from Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe,

So after overseeing the unsuccessful Tank and two more seasons of playoff no-shows, Murray was shown the door on Thursday, accompanied by Dan Bylsma, the coach he had hired to oversee what he believed was a rebuild. A day later, Sabres owner Terry Pegula did not do himself or his organization any favors when he dismissed the notion that The Tank ever happened.

“We rebuilt,” Pegula said at a news conference at KeyBank Center.

This is not what Pegula envisioned when he bought the Sabres in 2011. Six years later, Pegula’s investment is in tatters, reduced to a punchline. Under the owner’s watch, some good people have come in and been spit out in short order: Pat LaFontaine, Ted Black, and Ted Nolan being three earlier casualties.

It leaves Pegula in search of an executive to punch the reset button and aim a high-powered hose at a room full of losers. In terms of résumé, ex-Kings GM Dean Lombardi has no competition. Lombardi has two Stanley Cup rings and experience building Los Angeles and San Jose into regular contenders.

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