BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The Buffalo Sabres have announced the passing of an original member of their public relations team.

Paul Wieland passed away on Thursday, leaving behind a wife and three daughters. He was 84.

“Our thought are with his family and friends,” the Sabres wrote on Twitter.

Wieland was with the Sabres from the start, joining them before their first season in 1970 and leaving in 1995, later teaching at St. Bonaventure University.

The Sabres say he had a hand in hiring both Rick Jeanneret and Ted Darling.