Buffalo likely to name Botterill as GM shortly

WASHINGTON — It looks as if the Penguins are about to experience a major loss.

And it has nothing to do with the result of a playoff game.

Their associate general manager, Jason Botterill, is expected to be named general manager of the Buffalo Sabres within the next few days.

The Sabres have yet to confirm Botterill’s hiring or to schedule the news conference at which he will be introduced, although they are believed to have been waiting until the conclusion of the Penguins’ second-round series against Washington to do that.

Another member of the Penguins’ front office, assistant genreal manager Bill Guerin, was among the other candidates for the job, which opened when Tim Murray was fired last month.

It is not known if the Penguins have any immediate plans to fill Botterill’s spot on their management depth chart.

Botterill, who will be 41 May 19, was a first-round draft choice by Dallas in 1994 who played 88 NHL games before his career was cut short by a concussion. He joined the Penguins as director of hockey administration in 2007, when then-genreal manager Ray Shero lured him away from a position with NHL Central Registry.

Before that, he had been a scout with the Dallas Stars.

Botterill has been the team’s salary-cap guru most of his time with the Penguins and also served as general manager of their American Hockey League affiliate in Wilkes-Barre.

The Baby Penguins qualified for the Calder Cup playoffs in each of his eight seasons at the helm.

When Shero was replaced by Jim Rutherford in 2014, the plan was to have Rutherford groom Botterill to succeed him in two or three years, but Rutherford appears to have no immediate Conor Sheary steps in to help clear a puck from in front of MarcAndre Fleury and away from Washington’s Lars Eller. plans to retire.

In addition to Guerin, the Sabres’ list of general manager candidates reportedly included Tom Fitzgerald ( New Jersey), Mike Futa (Los Angeles), Paul Fenton (Nashville), Bill Zito (Columbus) and Craig Conroy (Calgary).

Shero, now general manager in New Jersey, was responsible for bringing Botterill, Guerin and Fitzgerald into the front-office business.