New Sabres GM Kevyn Adams makes additional front office changes.
By Melissa Burgess / Diebytheblade.com
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Just hours after the Buffalo Sabres announced the firing of general manager Jason Botterill, additional front office cuts were made at both the NHL and AHL levels.
In addition to Botterill, assistant general managers Randy Sexton and Steve Greely were also let go. Sexton was also the general manager of the AHL’s Rochester Americans and was relieved of those duties as well.
Chris Taylor, who served as head coach of the Amerks since 2017, also was fired. He spent some time in Buffalo this season with the Sabres as an interim assistant coach, filling in for Don Granato.
Taylor’s assistant coaches in Rochester, Gord Dineen and Toby Petersen, also have been fired – and the cuts keep coming. Elliotte Friedman reported that the Sabres have released Ryan Jankowski, director of amateur scouting, along with a good chunk of the team’s amateur scouting staff.
At this point, it’s unknown exactly how many, or which, members of the scouting staff were let go. All are still listed on the Sabres’ online staff directory as of writing, but that will presumably be updated soon once an official announcement comes from the organization.
It’s a big sweep – and certainly a surprising one, to some extent – for the organization, who will now have a handful of positions to fill in the coming weeks and months. The NHL draft will presumably be the first task for whatever staff remains; although there’s no official date set yet, the draft lottery is scheduled for Friday, June 26 at 8 p.m. ET.
The afternoon news came just a few short hours after Terry & Kim Pegula held a virtual press conference with new general manager Kevyn Adams. There was no mention of the cuts in Rochester or to the scouting staff during the press conference.
Stay tuned for more information as additional details are released.