Sabres Fire GM and Coach

The Buffalo Sabres have the worst record in the league at 4-15-1, and today they announced their intentions of rebuilding by overhauling their hockey department. That includes hiring Pat LaFontaine and Ted Nolan and firing coach Ron Rolston and GM Darcy Regier.

LaFontaine will be the new president of hockey operations and Nolan will be the interim coach for now.

LaFontaine said of Nolan, "There's no one that can bring a group of players together than Ted Nolan."

Nolan was the NHL coach of the year in 1996-97 when his team was considered "the hardest working team in hockey."

This comes on the heels of Tuesday's 3-2 shootout win against the Los Angeles Kings. Nolan, however, hasn't been in the NHL since a two-year stint with the New York Islanders from 2006 to 2008.

Honestly, everybody in the NHL knew this was coming at one point. I just didn't think it would be this early. The problem that the Sabres have is that they believe they can rebuild within this NHL year and be an elite team in time for the playoffs. I don't think so. This rebuilding process, especially one like the Sabres, is expected to take a few years. Their offense is having problems and the defense hasn't been helping enough to give Ryan Miller and Jhonas Enroth some breathing room. They've had to do all the work themselves and as a result, have been getting scored upon more than they're used to. Right now, I think Ted Nolan can help turn this team around but it's not going to turn around all the way. Again, they need time and they're not expected to be an elite team this year. The Sabres have problems and it'll take years before the problems are subsided and they're elite again.