Latest NHL Buzz: Sabres next GM likely coming from Penguins organization?

LATEST NHL BUZZ

Darcy Regier is going to be fired. That much is becoming known in league circles. It’s just a question of when Sabres ownership pulls the trigger on such a move.

A change at GM could be coming as early as Thanksgiving and Sabres ownership group and top advisors are said to already be starting the process internally of establishing top candidates.

Chatter in league circles is the Sabres next General Manager coming from the Penguins organization with Sabres senior advisor Ken Sawyer expected to be the main figure in the Sabres anticipated search for a new GM, which is likely to come in the next few months.

The top name is league circles coming up is Penguins assistant General Manager Jason Boterill who is a great hockey mind, cap expert and long regarded as an up and coming executive in the NHL ranks. The Penguins for a few years now have been prepared to lose Boterill who would be a great fit for the Sabres rebuilding process but Sawyer is also said to be very high on Tom Fitzgerald who is officially the assistant to general manager Ray Shero. Fitzgerald plays a pivotal role in the organization and is said to be GM Ray Shero’s right hand man when it comes to critical personnel decisions.

The question with Fitzgerald is whether he’d be interested in the grind of being an NHL GM but there are only 30 of those jobs. Penguins top pro scout Don Waddell is also getting some mentions from NHL sources as a possible candidate for a high ranking job with the Sabres for when they make a move. If Botterill were to get the Sabres GM job, Waddell, though, would be a prime candidate to be elevated to Penguins Assistant General Manager.

Another name to surface is likely to be former Penguins GM Craig Patrick who has close ties to Sawyer but feeling around the league on Patrick has been that his time has past. Patrick is a pro scout with Columbus right now. I don’t see Patrick being the guy in Buffalo.