By Chris Ryndak @ChrisRyndak / Sabres.com
Details are as scarce as a smile on Tim Murray’s face, but the Buffalo Sabres general manager confirmed Thursday that he has signed a new multi-year contract with the team.
He told the media during the first intermission of Buffalo’s season opener against Montreal that while he was entering the last year of his deal, he was confident that it would get done. After a few casual conversations with owners Terry and Kim Pegula over the last few weeks, Murray was able to sign on the dotted line a little over an hour before the puck dropped.
Now in his third full season with the team, he said he’s had a great relationship with ownership and the rest of the front office.
“I’ve felt secure. I’ve felt great here. They’ve been very supportive. I can’t think of one time I’ve gone to them with an idea that they said, ‘No’ or even questioned,” he said.
“I’ve felt very secure and I guess [when] you’re going into the last year of your deal, I guess it’s a vote of confidence when you can get a deal done and you don’t have to wait until June 30, which is great for me and my family obviously. I wasn’t printing out resumes or anything, but no, it feels good. It was a pretty simple process.”
TIM TALKS EICHEL
Murray also addressed the high-ankle sprain Jack Eichel sustained that will keep him out for at least four to six weeks — the Sabres hope Eichel will be back sooner, but are prepared for the possibility that the recovery could take longer.
He agreed with the assertion that the injury in disheartening, mostly because some of the offseason moves he made (like trading for defenseman Dmitry Kulikov, who is on an expiring contract, and signing winger Kyle Okposo) were with the thought that Eichel and other young players on the team were ready to help the club make the jump into at least a playoff race.
He said that as of right now, they have other possibilities at center like Sam Reinhart, Zemgus Girgensons and Tyler Ennis, so even though Kulikov and Okposo both also missed the opener, he isn’t going to explore the trade market just yet.
“I want to see how it goes. Jack is not a replaceable player,” he said. “…We’ll try some guys here and see how it goes. If it’s clearly not going to work then I’ve got to get on the phone and make some calls.
“… We’re missing some big pieces, but there’s no excuses. The guys that are on the ice, they want to win. They’re not sitting there going, ‘Well we have to wait for these guys to get back.’ They want to win.”
