The Sabres are moving on from Robin Lehner after the goalie failed to establish himself as a starter during three seasons
http://www.starsshoponline.com/authentic-devin-shore-jersey , capped by Buffalo’s last-place finish this past year.General manager Jason
Botterill announced Friday the Sabres will not extend Lehner a one-year
qualifying offer of about $4 million to retain his rights as a restricted free
agent. The decision means Lehner will become free to sign with any team once the
NHL’s free agency period opens on July 1.”It’s a scenario where you finish 31st
you have to make some difficult choices,” Botterill told reporters in Dallas,
hours before the Sabres were scheduled to open the NHL draft with the No. 1
pick.”Part of it that was so disappointing and difficult about it is that I know
Robin is passionate about the city of Buffalo, and passionate about helping this
organization,” he said. ”We felt like we had to make some adjustments.”The move
comes nearly three years to the day Botterill’s predecessor, Tim Murray, gave up
a first-round draft pick to acquire Lehner and journeyman forward David Legwand
in a trade with Ottawa.Lehner’s tenure in Buffalo was plagued by injuries and
inconsistency. He missed the first half of his first season in Buffalo after
spraining his right ankle in the Sabres opening game.Last year, he went 14-26-9
on an under-performing team that failed to meet expectations in becoming the
league’s first to finish 31st following the addition of the expansion Vegas
Golden Knights.Lehner finished with a 42-61-22 record in Buffalo, and
particularly struggled in winning just six shootout decisions.The price of
Lehner’s qualifying offer was an issue for a rebuilding team seeking to free up
space under the salary cap to address other needs.Another factor was Botterill’s
intention to provide Linus Ullmark an opportunity to make the jump to the NHL on
a full-time basis after spending the past three seasons developing in the
minors.The Sabres lack experienced depth in goal with veteran backup Chad
Johnson also eligible to become a free agent.Botterill acknowledged the Sabres
are in the market to add an established goalie this offseason to work alongside
Ullmark.”You have to understand there’s a growing process here, and we think
Linus is ready for the next challenge,” Botterill said. ”But to hand over the
No. 1 role
Womens Esa Lindell Jersey , I think that’s unfair to any young goalie.”— PHILADELPHIA (AP) Suddenly short-handed, the Philadelphia Flyers aren’t going to
let a few injuries stop them.Jakub Voracek scored the tying goal with 1:25 left
in regulation and then got the game-winner 1:26 into overtime to lift the Flyers
to a 3-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night.Voracek also had
an assist and Nolan Patrick had the other goal for Philadelphia, which improved
to 7-0-2 in its last nine games. The Flyers, third in the Metropolitan Division,
pulled two points behind second-place Pittsburgh and three behind first-place
Washington.Article continues below ...”That’s a nice way to get two points,”
Philadelphia coach Dave Hakstol said.It’s even better, perhaps, considering the
state of the Flyers.The Flyers were without forward Wayne Simmonds, who will be
out for 2-to-3 weeks after suffering an upper-body injury in Sunday’s win over
the New York Rangers.Simmonds joins a growing list of injured Flyers. Starting
goalie Brian Elliott had surgery Feb. 13 for a core muscle injury and is
expected to miss up to five more weeks. Backup Michal Neuvirth, who was elevated
to No. 1 last Tuesday after Elliott’s injury, will be sidelined 4-to-6 weeks
after suffering a lower body injury in Sunday’s game.”You just have to dig
in
Jamie Benn Jersey ,” Voracek said. ”We have to find a way to win games. We’ve got to keep finding a way.”Philadelphia acquired goalie Petr Mrazek from Detroit
on Monday night for a pair of draft picks to fill the void. Mrazek backed up
Alex Lyon on Tuesday. Lyon, appearing in his fifth career game, made 25 saves
for his second victory.”He took care of business and was a big part of us
winning a hockey game,” Hakstol said of Lyon. ”We’re going to need contributions
from everybody in our lineup.”Oskar Lindblom replaced Simmonds, who has 20 goals
and 37 points, and didn’t register a point in his NHL debut.”Those are big shoes
to fill, but I don’t think anybody spends too much time thinking about the
injuries or who’s out of the lineup,” Hakstol said.Paul Byron and Jeff Petry
scored for Montreal, which lost its sixth straight. The Canadiens’ NHL-worst
road record fell to 8-19-2.With Lyon pulled for an extra attacker, Voracek sent
the game to overtime with a slap shot from the point that deflected off
Montreal’s Max Pacioretty and through goalie Carey Price’s five-hole.”It’s not
ideal, that’s for sure
http://www.starsshoponline.com/authentic-jason-spezza-jersey ,” Price said of giving up the late tying goal. ”Pretty good game up to that point.
That pretty much sums it up, really.”Voracek netted the game-winner when he
skated to the slot and fired a wrist shot past Price’s glove side.”We would have
liked to prove something on the road, but we weren’t able to,” Pacioretty said.
”We were close tonight and it goes off my stick and goes in for the tie, so it’s
tough.”Price played in his 552nd game for the Canadiens to move past Patrick Roy
for second all-time in games played among Montreal goalies. Jacques Plante tops
the list with 556.Byron scored his 14th of the season after a pretty assist from
Tomas Plekanec with 11:15 left in the third period to put Montreal up 2-1.Petry
opened the scoring with 2:13 left in the first period when he deflected Karl
Alzner’s shot from the point past Lyon.The Flyers tied it on the power play 7:18
into the second period when Patrick, replacing Simmonds on Philadelphia’s top
extra-man unit, one-timed Claude Giroux’s pass from the slot past Price’s glove
side.NOTES: Montreal C Phillip Danault returned for the first time since
suffering a concussion on Jan. 13. … The teams wrap up their season series Feb.
26 at Montreal. … LW Nicolas Deslauriers, who signed a two-year contract
extension on Monday, won a one-sided fight with Brandon Manning in the second
period. … The Flyers have not played short-handed in three straight games,
becoming the first team to do so since the league started keeping power-play and
penalty-kill stats in the 1977-78 season. … Flyers C Travis Konecny struggled to
get through the game after blocking a shot with his skate with 5:02 left in the
first period.UP NEXTCanadiens: Host the New York Rangers on Thursday night to
open a four-game homestand.Flyers: Host Columbus on Thursday night.
