What's Old is New Again

The Buffalo Sabres finally decided to clean house today, as both General Manager Darcy Regier and head coach Ron Rolston were given their walking papers.  Ted Nolan returns to the job he held between 1995 and 1997 on an interim basis and Pat LaFontaine was named President of Hockey Operations.  For the Sabres, the canning of Regier was overdue, as the Sabres last made the playoffs in 2011 and were languishing in last place in what has been a season worse than even they could have imagined.  Last season, Lindy Ruff was fired in the middle of the season, which opened the door for Rolston to try and right the ship.  He had the interim label taken off prior to this season, but the writing was on the wall for him the second he sat the top line for half the game in a drubbing at the hand of the Anaheim Ducks on a recent road trip.  Nolan did a pretty good job in Buffalo, but was let go due to issues with then-GM John Muckler and star goaltender Dominik Hasek.  His departure opened the door for Ruff, who would lead the Sabres to a Finals appearance two years later.

LaFontaine will be helping in the Sabres' search for a General Manager and has stated that he would not be the one to take the job.  His role as President of Hockey Operations will undoubtedly be similar to the one that Joe Sakic has in Colorado, and LaFontaine will have a fair amount of pull, as his days in a Sabres uniform were mostly successful.