Following their last overall finish in the NHL this season, the Buffalo Sabres will be making major changes to their coaching staff. The team announced that head coach Ted Nolan has been relieved of his duties. The team is also getting rid of assistant coach Danny Flynn, while not renewing the contracts of Bryan Trottier and Tom Coolen.
The following is the press release from the Buffalo Sabres.
NOLAN RELIEVED OF DUTIES AS SABRES’ HEAD COACH
Buffalo Sabres General Manger Tim Murray today announced Ted Nolan has been relieved of his duties as head coach of the Buffalo Sabres. In addition, Murray also announced Danny Flynn has been relieved of his duties as an assistant coach and the contracts of Bryan Trottier and Tom Coolen will not be renewed.
Buffalo (23-51-8) finished last in the NHL with 54 points. It’s the second consecutive season the Sabres finished with the worst record in the NHL, as they had just 52 points in 2013-14.
“I didn’t foresee us being a 30th-place team,” Murray said. “Certainly after the trade deadline, trading out guys I had a big part in that, there’s no question and I own that. But up to the trade deadline I was open to keeping guys, I was open to maybe discussing contracts with guys that were coming due, but the place we were in was the place we were in.
“We had one pretty good run where the team played well and the goaltending was outstanding and I think we went on quite a losing streak after that, I think maybe 14 games or something like that. That’s a hard question. If we finish 24th and showed great improvement, is it possible that wouldn’t have happened? I guess that’s possible.”
The news had been expected for a while, especially when it was revealed that Murray did not consult Ted Nolan prior to the numerous moves made by the team around the NHL trade deadline.
