Dan Bylsma wanted to get acquainted with his new team during the summer, so he called a few buddies in the coaching fraternity and asked about players. One of the guys who came up in the discussions was Johan Larsson.
The coaches had faced the Sabres late last season, right about the time Larsson started to excel. They praised the center’s skills and style of play.
“They liked him a lot,” Bylsma said Thursday. “They thought he played a hard, kind of a sandpaper, gritty game. They scouted him as such. That’s what he’s going to bring to the table.