Ron Rolston was named head coach of the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday. Rolston served as the team’s interim coach and coached in the AHL before that. (Andy Marlin/Getty Images)

After serving as the Buffalo Sabres’ interim coach since Feb. 20, Ron Rolston was officially named head coach on Thursday morning, according to the official team site. The announcement was made by General Manager Darcy Regier.

During Rolston’s 31 games with the team, they had a 15-11-5 record. He is the franchise’s 16th head coach.

Prior to joining the Sabres, Rolston was the coach of the Rochester Americans in the American Hockey League (AHL) where he compiled a 63-44-17 regular-season record over the course of two seasons.

Rolston has also had considerable success coaching at the Under-18 and college level. From the team’s official report:

Rolston spent seven seasons as head coach with USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program, where he became the first coach in U.S. history to lead the United States Under-18 team to three gold medals (2005, 2009, 2011) at the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Under-18 Championship, adding a silver medal (2007) in his other appearance as head coach.

Rolston also served as head coach for the U.S. National Junior Team at the IIHF U20 World Championship in 2007 and 2009. In 2007, he led Team USA to the bronze medal.

Rolston joined USA Hockey after serving as an assistant coach at four different NCAA Division I hockey programs (Lake Superior State University, 1990-1995; Clarkson University, 1996-1999; Harvard University, 1999-2002; Boston College, 2002-2004) between 1990 and 2004, winning National Championships in 1992 and 1994 with Lake Superior State University.

The Bruins play in Boston on Wednesday night for the first time since the marathon bombings. (Jared Wickersham/Getty Images)

The Boston Bruins are planning for an emotional home game Wednesday night when the team takes the ice against the Buffalo Sabres, a matchup that was rescheduled from Monday because of the marathon bombings that had taken place in the city earlier in the day. It will be the first game the Bruins will play since the bombings.

To mark the occasion, the team donated 80 tickets to police, firefighters, emergency personnel and other first responders to attend the game against the Sabres, and pledged $100,000 to One Fund Boston, a charity set up to help the victims and their families, according to a report from Joe McDonald of ESPNBoston.com. Another $50,000 will be donated to the Fund by TD Garden, the NHL and NHLPA and each player on the Bruins will wear a “Boston Strong” decal on their helmet.

Bruins coach Claude Julien said Wednesday night will mark an opportunity for the team to help people heal and “smile again,” adding that the team will have to focus and fight emotions to make things better for the people of Boston. The ESPN story further quotes Julien:

“The one thing I sense from our team is we have the ability to maybe help people heal and find some reason to smile again by representing our city properly. To me, this is a time when you’re proud to be associated with a professional team. You’re fighting with emotions and you’re fighting with focus and you’ve got to be strong in those situations. The best thing we can do right now is really focus on our job to make things better for the people of Boston. We know that sports are a great way to help people heal, and not just our sport, but every sport in the city. We’re in the entertainment business and that’s what we do. At the end of the day, we’ve got a job to do here and we certainly plan on doing it well.”

Added Bruins forward Daniel Paille:

“If you can’t get excited for this game you shouldn’t be playing. There’s obviously a lot to play for tonight, and for us, we not only need to be ready, but we need to show that we want to support everyone in the city.”

The Buffalo Sabres fired long-time coach Lindy Ruff Wednesday, general manager Darcy Regier announced via the team’s Twitter account.

Ruff’s 16-year term with the Sabres made him the NHL’s longest-active head coach. The Nashville Predators’ Barry Trotz now holds that distinction.

Regier offered no word on an immediate replacement.

TSN’s Bob McKenzie tweeted word that Ron Rolston, the coach of the Sabres’ AHL Rochester team was “a possible and perhaps likely replacement.”

Earlier Wednesday, Ruff admitted that it was time to consider changing his lineup.

“If we’re going to be like this. It isn’t working the way we’re going.  The indication today is we’re going to have to try some things,” Ruff told WGRZ-TV.

Ruff coached the Sabres to the Stanley Cup finals in 1999 and to two other Eastern Conference finals, but the team had not advanced in the playoffs since 2007.

