Buffalo Sabres Daily: Coaching Changes, Season Awards

Good morning, Buffalo Sabres fans!

How are we all doing today? The regular season is over – and thus, the Sabres season. The Sabres locked up 30th place in the standings, guaranteeing either the first- or second-overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft come June.

Of course, some of the biggest news over the past 24 hours in the world of the Buffalo Sabres was the team’s announcement that head coach Ted Nolan and his assistants had all been let go. A much-speculated move was executed just a day after the Sabres wrapped up the season.

More from Sabres News

But the Sabres weren’t the only team to make a coaching move, and they surely won’t be the last.

Earlier Sunday, the Toronto Maple Leafs announced the firing of head coach Peter Horacek, general manager Dave Nonis and the rest of the coaching staff, as well as some members of the scouting staff. [blogTO]

What other teams do you think could see some changes in the front office? What candidates do you hope GM Tim Murray will look at to replace Ted Nolan? How about Mike Babcock, a name that’s been thrown around a lot lately? Others available may include Dan Bylsma and, obviously, Horacek, though I can’t see Murray going that route.

It’s always an interesting part of the offseason, seeing what teams instantly fire their coaching staff and who gets picked up along the way. Who will be behind the Sabres bench come October?

Elsewhere in the NHL, this blog post from Yahoo! Puck Daddy on which non-playoff teams could make a run for the postseason next year.

In all actuality, this is impossible to predict. We don’t know which teams will make big acquisitions over the offseason, or via the draft. We don’t know which coaches will be back, etc. There are so many variables in this, and you can always get a surprise team that roars into the playoffs in the final month or so.

Another event coming in the NHL postseason is the NHL awards, but that doesn’t mean we have to wait until the official awards to pick some winners.

In what will surely be the first of many such posts, the folks at Bleacher Report made their selections for the NHL award winners at the end of the season.

In the college hockey world, Providence College defeated Boston University to capture the NCAA Division I hockey championship on Saturday.

It was Providence’s first ever NCAA championship.

Also in college hockey news, Olympic gold medalist Jenny Potter has been named the new head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes women’s hockey team. Potter replaces Nate Handrahan, who resigned about a month ago after an investigation for “inappropriate and unprofessional conduct.” [The Lantern]

Finally, a unique hockey story from abroad, where an underfunded hockey team in India just crowdsourced to fund a trip to Kuwait.

Check out the article here.

Next: Reacting To Ted Nolan Being Fired

More from Sabre Noise

Home/Sabres News