The Buffalo Sabres have rehired Lindy Ruff, the last head coach to lead the franchise to the NHL playoffs back in 2011.

Ruff, 64, was fired by the New Jersey Devils after 61 games this season. He replaces Don Granato, whom the Sabres fired after three seasons.

Ruff coached the Sabres for 15 seasons, from 1997 to 2013.

The Buffalo Sabres fired head coach Don Granato on Tuesday, making him the seventh coach to be ousted during what's grown into an NHL-record 13-season playoff drought.

The move was announced by the team a day after the Sabres closed their season with a 4-2 win at Tampa Bay. They finished with a 39-37-6 record and had been eliminated from playoff contention last week.

Auston Matthews scored his 60th goal of the season for the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 3-0 win against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Saturday.

It's the second time in his NHL career that Matthews has reached the mark, having previously done so in 2021-22, when he scored 60 goals in 73 games.

Forward Wayne Simmonds announced his retirement from the NHL on Monday after 15 seasons with six teams.

The Philadelphia Flyers are signing him to a one-day contract and will honor his career on April 13 during a game against the New Jersey Devils.

Simmonds, 35, appeared in 1,037 games and tallied 526 points (263 goals, 263 assists) and 1,313 penalty minutes.

The Buffalo Sabres traded captain Kyle Okposo to the Florida Panthers in exchange for defenseman Calle Sjalin and a conditional 2024 seventh-round pick.

With Okposo being on a one-year deal worth $2.5 million, the Sabres did not have to retain any salary with the full freight of his contract going to the Panthers.

The Colorado Avalanche have acquired forward Casey Mittelstadt from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for defenseman Bowen Byram.

Mittelstadt, 25, was the eighth overall choice by Buffalo in the 2017 draft and has evolved into a dynamic two-way skater with high-end playmaking ability. 

The Avs also acquired defenseman Sean Walker and a 2026 fifth-round pick from the Philadelphia Flyers for forward Ryan Johansen and a 2025 first-round draft pick that is top-10 protected.

Buffalo Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson will miss the remainder of the season after he undergoes surgery to repair an upper-body injury, the team announced Sunday.

Samuelsson, 23, has been idle since playing in Buffalo's 4-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Jan. 23.

The Toronto Maple Leafs waived underperforming goalie Ilya Samsonov and the Buffalo Sabres ended their three-goalie rotation by waiving Eric Comrie, a person with direct knowledge of the moves told The Associated Press on Sunday.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the teams have not announced the moves. Both players would land in the minors if they go unclaimed Monday.

 Sabres top-line center Tage Thompson was placed on the team's non-roster list because of personal reasons Thursday.

Thompson did not play in Buffalo's 4-1 loss to the Boston Bruins on Wednesday night.

Buffalo Sabres forward Jack Quinn could make his return from a ruptured Achilles on Tuesday, coach Don Granato said Monday.

The Sabres host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night.