Sabres promote, hire multiple former NHLers to staff
The Buffalo Sabres have made some changes and additions to their hockey operations staff.
On Tuesday, the team announced that Stacey Roest has been promoted from pro scout to director of player personnel, as well as general manager of the Rochester Americans, the Sabres’ American Hockey League affiliate. Roest came to Buffalo this past January after working with the Tampa Bay Lightning for over a decade. There, he served as director of player development and assistant general manager, along with serving as GM of the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch. Working under Julien BriseBois, he helped put together teams that led to back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021, with the Bolts reaching the final a third time in 2022.
Roest was also the associate GM for Canada at the 2025 Spengler Cup.
The other big news was the hiring of former NHL tough guy Milan Lucic as a pro scout. A rather controversial hire, Lucic hasn’t played in the NHL since November 2023, when he was accused of attacking his wife during a domestic dispute. He entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program shortly thereafter. The 2011 Stanley Cup champion tried to make a comeback last fall when he was invited to the St. Louis Blues training camp. He signed with a team’s primary affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds, on a tryout before joining the Fife Flyers of the EIHL. He officially announced his retirement after the 2025-26 campaign.
Another former NHLer also reportedly received a new job, as Derek Dorsett was reportedly hired as a development coach. He played 10 years in the NHL before joining the Columbus Blue Jackets, working under the title of development for the last three seasons.
Jarkko Ruutu joins the staff as a European development coach. The longtime NHLer was also a development coach with the Blue Jackets, working a total of 10 years with the franchise.
Former Sabre Tim Kennedy was promoted to director of player development after spending five years as one of the team’s development coaches.
Another hiring was Neil Komadoski. After spending the last 16 years as a pro scout for the Vancouver Canucks, he joins the Sabres as assistant director of pro scouting.