The big fish got away but Sabres will be fine

The Brett Hull goal/no goal in the 1999 Stanley Cup finals, now that was a disaster for the Buffalo Sabres.

So, too, was the clock striking midnight on July 1, 2007, when Daniel Briere and Chris Drury bolted town as unrestricted free agents.

But seeing Mike Babcock accept mega-money from the Toronto Maple Leafs to coach in the center of the hockey universe? That's no catastrophic loss for the Sabres.

A disappointment, yes, especially since no one ever says no when Terry Pegula applies the full-court courting press.

Babcock, however, did say no to Buffalo because he's getting similar (or more?) money from the Leafs, as well as some power in the Leafs hockey department. And he's Canadian. He'll be coaching the New York Yankees of Canada.

The Sabres, meanwhile, still have plenty of high-quality candidates from which to choose, and they remain an attractive landing spot for anyone with a little patience and a desire to create their culture and put into motion their organizational structure.

Dan Bylsma, Peter DeBoer and Guy Boucher are former NHL coaches who had success and now are looking for work. All are solid options.

If I had the power of general manager Tim Murray, here's what I'd do:

Hire Bylsma as head coach. He has done this work-with-young-stars thing before with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin in Pittsburgh. Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart aren't Crosby and Malkin, but they are two very dynamic talents. Having the experience as coach for Team USA at the 2014 Sochi Winter OIympics strengthens his resume.

Bylsma brings experience, stature and tactical smarts, something the youthful Sabres need. He would set into motion his program.

Because there are so many young high-end prospects on the roster, I'd make sure I have teachers on the staff. So I slide Randy Cunneyworth out of his player development role and back into coaching. He's been in the AHL and NHL, as an assistant and a head coach. No one is willing to spend more time helping players get better, and he has 33 years of pro experience to call on.

Luke Richardson, rumored to be a head coaching candidate because of his Ottawa ties to Murray, comes in as an assistant and would handle the defense. He played nearly 1,500 NHL games (regular season and playoff), has NHL time as an assistant in Ottawa (three seasons) and has been an AHL head coach in Binghamton the last three years.

The third assistant would be Bylsma's hire.

The Amerks roster will have plenty of prospects, so I need the right people guiding the kids in Rochester, too.

I hire former Amerks defenseman and assistant coach Doug Houda as head coach. He has been in Boston as an assistant to Claude Julien for the past nine seasons. It's time to make the move to head coach.

But since there probably isn't any NHL GM who will hire a guy with no head-coaching experience, he needs time running the show in the AHL.

Thus, as long as Houda would be open to coaching here, and as long as the Bruins let him go (or if new GM Don Sweeney cleans house with their coaching staff), then he's my guy for development in Rochester.

His top assistant would be one of his best friends while they were in Rochester, Chris Taylor. Players have a great deal of respect for Taylor, and he has nearly 20 years of playing experience to back up what he says.

Will any of that actually happen? We'll find out in the next few weeks.

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** Don't be surprised if Dane Jackson, captain of the Amerks' last Calder Cup team (waaaaaay back in 1996) joins Dave Hakstol with the Flyers.

Hakstol was hired as Philadelphia head coach Monday. Jackson has been his assistant at North Dakota the past nine seasons.

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Gates native Mark Zengerle signed a contract extension with the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins.

The rookie was on a one-year deal and scored 15-22-37 in 72 games as a rookie this season. He has 8 assists and 10 playoff games for the Griffins, who await their opponent for the Western Conference finals.