Don Granato's appointment as an assistant on Team USA's staff for the World Championships next month in Finland is yet another affirmation of the job he's done to date with the Sabres. And it makes that tournament even more interesting from a development standpoint for the organization.
You know General Manager Kevyn Adams and assistant Jason Karmanos will spend time overseas watching and now their head coach will be behind one of the benches as well working alongside Team USA head coach David Quinn, a longtime friend who coached Jack Eichel at Boston University and was the head man with the New York Rangers.
It will be Granato's third trip, having previously assisted Team USA in Minsk (2014) and Copenhagen (2018).
"It's always an honor to do that," Granato said. "David Quinn and I have had a long relationship, many years, and we always looked forward to at some point being on a staff together. And it worked out this time around."
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"You have lots of special players around the league. The last team I was with Patrick Kane was on the team. It's pretty neat to go into a foreign country wearing the USA jersey and pooling all this NHL talent together. And coming together as a team within a really short span is one heck of an experience."
Don Granato on Sean McDermott's pregame visit with Sabres: 'I was obviously picking his brain a lot'
Don Granato asked Sean McDermott to talk to his team prior to Thursday's game against the St. Louis Blues.
It stands to reason that Sabres forwards Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch would be high on Team USA's wish list. In fact, the early list of Sabres candidates for this edition of the tournament is long.
"Donnie deserves it. It's a no brainer in my eyes," said Tuch, who noted he hasn't thought much about the tourney yet. "He's one of the smartest hockey guys I've ever been coached by, let alone talked to. He's always thinking, always on his toes thinking about the next game, next shift. He has the ultimate amount of respect in our locker room and is an amazing coach, amazing person. USA Hockey is lucky to have him."
As for other Sabres, you would think Rasmus Dahlin would be a lock to be invited by Sweden and the same for Henri Jokiharju to play for the home country. Perhaps Victor Olofsson will be asked to join the Swedes as well. Owen Power played last year for Team Canada and was already asked by the Toronto media on Tuesday if he was playing again, but said he had not yet heard from Hockey Canada officials. Jeff Skinner would figure to be another strong Canada candidate.
Among Sabres prospects, do Jack Quinn or Devon Levi get a look from Canada? Memo to the red and white: If you select Levi, don't pull a Claude Julien in Beijing and never put the kid in the net. How about JJ Peterka playing for Germany?
"They've targeted our guys pretty good," Granato said, giving a window into what he's already hearing. "Our guys have established themselves as candidates for that. There's no question. So we'll see how many we end up with but they're all being considered, that's for sure."
Under trying circumstances in Tuesday's game against the Leafs, Power showed why he was selected first overall by Buffalo in the 2021 NHL Draft.
A lot of this, of course, is predicated on injury issues. In addition, the Sabres hope Quinn and Peterka aren't able to make it because that would mean Rochester is making a push in the Calder Cup playoffs. That bid, however, has become tenuous for the Amerks at this point.
"These guys, it's their professional career. It is a window into their offseason, part in their recovery," Granato said. "So a lot of guys are beaten up and bruised and banged up during the year and they have to get back into the weight room and training. Specifically with a lot of young guys, because they can build up so much, they're still growing.
"It's a decision they all make on their own. I wouldn't influence anybody either way. I would definitely communicate to guys and exchange thoughts on things, but as far as recruiting? No, we have a general manager that will speak to them."
Play-in for the playoffs?
Count me in for the NBA's play-in tournament to come to the NHL. In a 32-team league, 16 teams making the playoff simply aren't enough – especially when you consider it was 16 out of 21 for a time in the '80s. Make it the top 10 in each conference and have play-ins for seeds 7-8. You would get 20 teams in the postseason and three or four more competing right to the end.
This NHL season has been dreadful. The eight Eastern Conference slots have all been determined since Christmas. You just can't have that happen again.
It's hard to believe coaches and GMs – who routinely get fired for missing the playoffs – haven't pushed HARD to expand the field. Same for owners who want some postseason revenue. The NHL went to 24 teams for the 2020 bubble and the world didn't spin off its axis. Why did the league so stubbornly go back to 16?
Matthews sinks vs. Sabres
Very bizarre season for Auston Matthews. Did nothing in four games against the Sabres (one goal, one assist, two points and a two-game suspension) but has been a stud otherwise.
