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, was also 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, have also 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.
BUF has also released director of amateur scouting Ryan Jankowski and a good chunk of amateur staff. Just an ugly day.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) June 16, 2020
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.
Update (9 p.m.): Per the AP’s John Wawrow, 12 Sabres scouts have been let go.
Per person with direct knowledge of moves: 12 #Sabres scouts let go as part of today’s cost-cutting purge.
The Sabres listed employing 21 scouts on their website.— John Wawrow (@john_wawrow) June 17, 2020
Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News also reports that two player development coaches – Krys Barch and Mike Komisarek – have also been let go.
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.