Archives for January 14, 2013

'“We want good, clean, hard contact, but the players need that,” Ruff said. “They need to feel that pressure. They need to feel like they know they’re going to get hit. You’ve got to be ready to protect yourself, and it’s all part of being ready to play.”' … [Read more...] about Sabres waste little time getting started

'“It happened kind of quickly for us,” coach Lindy Ruff said. “But it’s something where we felt with the depth of the organization, in the short season and where our center men were at, it was important for us to get him in.”' … [Read more...] about Hecht happy to be back with Blue and Gold

'The Hecht signing could mean that Grigorenko is ticketed for another year in juniors. That would be typical of an organization that becomes infatuated with its own players and is often too slow to elevate promising young players to the parent team.' … [Read more...] about Grigorenko deserves to go pro

'Gerbe dealt with neck and back issues that never improved, and it was discovered he had disc damage in his back. He had surgery July 24 — the day he turned 25 — and it was done by Dr. Andrew Cappuccino, the orthopedic surgeon who treated former Bills tight end Kevin Everett for his catastrophic spine injury suffered in 2007.' … [Read more...] about Gerbe practices but isn’t cleared for contact

'“There was a time during the summer where I didn’t think it was going to happen,” Hecht said inside the First Niagara Center dressing room shortly after his new one-year, $1 million contract was officially announced. “Everything worked out. All the situations we imagined, I think the best one came up by returning back to Buffalo.”' … [Read more...] about Sabres’ Hecht thrilled about return: ‘Everything worked out’

'“You’d like to see something you say, ‘Boy, it’s going to be really tough (not to keep him),’” Ruff said. “But long-term, you got to understand where he’s at. You got to understand what’s the best thing for him. What’s the best for us and what’s the best for Mikhail? And at the same time, (you need) a fair chance in evaluating whether he can help our hockey club in a … [Read more...] about Ruff wants Grigorenko’s play to force Sabres to keep him

'With the Sabres playing their season opener next Sunday against Philadelphia, Ruff has only a week to resolve some other roster issues. There's a logjam with nine defensemen in camp, and there is a decision to be made about whether to keep 2012 first-round draft choice Mikhael Grigorenko to help solve a shortage at center.' … [Read more...] about Sabres open camp, Hecht returns from Germany

'Hecht had four goals and four assists in 22 games for the Sabres in 2011-12.' … [Read more...] about Sabres agree to terms with Hecht

'But going into the stint in the German league, Hecht said that he kept his confidence level in check, adding, “Expectations I set myself were low. I didn’t play for ten, eleven months to come back at a pretty good league that had already played about thirty games…stepped in there. I didn’t think that it would go that well, but it came back right away. The timing, and the … [Read more...] about Hecht Healthy And Ready

'Grigorenko centered a line with Ville Leino and Steve Ott. The question everybody has is can he show enough in one week to be in the lineup next Sunday against the Flyers. Grigorenko thinks he can, “Yes I think so. I just need to work hard and do everything I can and that’s it. The coaches will decide if I’m good enough and I’m just doing my best.”' … [Read more...] about Sabres Grigorenko shakes off the nerves

'Acquired from Edmonton in a trade prior to the 2002-03 season, Hecht has recorded 331 points (133+198) in 566 regular-season games as a member of the Sabres. As the longest-tenured player on the team's roster, Hecht ranks 20th in franchise history in games played, goals and points. He leads all active Sabres with a career plus/minus rating of plus-94, ranking him 23rd among … [Read more...] about Hecht agrees to terms on one-year deal