When he assisted on Michael Bunting's first-period goal Thursday against Washington, Matthews joined Doug Gilmour and Darryl Sittler as the only players in Leafs history to reach 100 points. In fact, he joined Pat LaFontaine of the Sabres and Kevin Stevens of the Penguins (both in 1993) as the only American-born players to reach 100 in 69 games or less.
Matthews did it in his 69th game while Stevens did it in No. 63. LaFontaine did it in the 55th game of his franchise-record 148-point campaign that included Alexander Mogilny's 76 goals.
Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe was furious after Tuesday's faceplant against the Sabres left Toronto 1-3 against Buffalo this season. And the win, remember, came in November in KeyBank Center on a Morgan Rielly goal with 11 seconds left.
"That’s four games against this team, and we have been no-shows in all four," Keefe said. "It’s hard to pinpoint. It seems like maybe every year there is one team that, for whatever reason, you don’t have your game against them. We’ve played so well for most of the season against most of the teams in the league. Nights like this are holding us back from competing to win the division. That’s the disappointing part.”
Added Matthews: "I think it’s pretty simple – we just didn’t play well. From the start, it just didn’t seem like we had much energy on the bench, much energy on the ice. We didn’t play up to our standard."
Buffalo Sabres defenseman Owen Power checks Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews.
Vegas coming up aces
So Vegas is hot again, going 7-1-1 until Saturday's 4-0 loss in Edmonton and getting within one point of reclaiming a Western Conference spot. The Sabres, of course, own Vegas' No. 1 pick and definitely want the Golden Knights to fall short so that pick can land in the No. 15 range.
If Jack Eichel finally makes the postseason for the first time as the No. 3 team in the Pacific Division, who will his opponent be? The Connor McDavid-led Oilers. Oh, juicy irony. Eichel abhors questions about McDavid, the apple of the Sabres' eye at the 2015 draft lottery.
Mike Harrington: This didn't feel like an NHL debut. It felt like Owen Power has been here all along
"The Sabres said Sunday and Monday that it felt like Owen Power had been here all along. Then he took the ice and played a game. And he looked that way when it mattered too," writes Mike Harrington.
It became an old story left alone in Buffalo with two distant games a season vs. Edmonton. It will be a massive story in the Canadian media if Eichel's first playoff series is against McDavid. Expect Eichel to be miserable if that happens.
The $100 million cap?
Speaking of Vegas, nice shot Calgary coach Darryl Sutter took last week with the news Mark Stone was returning to the the lineup and the Golden Knights were putting three players on long-term injured reserve to make room for him.
Said Sutter: "When they have the full squad, they’re the favorites to win the Stanley Cup. Other than the team that has the Stanley Cup, they’re the favorites. They have a $100 million payroll, so they have to figure out how to keep 20 (million) out.”
Sutter was exaggerating only slightly. The Vegas payroll is around $94 million with $12.5 million on LTIR to come down to the $81.5 million cap limit. It's a situation that should not be allowed. Come playoff time, the Golden Knights won't have to make these maneuvers because there is no cap.
History for the stripes
Former Sabres prospect Jordan Samuels-Thomas made his debut as an NHL referee Thursday during Chicago's shootout win over San Jose in the United Center. He worked with veteran linesman Shandor Alphonso, marking the first game in NHL history where two of the on-ice officials were Black. Samuels-Thomas became the NHL's first Black referee since Jay Sharrers in 2004.
Samuels-Thomas had three goals and five assists in 63 games for Rochester in 2014-15 after the Sabres signed him as a college free agent out of Quinnipiac. He later played for Ontario and San Diego in the AHL, several ECHL teams and some clubs in Europe before retiring in 2020 without ever reaching the NHL.
Samuels-Thomas officiated in the AHL last year and was added to the NHL callup list after attending the league combine in September in LECOM Harborcenter.
"I'm 31 years old and it's been a lifetime of work and I had all my family here in the stands and friends and everyone who's been with me along the way," Samuels-Thomas, who wore No. 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson, told NHL.com. "So special to share the moment with them."
It was the second Sabres-related officiating debut in recent weeks in United Center. Justin Kea, Buffalo's third-round pick in 2012, refereed his first NHL game on March 28 in the Sabres' 6-5 comeback win over the Blackhawks.
