Sabres sign Dan Byslma to coach; Penguins get 2016 pick to compensate

Ray Slover

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Sabres sign Dan Byslma to coach; Penguins get 2016 pick to compensate image

And so it became official: Dan Bylsma signed on as coach of the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday.

Jilted by Mike Babcock, the Sabres landed the coach they coveted to lead a rebuilding franchise. After two seasons with the NHL's worst record, expecting to land elite forward prospect Jack Eichel with the second overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, the team handed Bylsma its reins.

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Once Byslma and the Sabres reached agreement, all that remained was compensation. The Pittsburgh Penguins granted Byslma permission to talk with the Sabres, knowing they would get a third-round pick if he was hired. The only question: which one?

Pens GM Jim Rutherford and the Sabres' Tim Murray settled on the higher of two 2016 picks acquired by Buffalo from the New York Islanders and Vancouver Canucks.

Pens GM Jim Rutherford and the Sabres' Tim Murray settled on the higher of two 2016 picks acquired by Buffalo from the New York Islanders and Vancouver Canucks.

An opportunity to coach Eichel and a rising team was a major selling point for the Sabres. Bylsma has long history with USA Hockey, which Eichel has been a part of for years. Bylsma was Team USA's coach at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, ending in fourth place.

Contract terms were not immediately available.

Bylsma, 44, was Penguins coach from 2009-14, compiling an overall mark of 252-117-32. Bylsma has the best winning percentage (.668) in NHL history with at least three full seasons coached. He received the Jack Adams Award as the league's most outstanding coach in 2011.

In February 2009, Bylsma replaced Michel Therrien and led the Pens to an 18-3-4 finish on their way to winning the Stanley Cup.

The Penguins qualified for the playoffs in all six seasons under Bylsma, but their failure to win a second Stanley Cup under him led to his firing in 2014.

Bylsma coached Team USA at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, where the team finished fourth.

He played nine years in the NHL as a right winger with the Kings and Ducks and was a member of the 2002-03 Ducks team that reached the 2003 Stanley Cup finals.

Bylsma is the fourth coach in four seasons for the Sabres, who finished 23-51-8 this season under former coach Ted Nolan.

— Contributing: Arthur Weinstein

Ray Slover