BUFFALO - Eric Staal is taking on a larger role with the Sabres this season, and it’s one that will put him on the ice rather than just in the front office.
Coach Lindy Ruff said Wednesday that the former Sabres center, who already works as a special assistant to general manager Jarmo Kekalainen, will help during the season with centermen and the power play. Ruff described the arrangement as essentially a coaching role.
“He’s basically an assistant coach, like (a) consultant-type deal.”
Staal, 41, came into the organization last year under former GM Kevyn Adams, a close friend and former teammate. Ruff said Staal won’t be around every day, but will be in Buffalo for a significant part of each month.
“He won’t be here daily, but he’s going to be here for a good part of every month, and it’s going to be an area he’s excited with helping out,” Ruff said.
The fit makes sense for a team that has had persistent trouble in two of the same areas Staal is being asked to help: the power play and faceoffs. Buffalo’s power play ranked 21st in the regular season at 19.5 percent, then improved in the playoffs to 20.5 percent, sixth among postseason teams. Faceoffs have been a long-running issue, with the Sabres typically sitting near the bottom of the NHL in that category.
Staal’s playing resume gives him plenty to draw from. Over an 18-year career, he scored 455 goals and 1,063 points in 1,365 games.
He also spent 37 games with the Sabres during the team’s rough 2020-21 season before being traded to the Montreal Canadiens. He won the Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006.
Buffalo also opened camp with a few injury questions, including one that could affect the start of the regular season. Winger Jason Zucker had offseason sports hernia surgery and may miss the first two weeks, according to Kekalainen.
“He’s very close to the start of the year,” Kekalainen said.
Defenseman Louis Crevier, acquired in the offseason trade that sent Bowen Byram to the Chicago Blackhawks, had shoulder surgery but is expected to be ready for the season opener Oct. 1. Kekalainen was cautious, though, stopping short of giving a firm guarantee.
“He looks like he’s ready,” Kekalainen said. “I think he still needs to talk to the doctor that operated on him, but we think he’ll be ready for the start of the regular season. We still don’t have a final answer on it.”
Ruff also said center Justin Danforth is likely to begin camp with the Sabres after missing the rest of last season. Danforth broke his kneecap in the fourth game of the year, then had surgery and later another procedure to clean up cartilage that had been limiting his movement.
“He had his ups and downs with trying to get back,” Ruff said. “… He’s a really competitive guy who will do almost anything to win hockey games, from blocking shots, and that’s how he got hurt.
“We felt we had a right-handed centermen who could take key faceoffs for us. There was a little bit of a decision of whether he would be at camp maybe a month ago. But he’s starting to feel good.”
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