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Report: Sabres fire assistant coaches Patrick, Adams

SabresCoaches

The Buffalo Sabres have reportedly dismissed assistant coaches James Patrick and Kevyn Adams, according to The Buffalo News.

Patrick, 49, had been with the Sabres organization since 2005, first as a skill development coach, then promoted to assistant in 2006.

He briefly assumed head coaching duties in 2012 when former bench boss Lindy Ruff missed time due to broken ribs.

Adams, 38, was promoted from his player development role to assistant coach in 2011, after Ruff interviewed more than 30 candidates for the gig.

The firings didn’t come as a huge surprise.

Neither Patrick nor Adams was hired by newly-minted head coach Ron Rolston -- in fact, both were closely tied to Ruff -- and during Tuesday’s press conference, Rolston acknowledged Buffalo’s special teams needed work.

“Special teams is something we have to improve on,” Rolston said on Tuesday. “Who does that, we’re still discussing those things.”

The Sabres finished 26th on the penalty kill and 29th on the power play last season.

Of note, it appears one of the assistant coaching holdovers from the Ruff era, Teppo Numminen, has managed to avoid the axe.