Tag: Buffalo Sabres

Why Buffalo Sabres fans keep trolling their GM with inflatable palm trees at home games

Who says Buffalo doesn’t have palm trees?

Move over, Buffaslug, there’s a new bizarre mascot for the Buffalo Sabres and it has the dual meaning of both fan support as well as an epic troll: inflatable palm trees.

No, seriously. They’ve been popping up all over KeyBank Center in the last week after Sabres general manager lamented the difficulties of building a contender on shores of Lake Erie.

“We’re not a destination city right now. We don’t have palm trees, we have taxes in New York and these are things you deal with. I’m in conversations every day and there’s a lot of players that we’re on their (no-trade) list,” Adams said last week. “We need to earn the respect and it starts with getting over the hump, getting in the playoffs and competing.”

You can see how a comment like that wouldn’t sit well with Buffalonians. The Sabres, after all, have a proud history littered with hockey royalty like Tim Horton, Dave Andreychuk, Pat LaFontaine, Ryan Miller and Dominik Hasek and Rick Jeanneret.

Unfortunately, the Sabres have also been stuck in quite the rut for the last decade or so. Buffalo hasn’t reached the postseason since 2010-11 and the prospect of ending that streak in 2024-25 looks bleak. The Sabres are 11-14-4 (26 points) and have the second-worst record in the Atlantic Division.

Fortunately, Sabres fans heard Adams’ concerns and quickly sprung to action to make Buffalo a destination.

It’s worth noting many of those same Sabres fans were also chanting “Fire Adams” during the December 7 loss to Utah — the first game after his palm tree comments. It’s also worth noting the NHL’s first place Winnipeg Jets also have zero palm trees within the city limits and are doing just fine.

Still, maybe the palm trees are just what this Sabres team needs to turn the vibes around.

“I have never seen so much unity across Sabres fans as I have with these stupid palm trees,” Buffalo season-ticket holder Rebecca Way told ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski. “I hate it because we are a joke, but I love it because it’s funny. It brings us together.”

While some fans told ESPN that ushers at KeyBank Center have been patrolling for inflatable palm trees, the team’s president of communications, Nicole Hendricks, clarified the franchise’s stance:

“The only policy we have, which is the same for everything, is you just can’t have something that’s obstructing the view of other fans,” Hendricks told ESPN. “If it is not obstructing a view of other fans, it’s fine to have.”

And if the Sabres do turn things around this season, expect the team to embrace the mighty power of the palms.

“My dream is we turn things around, make the playoffs, and our playoff giveaway is rally towels with palm trees all over it,” Hendricks said.

Bills’ Greg Rousseau helps Sabres kick off their season

Bills’ Greg Rousseau helps Sabres kick off their season

Technically it was not their first game as the Buffalo Sabres played out in Europe to kick off their 2024-25 regular season schedule.

But on Thursday, the Sabres had their first contest at home at KeyBank Center. The Sabres ended up losing to the Los Angeles Kings 3-1, but Bills defensive end Greg Rousseau was in the house.

Rousseau banged the drum to kick off a “Let’s Go Buffalo” chant at the start of the game.

Check it out below:

Former Wisconsin men’s hockey captain inks deal in American Hockey League

Former Wisconsin men’s hockey team captain inks deal in American Hockey League

Former Wisconsin men’s hockey defensemen Peter Tischke signed with the American Hockey League’s Rochester Americans on Wednesday.

Tischke’s signing arrives a few days after Wisconsin recruit Luke Osburn was selected by the Sabres with the No. 108 pick of the 2024 NHL Draft. Fellow UW recruit and left-wing Blake Montgomery was picked shortly afterwards by the Ottawa Senators.

During his four seasons in Madison, Tischke appeared in 135 games, scored eight goals and tallied 26 assists. The Hinsdale, Illinois native was named team captain for his senior campaign and pocketed the 2019 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.

The defenseman also earned back-to-back All-Big Ten Honorable Mention nods during his sophomore and junior seasons after pacing his group with 139 combined blocks from 2017-19.

As a member of the AHL, the Americans are the an owned and operated affiliate of the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres. The Americans are the fourth oldest team in the AHL and play their home games at Rochestor’s Blue Cross Arena.

Bills, Sabres play on the same day twice next season

#Bills, #Sabres play twice on the same day next season:

The Buffalo Sabres’ 2024-25 regular-season schedule was announced on Tuesday, and the two professional sports teams in Buffalo will be doing battle twice on the same date next season.

On one occasion, the two teams will be on the field/ice at the same time. On the other, fans will be able to catch both games.

Of course, this could change depending on how flex scheduling plays out and whether the Bills have any playoff games that coincide with a Sabres game.

As of now, the two pairs of games both occur in December and can be found via WGR 550 below:

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Former Notre Dame defenseman Dennis Gilbert signs with Buffalo Sabres

Who says you can’t go home?

