Sabres general manager Jason Botterill is drawing from his championship past in Pittsburgh to provide a boost in Buffalo.

The Sabres improved their top-six forward ranks by acquiring Conor Sheary and defenseman Matt Hunwick in a trade with Pittsburgh on Wednesday. The Penguins obtained a conditional 2019 fourth-round pick that could improve to a third-rounder in move that frees up $5.5 million of space under their salary cap before the NHL’s free-agency period opens Sunday.

Sheary was the key to the deal for Botterill. He’s the former Penguins assistant GM who watched the undrafted player develop in making the jump from signing a minor-league tryout contract to winning two Stanley Cup titles playing alongside Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby.

”When people were saying he couldn’t do it http://www.billsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-harrison-phillips-jersey , he found a way,” said Botterill, who had a hand in signing Sheary in 2014. ”That sort of determination and compete and work ethic something we’re looking to bring to our group.”

Sheary is a dependable two-way forward who will be given an opportunity to play wing on one of Buffalo’s top lines centered by Jack Eichel or Ryan O’Reilly.

Botterill valued Sheary’s playoff experience and ability to perform against other teams’ top defenders.

After scoring 23 goals and 53 points in 61 games in 2016-17, Sheary’s production dropped last year, when he finished with 18 goals and 30 points in 79 games.

Sheary has one year left on his contract before he is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent.

The Penguins are shaking up their lineup after failing to win a third consecutive title. The trade came a day after Pittsburgh signed forward Bryan Rust to a four-year contract extension. The Penguins on Wednesday evening used some of their newfound cap space to re-sign forward Riley Sheahan to a $2.1 million, one-year contract.

Hunwick is an 11-year veteran, who signed a two-year contract with the Penguins in free agency last summer. He finished with four goals and 10 points in 42 games last season. The Sabres become his fifth team in six years.

Drafted in the seventh round by Boston in 2004 Courtland Sutton Color Rush Jersey , Hunwick played three-plus seasons with the Bruins, and has also played with Colorado, Toronto and the New York Rangers. He has 25 goals and 117 points in 521 career games.

Hunwick joins Buffalo’s already crowded defensive ranks, which are expected to include 18-year-old Swedish blue-liner Rasmus Dahlin, who was selected with the No. 1 pick in the draft last week.

Buffalo’s returning defensemen include Rasmus Ristolainen, Zach Bogosian, Marco Scandella and Jake McCabe.

Dahlin drew a crowd of about 1 DJ Chark Color Rush Jersey ,800 fans Wednesday, when the Sabres opened a four-day rookie development camp.

The Sabres are coming off a disappointing season in which they finished last for the third time in five years.

Botterill won’t say if he’s done attempting to improve his lineup through trades, including ongoing chatter involving O’Reilly.

Botterill has acknowledged receiving interest in O’Reilly, but dismissed a report he had a deal in place to trade the center to Montreal during the draft.

”I understand why people are calling on him, but the validity of a lot of the rumors are simply untrue,” Botterill said. ”I would just say from Day 1, we’ve been very happy with Ryan being part of our group.”

—



The Detroit Pistons staved off elimination with a hot streak over the past two weeks.

They officially fell out of the Eastern Conference playoff race on Wednesday night when they lost to the even hotter Philadelphia 76ers 115-108. The Sixers stretched their winning streak to 12 games.

Detroit had won seven of its last eight games but couldn’t erase a midseason collapse that saw it drop from eight games above .500 to nine games below that mark. The Pistons (37-41) have now missed the playoffs in eight of the last nine seasons.

They’ll host the lottery-bound Dallas Mavericks on Friday http://www.broncosauthorizedshops.com/authentic-courtland-sutton-jersey , scrounging for reasons to stay focused.

“We still have four games to go,” Pistons forward Anthony Tolliver said. “We can claw and scratch and hopefully get to that .500 mark. Just something to play for.”

The Pistons have failed to make the playoffs in three of the four seasons with Stan Van Gundy as head coach and president of basketball operations.

“It’s tough, just because you work all season and to now be eliminated, it hurts,” forward Henry Ellenson said. “We had different goals coming into the year. We have four games left and we’ve just got to finish out strong.”

It’s uncertain how much their biggest star will play in those games. Power forward Blake Griffin has missed the last three games with a bone bruise in his right ankle. Van Gundy says Griffin will play if he’s healthy, even though the games are meaningless.

The Mavericks (24-55) will be without their future Hall of Famer. Dirk Nowitzki underwent a surgical procedure on his left ankle Thursday morning and will miss the remaining games. Before the Mavs’ 105-100 loss to the Orlando Magic on Wednesday, he had appeared in all but one of the team’s previous 78 games.

Nowitzki reportedly decided to have the surgical debridement in order to accelerate the rehab process and play for one more season.

Star rookie Dennis Smith Jr. (left knee soreness) and Harrison Barnes (rest) were also among seven players who didn’t suit up at Orlando.

Guard J.J. Barea strained his left oblique during the game and will be shut down for the final three games.

“There’s nothing wrong Josh Sitton Color Rush Jersey ,” Barea told Mavs.com. “I’m just making sure it won’t get worse. I don’t want to finish the season with it messed up. I had a good season.”

Coach Rick Carlisle has been juggling rotations on a game-by-game basis, often featuring end-of-the-bench types and players who spent a good portion of the season in the G League. Rookie guard Kyle Collinsworth played a career-high 35 minutes against the Magic and had 13 points, nine rebounds and six assists.

“I just try to play how I play, get in the lane, get my floaters up, be aggressive, find shooters Orlando Brown Jr. Color Rush Jersey , pick up full court and create some sort of leverage for us,” Collinsworth told Mavs.com. “When I come in, no matter if it’s four minutes or however many minutes I played tonight, I play how I play. With extended minutes, you should have a little better stat line.”

Dallas manhandled Detroit in the first meeting on Dec. 20. Barnes scored 25 points and the Mavs accumulated 43 second-quarter points in a 110-93 victory.
.