Rick Tocchet doesn't appear to be a candidate for the Buffalo Sabres' head coaching job, after all.

The Pittsburgh Penguins assistant coach has not yet been contacted by the Sabres about the vacant position, TSN's Darren Dreger reports.

Tocchet was thought to be on Sabres general manager Jason Botterill's list of head coaching candidates due to the new GM's history with the Penguins and Pittsburgh's recent success.

The former NHL forward insisted earlier this month that he hadn't been contacted "by anybody" for vacant head coaching jobs, of which there were two at the time, including the Florida Panthers position that went to Bob Boughner.

Dreger reported earlier Thursday that the Sabres are now expected to decide on their new bench boss before Monday, which advanced the previous timeline of early next week.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.