The Buffalo Sabres have reached an agreement to hire Hall of Fame center Bryan Trottier as an assistant coach under Ted Nolan, Bucky Gleason of the Buffalo News reported Tuesday.
Gleason, citing sources with close ties to the organization, said the move could be announced within the next week. Sabres spokesman Mike Gilbert said no announcements were planned for the immediate future.
Nolan, who was hired on an interim basis last November and got a three-year extension in March, opted not to retain the assistants he inherited when he replaced Ron Rolston. Teppo Numminen and Jim Corsi were not rehired, and Joe Sacco and Jerry Forton were reassigned. Sacco accepted a job as an assistant with the Boston Bruins last week.
Trottier won the Stanley Cup four times with the Islanders and twice with the Pittsburgh Penguins during his 18-year playing career. He had 524 goals and 1,425 points in 1,279 games and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1997.
Trottier was an assistant for the Colorado Avalanche in 2001. He was hired as coach of the New York Rangers in 2002 but was fired before the season ended and has not coached since then.
Nolan coached the Islanders from 2006-08, and Gleason said the two developed a relationship during that time.