A man can only handle so much heartbreak.

Buffalo Sabres general manager Tim Murray said Friday he isn't going to the draft lottery later this month.

"They can save the paper and the call inviting me. I will not be there," Murray said on Buffalo radio station WGR 550. "I'm not saying somebody from the organization won't go and represent, but it won't be me."

Murray was present for the last two draft lotteries, during which the Sabres failed to land the first overall pick despite having the NHL's worst record both times.

"(The lottery is) going to happen whether I'm there or not, so it's a waste of time," Murray said. "Whatever they do (when) the balls come out, nothing's going to change whether I'm there or not."

Buffalo missed out on Aaron Ekblad in 2014 and Connor McDavid in 2015, settling for second overall picks Sam Reinhart and Jack Eichel, respectively.

The much-improved Sabres have the league's eighth-worst record and only a six percent chance of securing the top selection this time around, according to TSN.

The 2016 draft lottery takes place April 30. The new format will involve three separate lotteries to determine each of the top three picks.

- With h/t to John Vogl

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MONTREAL - Former Montreal Canadiens coach Jacques Demers was in stable condition Friday, two days after having a stroke.

Sandra Sciangula of the McGill University Health Centre said the 71-year-old Demers, now a Canadian senator, had improved to the point that doctors were planning to move him out of intensive care and into the inpatient stroke unit.

''Senator Demers' family is at his bedside and they are able to interact with him,'' Sciangula said. ''The family appreciates the extraordinary care deployed by the medical team and thanks the public for the respect demonstrated for their privacy.''

Demers, who coached the Canadiens to the 1993 Stanley Cup title, is a patient of the team's current doctor, David Mulder.

Demers also coached Quebec, Detroit, St. Louis and Tampa Bay in the NHL, and Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Quebec in the WHA. He quit the Conservative caucus several months ago to sit as an independent.

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The Anaheim Ducks signed Northeastern forward Kevin Roy to a two-year entry-level deal Friday.

Roy tallied 26 points over 29 games in his senior season with the Huskies.

The 22-year-old was a fourth-round pick of the Ducks in 2012.

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Alexander Radulov's passion cannot be questioned after watching this.

The former NHL forward scored the go-ahead - and eventual game-winning - goal for CSKA Moscow against Metallurg Magnitogorsk in Game 1 of the KHL's Gagarin Cup Final on Thursday, and his celebration was ... extremely intense.

Radulov's marker made it 2-1, and his teammates responded with three more goals en route to a 5-1 victory, so they were clearly motivated by his enthusiasm.

Here's the entire sequence, including the goal and the full Radulov reaction. Make sure you watch until the end.

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The St. Louis Blues have locked up one of their many pending free agents.

The club agreed to a two-year contract extension with defenseman Joel Edmundson on Friday.

His deal carries an average annual value of $1.05 million.

Edmundson was a pending restricted free agent with a cap hit under $1 million. The 22-year-old has nine points and an average ice time of 14:54 in 66 games this season, his first in the NHL.

He was a second-round pick of St. Louis in 2011.

The Blues have three remaining pending RFAs - Jaden Schwartz, Anders Nilsson, and Magnus Paajarvi - and six pending UFAs - captain David Backes, Troy Brouwer, Kyle Brodziak, Scottie Upshall, Steve Ott, and Jeremy Welsh.

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