They say you can’t go home again, but that no longer is the case for former Notre Dame defenseman [autotag]Dennis Gilbert[/autotag]. He grew up in Buffalo, New York, and now, he’ll get to play the game he loves there. Gilbert has signed a one-year contract with his hometown Sabres. He joins [autotag]Ian Cole[/autotag] among former Irish defensemen who found new homes via free agency on the same day.

The 2023-24 season was Gilbert’s most successful yet. In his first full NHL season, he scored seven points, six on assists, and had 16 penalty minutes with the Calgary Flames. He also recorded 23 shots on goal.

Over the 82 NHL games he has played with the Flames, Colorado Avalanche and Chicago Blackhawks, he has gotten in 12 fights. At a time when fights in hockey are becoming more uncommon, it’s nice to see at least one player hold up that part of the game to some degree regardless of how one feels about it.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

WATCH: Bills’ Dion Dawkins, Keon Coleman provide fun 2024 NHL draft preview

Hockey guys:

Dion Dawkins and Keon Coleman provided some NHL content for the people of western New York.

The left tackle and rookie receiver for the Buffalo Bills joined together to give their breakdown of the upcoming 2024 NHL draft. Naturally, their hockey counterpart in Buffalo, the Sabres, will be taking part.

Check out their preview below:

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Lindy Ruff wants the Sabres to play like Bills QB Josh Allen

Lindy Ruff wants the #Sabres to play like #Bills QB Josh Allen:

Lindy Ruff is such a big fan of Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, he hopes his players will show the same traits on the ice as the QB does on the gridiron.

The Bills wrapped their spring practices last week with minicamp. Ruff, who was recently re-hired as the head coach of the Sabres, was at Bills practice with Kevyn Adams–general manager of the Sabres.

Ruff went on to speak about Allen after finally meeting him. The praise was huge.

“That’s the game our players need to play,” Ruff said.

Ruff speaking on Allen can be found in the WKBW-TV clip below:

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Sabres’ Lindy Ruff visited Bills minicamp practice

#Sabres’ Lindy Ruff visited #Bills minicamp practice:

The Buffalo hockey brethren of the Bills, the Sabres, had their presence felt at minicamp.

The Bills wrapped their spring practices last week with the mandatory workouts. Lindy Ruff, who was recently re-hired as the head coach of the Sabres, was at Bills practice with Kevyn Adams–general manager of the Sabres.

Ruff was previously head coach of the hockey club from 1997 to 2013. Despite leaving the franchise, Ruff, who also played for the Sabres and was a team captain, always publicly remained a Bills fan.

Check out Ruff and Adams at Bills minicamp in the clips below:

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Bills welcome Lindy Ruff back to Buffalo Sabres

#Bills welcome Lindy Ruff back to Buffalo #Sabres:

The Buffalo Sabres went for a blast from the past with their new head coach hire: Lindy Ruff.

Ruff, formerly the coach of the NHL club which is also under the watch of Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula, coached the Sabres from 1997 to 2013. Now he’s back and he got a welcome from his favorite team.

No, not the Sabres, the Bills.

Despite leaving Buffalo all those years back, the Bills had a lasting impact. Previously being a team captain for years on the Sabres helps, too. Regardless, the Bills remain his favorite NFL team.

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Look, he was at a game, and on the field, in Philadelphia, just last season:

Correctly so, the Bills did their best efforts to give Ruff a welcome back home. The football team sent out this post after the news dropped that Ruff is back as the Sabres head coach:

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Pete Guelli named new COO for Bills (and Sabres)

Pete Guelli named new COO for #Bills (and #Sabres):

Pete Guelli has been named the new chief operating officer of the Buffalo Bills… and, for those curious, the COO of the Buffalo Sabres as well.

Guelli, 59, previously worked from 1998 to 2009 as President of Business ventures for the Bills and is a Rochester native. In addition, he has held roles with the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets and NFL’s New York Giants.

Guelli will oversee the business operations for the Bills and Sabres. General manager Brandon Beane will still be in charge of football operations.

According to a new release, Josh Dziurlikowski, who was serving as the interim COO of the Bills, was named senior vice president of finance and business operations of the Bills.

Team owner Terry Pegula released this statement on the Guelli hire:

“I’d first like to thank Josh and Rob (Minter–Buffalo Sabres) for their outstanding work and leadership as interim COO’s. It was a challenging transition and period for each of them and we are fortunate to be able to retain them in other leadership roles within each organization.”

“It was hard not to be impressed with the experience and overall business acumen of Pete Guelli. The New York market is the largest in our country and highly competitive and he did an outstanding job on all levels of their business operation.

“His work in helping turn around the Charlotte Hornets franchise in the NBA was remarkable. He is a proven leader with tremendous skills and experience in the sports business landscape. With the upcoming changes on the way in both team’s venues, we are happy to have Pete to help lead our teams.”

Guelli replaces John Roth as COO, who was fired in October 2023.

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