Buffalo Sabres Links: Marcel Pronovost, Mike Babcock
Good morning, Buffalo Sabres fans.
We begin today with the sad news of the passing of Hockey Hall of Famer Marcel Pronovost, who died at the age of 84 on Sunday. Pronovost was head coach of the Buffalo Sabres during the 1977-78 and 1978-79 seasons.
He had a storied NHL career that included parts of 16 seasons spent with the Detroit Red Wings. He also made his mark as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs organization for five seasons. Pronovost also coached the Red Wings (assistant), the QMJHL’s Hull Olympiques and the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires.
He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1978. For further reading about him, check out this piece from The Windsor Star or this NHL.com piece about him.
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Looking at the current Buffalo Sabres organization, there are a lot of questions moving forward. From head coaching, to free agency, to the possibility of bringing in players via offer sheets, to AHL and prospect questions… that’s a lot of gray area.
TSN’s Scott Cullen discusses what points the Buffalo Sabres need to address in the offseason with his piece here.
Of course, one of the questions is the head coach. Could it be Todd McLellan? Could it be Luke Richardson?
Or……. could it be Mike Babcock?
Well, if the folks over at The Hockey Writers get their way, Babcock will join the Sabres in Buffalo.
With the Lightning/Red Wings series now headed to seven games, there’s a chance that his season could be over as early as Wednesday. If that’s the case, I’d expect the head coach rumors about Babcock and the Buffalo Sabres to heat up even more.
Another question in the Buffalo Sabres organization moving forward: goaltending. [The Herd Report]
Who do you think will be tending the pipes when October rolls around? Will Anders Lindback be back in the 716? Will Chad Johnson be the number one guy, or will the team bring in someone completely new?
Around the NHL, seven of the eight first-round playoff series have now been determined, with Washington’s game-seven defeat of the NY Islanders. All the second-round series are set, with the lone question mark being who Montreal’s opponent will be.
The league has yet to release any schedule information for round two, but we should hear something soon, if not after tomorrow night’s game seven between Detroit and Tampa Bay.
Finally, the NHL announced its finalists for the Norris Trophy.
Drew Doughty, P.K. Subban and Erik Karlsson were all named finalists for the award, given to the league’s best overall defenseman.
Duncan Keith was last year’s winner. Subban won the award in 2013, while Karlsson won it in 2012.
Next: Could the Sabres Trade Their 2016 Pick?
More from Sabre Noise
- 3 biggest standouts at Buffalo Sabres 2023 Prospects Challenge
- 3 takeaways from the Buffalo Sabres final Prospects Challenge game
- Buffalo Sabres experiment with lesser-known talent in loss to Pens
- Buffalo Sabres 75 Bold Predictions for 2023-24: Prediction 51
- Buffalo Sabres vs. Pittsburgh: A quick look at the Penguins prospects