The Buffalo Sabres, currently holding down the 30th spot in the NHL, have fired longtime general manger Darcy Regier and head coach Ron Rolston.
Former player Pat LaFontaine, who played six seasons in Buffalo, has been named President of Hockey Operations by owner Terry Pegula. The team has also hired former coach Ted Nolan as the interim bench boss.
LaFontaine will be responsible for hiring a new general manager to replace Regier, who was in his seventeenth season with the Sabres.
Rolston, who was promoted from AHL Rochester to replace Lindy Ruff, led Buffalo to a 15-11-5 record last season, but was doomed by the club’s horrid 4-15-1 start.
This will be Ted Nolan’s second stint behind the Buffalo bench. Nolan coached the club from 1995-97 and led them to a Northeast Division title during the 1996-97 season. The Garden River, ON native was awarded the Jack Adams Award as NHL coach of the year for his efforts. Nolan left Buffalo after Regier offered him a one-year contract that wasn’t at all to his liking.
The Sabres became the second Atlantic Division team in the last week to make a coaching change. The Florida Panthers dismissed Kevin Dineen and two members of his staff on Friday.
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