Seeking strucure, Sabres hire Jason Botterill as GM

— -- The Buffalo Sabres have hired Pittsburgh Penguins associate general manager Jason Botterill to oversee a franchise that owner Terry Pegula criticized for lacking structure and discipline.

"We are very happy to welcome Jason Botterill to the Buffalo Sabres family," Pegula said in a statement. "Jason's hockey knowledge, experience drafting and developing players, and his approach to management stood out to us during our interview process. Jason has built a solid reputation as a leader that connects strongly with players and staff around him. We are confident he will have a positive impact within our organization and will help us get to our ultimate goal."

Botterill takes over three weeks after Tim Murray was fired and one day after Pittsburgh advanced to the Eastern Conference finals by defeating the Washington Capitals 2-0 in Game 7 of their second-round playoff series.

Botterill's first priority will be hiring a coach to replace Dan Bylsma, who was also fired in Buffalo's second front-office house-cleaning in 3? years.

The former NHL player has spent the past 10 years working up the Penguins' executive ranks. Over the past three years, Botterill has been general manager Jim Rutherford's right-hand man in handling scouting, contract and player development matters.

Botterill played for the Sabres for the final two seasons of his NHL career. He also played for the Dallas Stars, Atlanta Thrashers and Calgary Flames.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.