Sabres hire former Lightning AGM Stacy Roest in pro scouting role
Roest spent more than a decade with Tampa Bay and was part of the front-office staff for the Stanley Cup victories in 2020 and 2021.
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Stacy Roest was part of the Lightning's front-office staff for two Stanley Cup victories. Bruce Bennett / Getty Images
The Buffalo Sabres added more experience to their front office on Tuesday by hiring Stacy Roest as a pro scout.
Roest spent more than a decade with the Tampa Bay Lightning, first as the director of player development and then later adding the title of assistant general manager. In that role, he served as the general manager of the Syracuse Crunch, the Lightning’s AHL affiliate.
This is the third hire Jarmo Kekäläinen has made since becoming general manager of the Sabres last month. He previously brought in former Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin to serve as associate general manager and former Columbus Blue Jackets assistant general manager Josh Flynn to fill the same role with the Sabres. Already, this staff is far more experienced than the one the Sabres had during Kevyn Adams’ tenure as general manager.
Roest’s addition to the pro scouting staff came after Kekäläinen and Bergevin evaluated Buffalo’s operation and felt the team was light on pro scouting. Under Adams, Jeremiah Crowe, who had no previous experience scouting in the NHL, served as the director of pro scouting. He remains employed in that role. But the Sabres felt they needed more coverage.
“He ran Syracuse and was in player development, but since last year, he hasn’t worked because Tampa let him go,” Bergevin said of Roest. “He’s located out west near Vancouver. So, as far as pro scouting goes for us, it was a good location to have another set of eyes. We’re spread thin on the pro side, we felt. Bringing in Stacy brings us that help.”
Kekäläinen is already building an impressive staff in Buffalo. The experience and resumes these additions bring are one thing. But he’s also not just filling his staff with the same people who worked for him in Columbus. He and Bergevin had no experience working together prior to Buffalo. They only got to know one another through various general manager meetings and trade negotiations over the years.
“He was not easy,” Bergevin said with a smile when asked what it was like negotiating deals with Kekäläinen. “He’s a good GM. He’s made some really good trades. Jarmo was always black and white. He never led you on the wrong path. You knew within the first 10 minutes if there was something that could make sense for both teams.”
Bergevin, who was fired by the Canadiens in 2021 and later joined the Kings’ front office, said he’s been upfront with Kekäläinen about his desire to be a general manager again someday. But he’s not trying to skip steps to get there. His early work with the Sabres has involved evaluating the current group of players on the roster. And while the team’s recent 10-game winning streak generated a lot of buzz around the league, Bergevin pointed to the Sabres’ streak in 2018 as evidence that there is still plenty of work to be done.
“It’s not the first time they won 10 in a row,” Bergevin said. “I’m not sure where they finished that year. It’s positive to win 10 in a row, but it’s a small sample if you look at the big picture. I understand it’s a passionate market … But I’m trying to stay level-headed with where we’re at and where we need to be. We’re not there yet.”
Bergevin said he’s only seen the Sabres play five games live so far, so he’s still in the early stages of evaluating the team. But he was attracted to this opportunity because of the core pieces the Sabres have in place
“You could ask anybody around the league, it’s always why haven’t they made the playoffs or had success?” Bergevin said. “They have good players, and there’s a reason why, and personally, I don’t know what it is, but that’s one of the reasons they brought me here, to give my views on where the team’s at and where it needs to be.”
The Sabres are currently in the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with games against the Flyers and Canadiens coming up on Wednesday and Thursday.
