Sabre Noise
Fansided

Buffalo Sabres Links: Evander Kane, Martin St. Louis

By Melissa Kania

facebooktwitterreddit

When the Buffalo Sabres hit the ice in October, there will be plenty of changes from this past season’s team.

First and foremost, of course, there will be a new bench boss, as Dan Bylsma takes over in place of former Buffalo Sabres head coach (twice now) Ted Nolan. Along with Bylsma, this will also mean a new crop of assistant coaches, though Arturs Irbe may still remain on board. (That’s to be determined.)

In addition, there will – as always – be a new crop of players suiting up in the blue and gold.

One of them could be Jack Eichel, but another big-name guy who will also be joining the Buffalo Sabres this coming season: Evander Kane.

Kane has already been in Buffalo, and he seems genuinely excited to be joining the Sabres. [The Hockey Writers]

Kane was spotted last week at the First Niagara Center, sitting in on the press conference that introduced Bylsma as head coach.

With the introduction of Bylsma, that brings into play a lot of questions about the roster and how Bylsma plans to use certain players, including Zemgus Girgensons. [WGR550]

Girgensons could easily be the Sabres’ top-line center, but Bylsma might have other plans. He’s already praised Jack Eichel and voiced his opinion that Eichel and Kane could be a great one-two punch on the top line. [HNGN]

More from Sabres News

While some players are certainly looking forward to joining specific teams next season, other players are not so certain about their future.

Two such players are defensemen Marek Zidlicky and Sergei Gonchar. Zidlicky spent this season with Detroit and New Jersey, while Gonchar played with Dallas and Montreal. He didn’t play in the postseason and was informed that the Habs wouldn’t be bringing him back.

Despite this, both players are determined to play in the NHL for at least one more season. [NHL.com]

Another player with a question mark on his back after this season: Rangers forward Martin St. Louis.

St. Louis, 39, will be an unrestricted free agent this summer and said on Monday that he’s uncertain what his future holds. [NHL.com]

Even if this is the end of the road for him, I give him credit for playing through 39.

One other Rangers player to talk about this morning is Mats Zuccarello. Now that the playoffs are over for his team, Zuccarello disclosed just what kind of injury he suffered this postseason – and it’s scary.

It turns out he suffered both a skull fracture and a brain contusion. The good news is that doctors say he’ll make a full recovery, but still — that’s pretty scary. [Deadspin]

Next: Sabres' Next Move With First Round Pick

More from Sabre Noise

Home/Sabres News