Futa serves as assistant GM of the Kings, a position he was promoted to earlier this month following the firing of GM Dean Lombardi. He has been with Los Angeles since 2007, previously serving as vice president of hockey operations and director of player personnel.
The Sabres have not sought permission to speak with Lombardi, the report indicates.
Buffalo would be familiar territory for Futa, who was a candidate for the GM job with the Sabres in 2014. The team ultimately hired Tim Murray, who was fired on April 20 following four straight playoff misses.
He noticed the empty seats at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on Thursday when the Senators opened their second-round series against the New York Rangers with a 2-1 win.
The captain and game-winning scorer had a more diplomatic response for what the empty seats meant.
"It is what it is, but I feel we have great support in this city" Karlsson said, according to NHL.com's Dan Rosen. "We have great fans."
The guy's obviously not going to throw his supporters under the bus in the playoffs, but the building was at 90.5 percent capacity Thursday with almost 2,000 seats still available, and that fact has almost overshadowed the Senators taking a 1-0 lead over New York, despite the Rangers being favored in the series.
In fact, Karlsson said Thursday's game was the best the Senators have played during the postseason, Rosen added.
That a full house didn't get to see it is the talk of Ottawa on Friday.
The Ottawa Sun's Wayne Scanlan published a column about it, with the usual arguments: The CTC is in Kanata, far from downtown Ottawa; parking is a real pain in the you know what; weeknight games are always a tougher sell, playoffs or not; and prices are, as expected, higher in the postseason.
Still, with Ottawa in the second round for only the second time since their Cup Final run in 2007, nothing less than full capacity will do, apparently. It's Canada, after all.
If you live in Montreal and want to stop debating the P.K. Subban for Shea Weber trade, you're probably going to have to move.
With the Canadiens' season over after the first round and the Nashville Predators advancing to Round 2 with a sweep of the mighty Chicago Blackhawks, last summer's one-for-one blockbuster's back in the spotlight, with many wounds in Montreal still fresh.
And one popular local establishment where people watch the Habs on TV while drinking adult beverages is letting it be known which side of the deal it falls on:
"Chez Serge" is "Chez Subban" until P.K. wins the Stanley Cup, and that's straight from the bar's owner, who spoke with Yahoo Sports.
"The sign remains until P.K. drinks a Molson beer with me at the bar from the Cup," owner Paulo Branco said.
Subban had a big smile on his face when he was shown the above tweet by NHL.com's Arpon Basu.
"It's pretty cool," Subban said, according to Basu. "I'll have to stop by for lunch when I get there this summer."
Imagine if he brings the Stanley Cup with him.
Weber's very good, and he's not what ails Montreal. But he's not Subban, never will be, and Subban wasn't the problem in Montreal, either. That's what makes all of this so difficult.
In this week's edition of "On the Fly," we're Stanley Cup dreaming. Below are four guys still playing this spring who we'd love to see raise the prettiest trophy in professional sports.
P.K. Subban
Navin Vaswani: Imagine, for a minute, the following: P.K. Subban's Nashville Predators win the Stanley Cup over the Canadiens, in Game 7, on the road in Montreal. Hell, in overtime, too, why not. With Subban scoring the winner.
That's not going to happen (thanks for nothing, Montreal), but it sure would be nice if the NHL's most passionate player, the guy who looks like he's having the most fun out there - which is exactly what he should be doing - won the Stanley Cup. (And just think what it would do to Habs supporters!)
(Photo courtesy: Action Images)
Subban lives for the game. You can tell by watching him. It's his passion, his love, his life, and while hockey is certainly unfair, there would be something excruciatingly cruel about Subban not winning the Stanley Cup. He must. He better.
There's an NHL promo spot getting TV airtime this postseason that features a number of players - active and retired - talking about the Stanley Cup. Some, like Jonathan Toews, Hall of Famer Bryan Trottier, and Sidney Crosby, talk about winning it, and what it meant to them when they did, while others, like Alex Ovechkin, talk about wanting to win it, and needing to win it. Subban's in it, too.
"The Stanley Cup means everything," he says.
And I believe him.
Henrik Lundqvist
Craig Hagerman: All rise. "The King" has entered.
Henrik Lundqvist is back in the second round of the playoffs and this time he's going all the way - or at least he finally deserves to.
Now in his 12th season, the closest he came to capturing Lord Stanley was back in 2014, when his New York Rangers lost the Cup final to the Los Angeles Kings in five games.
It's unfortunate Lundqvist hasn't been able to capture hockey's holy grail, considering he's been arguably the most consistent goalie in the NHL since he made his debut in 2005.
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
Lundqvist is the only goalie in NHL history to post 30 wins in each of his first seven seasons, the only goalie to post 30 wins in every full season he has played, and the first goalie to record 11 straight 20-win campaigns to begin his career.
He's been nominated for the Vezina five times, won it once, and was named the Rangers' MVP every year from 2007 to 2013.
Lundqvist is a proven winner, an Olympic champion, and there's only one thing missing from his resume.
Erik Karlsson
Cory Wilkins: Erik Karlsson quieted his critics this season, excelling in both ends of the ice after years of racking up points in the offensive zone.
Putting together an 82-point campaign a year ago, Karlsson's numbers were in a similar echelon this season as he finished with 71 points. The big jump, however, came behind his own blue line, where the Ottawa Senators defenseman was second to only Kris Russell in blocked shots. His goaltenders thank him.
(Photo courtesy: Action Images)
That performance has Karlsson nominated for his fourth Norris Trophy. No doubt he'd be thrilled with another win, but leading the Senators to the Stanley Cup would be far more meaningful.
