Montreal, QC (WGR 550) - The Buffalo Sabres are right in the middle of their five-game road trip with a matchup against the Montreal Canadiens tonight. Buffalo is looking up at Canadiens, four points behind Montreal for the third spot in the Atlantic Division standings.
But following the team’s morning skate at Bell Centre the conversation centered around Josh Doan’s seven-year contract extension that was announced by the team last night.
Doan is in his first year in the Sabres organization after being acquired from Utah, along with Michael Kesselring in exchange for JJ Peterka this past offseason. The 23-year-old has 15 goals and 20 assists, good for 35 total points in 49 games with Buffalo this season.
He was all smiles after the morning skate this afternoon, answering questions about his new long-term deal with the team. Doan said that for him it is a “huge honor that they put the trust in me to sign a deal long term like that.” The forward added that “it’s a testament to their faith in this group, and in me that we’re building something for the future here and it’s a huge honor to be a part of that.” Doan recorded an assist in Tuesday’s win at Nashville.
The young forward thought that right from when he arrived that, “you could feel the energy in this group, there’s an amazing group of guys here and that’s something that I like to feed off of, is having fun at the rink.” Doan continued that he’s “been given an unbelievable opportunity here to grow as a player and a person and I think it just meshed well that myself and this group kind of came together, and we’ve got something going right now.”
That was evident when Doan went to center ice late in the morning skate and led the team stretch. His teammates saluted him with stick taps and applause before the group ended their pregame skate. He said that it was, “something that I didn’t know was coming and one of those moments that where it’s pretty cool, and exciting that they’d do something like that.” Doan was skating with Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch at the morning skate.
Sabres general manager Jarmo Kekalainen was very direct and to the point when asked about Doan being the first contract extension he has signed since taking over the position last month.
He said, quite simply, “why wait, when you have a good one you feel like he should be locked up. As I said early in my first press conference, we evaluate a lot more than just the points and what they do on the ice, but also what their character is like on and off the ice.” Kekalainen continued that Doan is “a great teammate, he sets a good example for our group the way he works everyday and those are the type of guys that you want to get locked up as quickly as possible.”
Doan scored a power play goal in the Sabres 5-3 victory against Montreal in Buffalo last week. He also assisted on the game-winning goal for his ninth multi-point game of the season.
He comes from a hockey family; with his father Shane played 21 seasons in the NHL between the Jets and Coyotes franchise. His number 19 was retired by Arizona before the team moved to Utah. Lindy Ruff also coached Shane in international competition for Canada. He believes that growing up around the game has helped Josh in his career.
Ruff continued that Doan comes from a “great family, and you know I think he was brought up playing hockey the right way. You know, you’ve seen his play and how well he’s played for us.”
He also believes that Josh has “just great character, tries to work hard and get better every day.
I think we’ve seen what he’s done on the ice, you know I think his work speaks for itself. He’s on the puck, he plays the game the right way, and he’ll be an important piece of this team for a long time.” Doan logged nearly 17 minutes of ice time in last week’s meeting with the Canadiens.
As for the game tonight, Michael Kesselring is a game-time decision, according to Ruff.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was in the starter’s goal and is expected to start for the Sabres.
You will hear from Doan, Kekalainen, and Ruff on pregame tonight. Coverage with Mike Schopp and the Bulldog begins at 6:00 p.m. I will be checking in from Bell Centre. The guys will also be joined by Paul Hamilton for his thoughts on the contract extension and tonight’s game ahead of the 7:00 p.m. puck drop on WGR Sportsradio 550.