The Sabres’ slow 6-10-1 start likely led the Sabres to make a change. The team called a players-only meeting after Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets.

Darcy Regier announced this afternoon that Lindy Ruff has been relieved of his duties as head coach of the Buffalo Sabres. More to follow.—
Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) February 20, 2013

No confirmations yet but hearing Ron Rolston (coaching Rochester in AHL) as possible and perhaps likely replacement in BUF.—
Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) February 20, 2013

Sabres goalie Ryan Miller believes the NHLPA should decertify to help end the NHL’s lockout. (Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images)

Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller became the first NHL player to publicly call for decertifying the NHLPA in an email to The Globe and Mail.

“After watching the other sport leagues go through labour disputes last year, it is apparent that until decertification is filed, there will not be any real movement or negotiation,” Miller wrote. “Many things in our negotiation are very consistent with the NFL and NBA negotiations, and both of those leagues filed papers necessary to decertify.

“It seems like the players in any league are going to be subjected to the same scripted labour dispute developed by [NHL and NBA law firm] Proskauer Rose in all collective bargaining discussions now and in the future. Decertification becomes part of the script because Gary Bettman and the owners are trying to get a sense of how far they can push us and at some point we have to say ‘enough.’

“They want to see if we will take a bad deal because we get desperate or if we have the strength to push back. Decertification is a push back and should show we want a negotiation and a fair deal on at least some of our terms.”

The NHLPA has unofficially categorized decertification — a dissolution of a union previously used by the NFL and NBA player unions during their lockouts — as a last resort. Decertification could be used as a tool leading to a legal end to the NHL owners’ lockout, or an antitrust lawsuit.

It’s widely believed that the majority of NHL players do not favor ending their union, but decertification could gain support after NHL owners rejected the players’ latest proposal on Wednesday.

“This is going to galvanize them,” one member on the players’ side said.

The NHLPA could also seek to make a dramatic move in anticipation of the league cancelling more games and the 2013 All-Star Game scheduled for Jan. 27, 2013, in Columbus, Ohio.

Free agent Shane Doan reportedly met with the New York Rangers on Friday. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

NHL free agent Shane Doan was in New York on Friday to meet with the New York Rangers, Arizona Sports’ Josh Gambadoro reported.

The Rangers don’t have a reported contract offer on the table for the Phoenix Coyotes captain Doan, who has drawn interest from as many as 16 teams — more than half the NHL. Six teams — the Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks, Vancouver Canucks, Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins — have reportedly made contract offers. One of those offers is believed to be for four years and $30 million.

But the visit to New York was Doan’s first official visit as a free agent. He has professed a desire to remain in Phoenix, as long as the franchise is committed to staying there. He has spent his entire career with the organization, after the then-Winnipeg Jets drafted him in 1995.

Doan is also in New York for the collective bargaining negotiations between the owners and players. He told the New York Daily News that he wants to make a decision on where he’ll play next season “as soon as I can.”

Doan has put up more than 50 points in 11 of his past 12 seasons. He had 22 goals and 28 assists last season with the Coyotes.

New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski won a celebrity Home Run Derby in Buffalo on Tuesday by hitting 12 home runs in the two-round competition, reports the Boston Globe‘s Steve Silva.

Gronkowski drilled eight home runs in the finals to beat out Buffalo Bills CEO Russ Brandon, a former college baseball player.

Other players in the event, which came before the Triple-A Home Run Derby, included Buffalo Sabres forward Patrick Kaleta, Bills running back Fred Jackson, Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly and actor Nick Bakay.

Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff announced today that Tyler Meyers will be out for the rest of the regular season with a “bad foot,” according to the Sabres website.

“He won’t be on the trip. Tyler’s out. It’ll be a period of time,” said Ruff. “What time frame that is? It’s more than just this week.”

Ruff wouldn’t divulge any specific details of the injury, only saying that Myers has a “bad foot.” Myers has missed the past two games after taking a shot to the foot late in Friday’s loss to Pittsburgh.

Meyers has missed the past couple of games after taking a shot to the foot in the Pittsburgh Penguins game.

