BUFFALO, N.Y. — Jason Botterill has no second thoughts over leaving the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins while they are in the midst of yet another playoff run.

The lure of returning to the Buffalo Sabres, an organization with which Botterill ended his playing career, and opportunity to make his mark as a first-time general manager outweighed the close ties he established and two championship teams he helped build over the past 10 years in Pittsburgh.

“It’s emotional, but at the end of the day, it’s not a decision at all,” Botterill said shortly after being hired on Thursday. “I am 100 percent ecstatic about being here and being part of this organization right now and being back in Buffalo.”

And, the now-former Penguins associate GM joked, he’s still in line to win a third championship ring a day after the Penguins advanced to the Eastern Conference finals with a 2-0 win over Washington in Game 7 of their second-round series.

The Sabres are counting on the vast experience the 40-year-old Botterill gained in working his way up the Penguins ranks to rub off on a franchise in the midst of a six-season playoff drought and a team that owner Terry Pegula criticized for lacking structure and discipline.

Botterill takes over three weeks after GM Tim Murray and coach Dan Bylsma were fired in Buffalo’s second front-office house-cleaning in 3 1/2 years.

In being groomed by both current Penguins GM Jim Rutherford and his predecessor, Ray Shero, Botterill oversaw a wide variety of responsibilities including contract negotiations, salary-cap management and player development.

The Penguins have referred to Botterill as the “key architect” of their 2009 and 2016 Stanley Cup-winning teams.

As GM of the Penguins AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Botterill was particularly credited for hiring Mike Sullivan to coach the AHL team.