Buffalo News

'Between Ryan O'Reilly coming to accept losing and Richie Incognito's strange exit from the Bills, we think, Buffalo's pro teams could use a little good news. Imagine the vibe if the Bills fail to land a quality quarterback in the upcoming draft.' … [Read more...] about Bucky Gleason: Enough already with dark clouds hanging over Buffalo sports

'One of the most stunning exit interviews in Sabres history will reverberate for some time. The alternate captain and highest-paid player admitted he was OK with losing, wasn't mentally tough and lost his love of the game.' … [Read more...] about Inside the Sabres: The curious case of Ryan O’Reilly

'Nicholson said he met with angry season ticket-holders about the Oilers' collapse from 103 points to 78, which saw them go from Game Seven of the second round to out of the playoffs entirely. And he said owner Daryl Katz is "disappointed, angered and wants us to get it right.” Sounds much the way Jason Botterill described Terry Pegula here.' … [Read more...] about Inside the NHL: Chiarelli is wasting McDavid and somehow surviving as Oilers GM

'"We're going to have to earn their trust back," coach Phil Housley said. "It's providing a good, solid effort every night and a commitment in that area. The guys know that we all have to be better here at home. That was very, very disappointing the record at home here for our fans."' … [Read more...] about Sabres know they have to earn fans’ trust, make Buffalo loud again

'"I felt really disjointed this year, and I think it reflected in my play," he said.' … [Read more...] about Toughest year ever behind him, Sabres’ Okposo looks ahead

'The jersey, often referred to as the "goat head," contained a buffalo head that was visible when the arms were outstretched. The accent colors on the body and the hornlike shape on the arms created a buffalo head and horns.' … [Read more...] about Who knew? Sabres’ ‘goat head’ jersey had hidden buffalo head

'"When you finish where we did, we have to look at everything," Botterill said in KeyBank Center. "That means looking at even changing up our core players."' … [Read more...] about Tired of talk, Sabres’ Botterill demands action to become winner

'There were a lot of takeaways from these 20 minutes with the GM. He needs to get more speed and skill up front. wants to see much better goaltending, knows he's going to draft a super prospect no matter where the lottery balls land. A big one was that it would been worth paying good money to be a fly on the wall during his exit interviews with players. It was pretty easy to … [Read more...] about Mike Harrington: Anger is awesome, but now Botterill has to match words with actions

'The Sabres' other notable restricted free agent is Sam Reinhart, who tied for the team lead with 25 goals. "I have not spoken to his agent yet about a contract," Botterill said. "We felt where we were in the standings, it wasn't a situation where we wanted to talk contracts during the year. Craig Oster certainly has quite a few players on our team, and I'll be reaching out to … [Read more...] about Sabres Notebook: Contract updates; Oglevie signed; Swedes coming

'The Sabres have become a reflection of their ownership, the one constant in this whole unsightly mess. They're a bewildered and largely irrelevant franchise that has wandered around during the Pegulas' stewardship with no real idea of what they're doing or where they're going while searching for a quick fix.' … [Read more...] about Bucky Gleason: Sabres feeling lingering effects of failed master plan

'When you consider the Sabres finished in last place in the league this season, the 20 percent drop isn't that bad.' … [Read more...] about Sabres TV ratings end season with 20 percent drop

'"I never expected this," Housley said in KeyBank Center. "It was a difficult season in that respect. I'm not used to having the results that we had. That was an adjustment of keep trying to push our players, keep motivating our guys, keep them together because we could have easily broken apart.' … [Read more...] about Housley vows to get second season behind Sabres’ bench off to better start

'"There needs to be change," Eichel said. "Everybody obviously needs to look at themselves and figure out what they're doing and change it. Myself, whatever I've been doing hasn't been working. What we've been doing as a team hasn't been working. All you can really do is focus on yourself and changing yourself and I think that's what helps change the culture and change the … [Read more...] about Jack Eichel: ‘We’re going to change things around here’

'"Yeah, it's crazy," O'Reilly said as the Sabres cleaned out their lockers in KeyBank Center. "It's just at different times. Obviously, so privileged to be able to play this game professionally. It's the NHL. It's the best job in the world, but at times throughout the year I've felt I lost it.' … [Read more...] about Sabres’ Ryan O’Reilly says he lost love of game, lacked mental toughness

'Even before the injury, the Russian defenseman spent much of the season watching as a healthy scratch. He said he hasn't decided whether he'll be in the NHL or KHL next season but would be open to staying in North America.' … [Read more...] about Sabres’ Victor Antipin has no memory of Scott Hartnell hit