It’s been speculated for weeks now, but a report from TSN’s Bob McKenzie makes it all but official – with the draft now complete, the Buffalo Sabres are free to hire Randy Sexton to be their assistant general manager, and to be the general manager of the Rochester Americans.
And you thought just because the draft was over there’d be nothing else to talk about today. For shame.
Now that draft over, Randy Sexton will be leaving PIT management to work for BUF GM Jason Botterill. Sexton to be AGM in BUF, Rochester GM.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) June 24, 2017
Sexton has previously served with Jason Botterill in Pittsburgh as the Penguins’ Director of Amateur Scouting since 2015, and has been with that organization in various amateur scouting roles since 2010. He has also previously served as the general manager for the Ottawa Senators and the Florida Panthers.
With this being Botterill’s first crack at a general manager role, the hiring of someone with so much experience in the position to be his right hand man makes a ton of sense. The fact that the two men are presumably very familiar with one another just adds to that.
For Amerks fans, this hiring will hopefully be the first step towards making the Amerks the type of organization to the Sabres that Scranton Wilkes-Barre was to Pittsburgh. That is, a highly successful, winning team whose players are groomed to step into major roles with their NHL club. Previously, both Darcy Regier and Tim Murray tried to play GM with both teams, to not-very-much success.
It’s not officially official yet, but Bob is as reliable a source as there is on this type of rumor. If you’re not burned out by reading our 27 draft articles over the last two days, give us your thoughts on Sexton in the comments.