Sabres Hires Milan Lucic, Derek Dorsett

Two career bruisers will help mold the next generation of Buffalo Sabres. The franchise has hired former NHL wingers Milan Lucic and Derek Dorsett – Lucic joining as a pro scout and Dorsett joining as a development coach – per Mike Harrington of Buffalo News. This will be Lucic’s first role in the NHL since announcing his retirement after the 2025-26 season. Dorsett worked as a development coach with the Columbus Blue Jackets for three seasons between 2021 and 2024, after retiring from the NHL in 2018.

Sabres fans will have sore memories of Lucic’s time with the Boston Bruins. He was an infamous enforcer who recorded at least five fights in a single season on eight different occasions through his 17-year career. Lucic didn’t always drop the gloves before he stirred up opponents, famously delivering a flying hit to Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller – that led to harsh words from Miller in a post-game press conference – during the 2010-11 season.

Lucic’s knack for getting under an opponent’s skin led him through a successful career in the NHL. He debuted with Boston in 2007, after a second-round selection in the 2006 NHL Draft. His impact was quickly felt, with Lucic reaching 17 goals, 42 points, and 136 penalty minutes in just his second season in the league. He elevated those scoring totals to the 60-point range in the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons. Those performances locked Lucic in as the hard-hitter on Boston’s evolving second-line. They also made him a focal piece of the Bruins’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup, during which Lucic managed 12 points and 63 penalty minutes in 25 playoff games.

Lucic stuck with the Bruins through the 2014-15 season, before journeying through the Western Conference with stops in Los Angeles, Edmonton, and Calgary. His scoring steadily declined along that journey and Lucic’s time came to a close with an unsuccessful return to Boston in 2023-24. He took the 2024-25 season off, then joined England’s Fife Flyers for the 2025-26 season after another unsuccessful attempt to return to the AHL. While Lucic’s time in the NHL was often soured by chippy play, his experience in the league is undeniable – and he’ll now bring that expertise into a pro-scouting role in Buffalo.

Dorsett never reached the heights of his team’s top-six – but nonetheless amassed a long career in the NHL on the back of lofty penalty totals. He climbed from 150 PIMs in his rookie season to 235 PIMs in his third season, digging roots that carried through tenures with the Blue Jackets, New York Rangers, and Vancouver Canucks. Dorsett totaled 515 games and 1,314 penalty minutes in the NHL through 11 seasons. His average of 2:33 PIMs per game is the eighth-highest in the NHL since 2000, among players with at least 250 games played.

Sabres general manager Jarmo Kekalainen traded Dorsett from Columbus to New York as part of a deal to acquire Marian Gaborik in 2013, during his time overseeing the Blue Jackets. Kekalainen was also the GM to hire Dorsett to his first coaching role in 2021. Long a hard-hitter, Dorsett will now bring his invaluable bruising knowledge to a lightweight Sabres prospect group.