. Testing to get going soon on this final day of the Combine.
Lindy Ruff finishes second in Jack Adams Award voting, three points behind Jon Cooper.
That’s a wrap on the season. Thanks for following along. Up next: the scouting combine. But first, a week-long nap.
Jarmo Kekäläinen: “Real proud of everything that we’ve accomplished so far, but this is just the beginning.” He said he gets chills just thinking about the atmosphere at KeyBank Center and the buzz around the city. “Even I got stopped at Wegmans.”
Lindy Ruff said he’s “really excited” to keep going here. He said one of the biggest decisions was talking with his assistant coach — his wife. “I probably wouldn’t be sitting here if it wasn’t for her, too. … She said ‘You’ve got the disease, you’ve got to continue.”
Noah Östlund said he started skating and was hopeful he could return later in the Conference Final.