A Stanley Cup would be a first for Karlsson, and he'd be just the third European to captain his team to a championship after fellow Swede Nicklas Lidstrom was the first to do so in 2008. It'd also mark the first Stanley Cup parade in the Great White North since the Montreal Canadiens won it all in 1993. For Karlsson, the best for the best.
Alex Ovechkin
Josh Gold-Smith: There's little debate over what Alex Ovechkin's legacy is, and what it likely will be. He's already the greatest Russian scorer of all time, and - if he can keep producing while staying healthy for five or six more seasons - he has a shot at 700 goals, a feat only seven players in NHL history have accomplished.
(Photo courtesy: Action Images)
He's won the Hart Trophy three times, and he's a six-time Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy recipient. He's won the Calder, the Art Ross, and appeared in a slew of All-Star games. But there's still something missing from Ovechkin's trophy case.
Winning the Stanley Cup is a team accomplishment, so the fact Ovechkin hasn't hoisted it yet shouldn't diminish his terrific career, nor should it disqualify him from induction into the Hall of Fame.
But given how many times his Washington Capitals have come up short in the playoffs, watching him exorcise those demons by lifting Lord Stanley's mug would be truly satisfying.
Ovechkin is one of the most prolific, durable, and likable players in the NHL, and few others deserve the chance to win a championship more than he does.
Crosby and Ovechkin reconnected Thursday for their third playoff head-to-head series since entering the NHL as rookie sensations in 2005. The Penguins again came away with the victory in Game 1, defeating the Capitals 3-2.
No series would be complete without the two captains chipping in. Crosby opened the scoring for the Penguins, and netted his second just 52 seconds later. Ovechkin added a tally of his own late in the middle frame.
In all, the two have now squared off 14 times in the postseason, with Ovechkin coming up with 22 points to Crosby's 17. Still, Crosby has the edge in the category not shown on the scoreboard: 2-0 for Stanley Cups.
The two superstars will renew hostilities in their 15th playoff contest Saturday in Washington.
Interestingly enough, the previous record also came in the playoffs, when the Senators put 19 pucks at New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur during the second period of Game 5 of the conference finals in 2007:
The #Sens most recently recorded 19 shots in one period on 5/5/07 -- Game 5 ECSF @NJDevils -- the final game at the Devils former home.
A night when Rangers netminder Henrik Lundqvist would see a lot of rubber appeared to be the game plan for Senators coach Guy Boucher.
"I thought we had a good first period. We wanted to shoot a lot," Boucher told reporters after Game 1. "We know that if we want to score goals, we're going to need lots and lots of shots on Lundqvist. He's at the top of his game. Anything below 40 shots, really we're not going to score anything."
The Senators wrapped the night with 43 shots on goal, with captain Erik Karlsson notching the winner with just 4:11 remaining in the third period.
"We had guys at the net and that's what it's about. I don't think we're going to beat this guy with nice plays and clear shots," Boucher added. "He is what he is and there is a reason why he gets that reputation, because he does that every night."
The Ottawa Senators took the first step in proving their doubters wrong Thursday, downing the New York Rangers 2-1 in the opening game of the second-round matchup.
"The players didn't want to get swept at four. We heard from everybody how good they are. It's all we could hear, is how much they're going to crush us," Senators coach Guy Boucher told reporters following the victory. "It is a scary team. They've got four lines and their goaltender is outstanding, so maybe there was a lot of fear tonight that helped us."
Senators captain Erik Karlsson scored the winner with less than five minutes remaining in the final frame, bouncing a wide angle shot in off of Rangers netminder Henrik Lundqvist.
It was just another day at the office for the Ottawa superstar, as far as Boucher is concerned.
"He's done exactly that before. I am not surprised by what he does now, but I guess my mind is not boggled by what he does now," Boucher said. "It's every day. It's something he comes up with. That's what the great players do, they come up with stuff at the right time, and they can take the pressure. I guess I got used to it."
Karlsson has been one of the Senators' top producers in the postseason, with seven points in as many games. He sits one point shy of center Derick Brassard for the team lead.
"We have to appreciate what we have here (in Karlsson). It's more than a star right now," Boucher added. "That's what I think is unbelievable. He's a skill player that became a star and now he's a winner. That's what he's inspired our group with all year long."
Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin both made their marks on Game 1 of the second-round matchup, but neither had a hand in the winner.
The Penguins temporarily stole home-ice advantage away from the Capitals with a 3-2 victory in D.C., and while it wasn't a high-scoring affair, there were plenty of captivating moments in the series opener.
Here's what we'll remember from another instant classic between the two rival clubs:
A Fleury of saves to preserve the win
Marc-Andre Fleury came up large in the final minutes, somehow managing to keep the puck out during an extended scramble in front of his net.
Fleury has an interesting definition of the word "fun."
Fleury on saves late: "I couldn’t see the puck for a little while there, I had no stick, so I was trying to make some stops. It was fun.”
Evgeny Kuznetsov busted out his patented bird celebration after notching the tying goal about eight minutes into the third period.
Bonino buries winner on partial breakaway
Braden Holtby probably should have had this one, but Nick Bonino isn't going to have much sympathy for him after cruising in and netting the eventual game-winner with seven-plus minutes to go.
No goals were scored in the first period, but Crosby changed that quickly after the intermission, burying a feed from Jake Guentzel 12 seconds into the second frame, then taking a pass from Patric Hornqvist and depositing his second.
Resisting the temptation to play up the Crosby-Ovechkin narrative is tough when both players are factors in a playoff game against each other, and that's exactly what happened Thursday night.
Ovechkin fired a rocket past Fleury late in the second period to cut the Penguins' lead in half.
Talk show legend David Letterman was on hand, as was his grizzly-looking facial hair. Capitals organist Bruce Anderson even played Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London" for the noted Zevon fanatic during Letterman's introduction.
