Over the course of the season, Sabres head coach Ted Nolan has been the source of much controversy, from his motivational tactics to his dismissal of more advanced stats to the simple fact that he kept trying so dang hard to win in a year that the organization wanted to finish dead last. And today, he received his reward for piloting the Sabres to a 30th place finish.
The Buffalo Sabres have announced that Nolan and much of his staff have been relieved of their duties.
NEWS: #Sabres GM Tim Murray today announced Coach Ted Nolan has been relieved of his duties as head coach.
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) April 12, 2015
#Sabres Assistant Coach Danny Flynn has been relieved of his duties. The contracts of Bryan Trottier & Tom Coolen will not be renewed.
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) April 12, 2015
Interestingly enough, Nolan’s goaltending coach, Arturs Irbe, was the only assistant not specifically named in the culling. He did a great job getting many of the Sabres bottom-of-the-barrel goaltenders to play like legitimate starters, and it looks like at this point, he’ll be rewarded for it.
We’ll update this story if we hear anything tonight as Sabres GM Tim Murray will speak to the media tonight at 7:45pm.