Meyers has been with the Sabres since 2009. This season he has posted eight goals and 15 assists for 23 points in 55 games. Last year he tallied 10 goals and 27 assists in 80 games.

Buffalo Sabres defenseman Tyler Myers will meet with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety this afternoon for an illegal hit against Montreal’s forward, Scott Gomez, according to a tweet from the NHL.

.@BuffaloSabres Tyler Myers faces a hearing today with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety.  Details: bit.ly/ze5EAZ

— NHL (@NHL) March 13, 2012

Myers was assessed a boarding minor on the play in Monday night’s game, and faces the possibility of supplemental discipline for his actions.

This season Myers has played in all 50 games scoring eight goals and 13 assists for 21 points. He has played in 212 games throughout his career tallying 29 goals and 77 assists for 106 points.

Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller has returned to practice for the first time since sustaining a concussion and neck injury against the Boston Bruins, NHL.com reports.

Miller’s injury occurred Nov. 12 when 6’3”, 228-pound Boston Bruins forward Milan Lucic checked the 6’2”, 175-pound goaltender as he played the puck outside of the crease.

Miller missed the past eight games due to the injury and the Sabres have struggled, posting a 3-4-1 record without the 2010 Vezina Trophy winner.

Miller is just one of eight Sabres regulars out of the lineup due to injury.

Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller is out indefinitely with a concussion from a hit by Boston Bruins’ Milan Lucic, ESPN reports.

In the first period of Saturday’s game, Lucic had a breakaway and Miller came far out of the crease to challenge. Lucic collided into Miller, and the contact to the head caused Miller’s mask to fly off. The play resulted in a charging penalty and Miller eventually left the game after the second period.

It was reported earlier that Lucic was scheduled to appear before NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan.  There is no word on what his punishment will be.

“It’s obviously something I have to go through. I’ll state my case and whatever happens, happens,” Lucic said to reporters. “It’s out of my control and all I can do is tell my story about what happened.”

“(Lucic has) 50 pounds on me and he runs me like that? It’s unbelievable,” Miller said to reporters after Saturday’s loss. “Everyone in this city sees him as a big tough solid player. I respected him for  how hard he played. That was gutless.”

Jhonas Enroth will replace Miller for the Monday night game against the Montreal Canadiens. Drew MacIntyre of the Sabres AHL affiliate will serve as Enroth’s backup.

Boston Bruins forward Milan Lucic is scheduled to meet Monday with NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan for his hit on Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller this past Saturday, NHL.com reports.

In the first period of Saturday’s game, Lucic had a breakaway and Miller came far out of the crease to challenge. Lucic collided into Miller, and the contact to the head caused Miller’s mask to fly off.

Lucic’s play resulted in a charging penalty and Miller eventually left the game after the second period. Sports Illustrated reports that Miller suffered a concussion on the play.

Miller told reporters in the locker room after the game:

Fifty pounds on me and he runs me like that? said a visibly upset Miller, to Sabres.NHL.com. Unbelievable. Everyone in [Boston] sees him as this big, tough, solid player. I respected him for how hard he played. That was gutless. Gutless.

Saturday’s game was the first meeting between the two Northeast division rivals; they faceoff again in a pre-Thanksgiving matchup Nov. 23.

Buffalo Sabres right wing Patrick Kaleta will face a hearing from NHL Senior Vice President, Player Safety and Hockey Operations, Brendan Shanahan to discuss his headbutt on Philadelphia Flyers forward Jakub Voracek in Wednesday night’s game, NHL.com reports.

This is not Kaleta’s first documented headbutt in an NHL game. Earlier this season, Kaleta was fined by the League for his attempted headbutt on New Jersey Devils’ Travis Zajac.

As this current infraction is not Kaleta’s first, and because Shanahan requested a hearing, the NHL is likely to levy a suspension for the play.

In Brendan Shanahan’s short tenure as Senior VP of Player Safety and Hockey Operations, he has doled out multiple suspensions and has provided video commentary explanations in hopes of reducing dangerous head shots and injuries across the league.