As August opens and the second month of NHL free agency gets underway, a handful of former Buffalo Sabres are still waiting for a contract, and Tyson Jost is among them.
The 28-year-old center, once a top-10 pick, has bounced around the league since Colorado took him 10th overall in the 2016 NHL Draft in Buffalo. He spent six seasons with the Avalanche before being moved to Minnesota at the 2022 trade deadline, then lasted less than a year with the Wild before Buffalo claimed him in November.
Jost’s time with the Sabres was a mixed bag. He appeared in 102 games and put up 28 points, scoring 10 goals and adding 18 assists.
He was also part of the team that came within a point of ending the Sabres’ playoff drought, a season that prompted GM Kevyn Adams to bring back the roster in it’s entirety. The following year, Jost managed just six points in 43 games and was sent down to AHL Rochester.
He resurfaced in 2024 on a one-year deal with Carolina, splitting time between the Hurricanes and AHL Chicago. Carolina brought him back last summer, but Nashville claimed him before the regular season. With the Predators, he skated in 69 games and finished with 16 points, including eight goals and eight assists.
For now, the market has thinned to the point where options may start to shift overseas, or into short-term deals and professional tryouts. Because Jost is still under 30, a team such as Calgary or Vancouver could view him as a veteran depth option and invite him to a PTO to see whether he can earn a roster spot.
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Daily Faceoff left Ostlund off a recent breakout list, but the ingredients for a bigger role are starting to line up in Buffalos favor. With Alex Tuch gone and ice time opening up, Ostlund should have a better chance to turn those flashes into a more visible impact in his second NHL season. [Read more 🡒]