The Buffalo Sabres are adding two familiar names to their organization, and neither one is stepping onto the ice.
According to Lance Lysowski, the Sabres have hired longtime NHL winger Milan Lucic in a scouting role.
Lucic spent years as one of the most physical forwards in the league before retiring from playing.
Now he's swapping the crease-crashing for crease-evaluating, helping Buffalo identify talent from the front office instead of the boards.
Derek Dorsett, a fan favorite during his playing days with the Columbus Blue Jackets, is also joining the Sabres organization.
Dorsett steps in as a development coach, a role built around mentoring prospects rather than running benches on game night.
It's a notable Monday move for general manager Jarmo Kekalainen, who has only been in his post since December.
Why Kekalainen is building out his hockey ops staff now
Kekalainen clearly wants his own people in the building, and pulling in two respected ex-players signals he's thinking beyond this season.
Buffalo just wrapped a 50-23-9 season, good for 109 points and the top spot in their division.
That's the best season the franchise has produced in years, and it raises the obvious question: why retool the scouting and development side after a year like that?
Maybe it's about depth. Maybe it's about insurance against the next playoff push falling short again.
Either way, adding Dorsett to mentor prospects feels like a smart, low-risk move. Buffalo's pipeline needs voices who've actually lived the grind, and Dorsett's reputation as a fan favorite in Columbus suggests he knows how to connect with younger players.
Lucic's hire is the more interesting one to watch. Scouting is a different beast than playing power forward, and not every tough, respected veteran translates into a sharp evaluator of talent.
Buffalo finished their year on a one-game slide, and head coach Lindy Ruff still has to figure out how to turn a strong regular season into a deeper run when the games matter most.
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These hires don't fix that directly. But they tell you Kekalainen isn't sitting still, and that the Sabres' front office is being reshaped piece by piece heading into the offseason.
Is hiring Milan Lucic as a scout a smart move for the Sabres?
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