The Buffalo Sabres spent Friday trimming the roster as the preseason winds down and opening night gets closer.
Seventeen players were sent down in the club’s first round of cuts, with eight of those players placed on waivers. The group on waivers included Dennis Gilbert, Ryan Johnson, Mason Geertsen, Trevor Kuntar, Aidan McDonough, Carson Meyer, Jason Polin and Matt Villalta. The rest of the demotions were forwards Thomas Borderleau, Matteo Costantini, Riley Fidler-Schultz, Zac Funk, Matthew Peca, Jake Richard, Redmond Savage, Graham Slaggert, Liam Valante and Brendan Warren, along with defensemen Vsevlod Komarov, Noah Laaouan, Gavin McCarthy, Radim Mrtka and Maxim Strbak.
Those cuts come with the regular season right around the corner. The NHL opens play Tuesday, Sept. 29 with a five-game schedule, while the Sabres begin their season Thursday, Oct. 1 in Columbus against the Blue Jackets.
After last season’s run - 50 wins, the Atlantic Division, and a finish one goal short of the Eastern Conference Final - the expectations around this team are no longer quiet. Opponents won’t be looking at Buffalo the same way anymore.
The roster has also taken a few notable hits and changes along the way. Bowen Byram was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks, and Alex Tuch’s rights were dealt to the Washington Capitals.
That means some younger players are going to be asked to shoulder more, and the organization believes they’re ready for that kind of step. Thursday night is where it starts.
Health remains a major part of the story, too.
Olen Zellweger has been in concussion protocol since Sept. 22 after taking a hit from Carson Soucy in Buffalo’s 5-1 preseason win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Lindy Ruff said he expects Zellweger to be ready for the Oct. 1 opener.
Mattias Samuelsson left the Sept. 22 game against Columbus and is week-to-week with a lower-body injury, according to Ruff. The coach also said it comes down to pain tolerance, and that Samuelsson could be back sooner than expected.
Jason Zucker has been sidelined since the start of training camp because of an offseason sports hernia injury. Jarmo Kekalainen said he “could maybe miss a couple weeks of the regular season.”
Alex Lyon is dealing with a shoulder injury after diving for a loose puck with his glove hand in Buffalo’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings. Ruff said he’ll “miss a few days.”
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen left the Sabres’ 3-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins 3:47 into the third period after tweaking something in his lower body. Ruff said he “didn’t want to take any chances” and would not say whether Luukkonen will be available for Thursday’s opener.
Jiri Kulich has also been nursing a nagging injury, but he skated at practice Saturday morning and “was doing pretty good.”
In Other News...
Sabres May Face A Bigger Marchenko Question Than Fans Realize
The chatter around Kirill Marchenko has started to sound like more than a passing rumor, and it lands in a spot the Sabres cant ignore. Several Atlantic Division rivals have shown interest in the Columbus Blue Jackets winger, which naturally puts Buffalo on alert as it continues building around a young forward group and evaluating whether its internal development plan is ready to carry more of the load.
Columbus, for its part, is not acting like a team under pressure to move him right away, and the asking framework matters as much as the name itself. If the Blue Jackets decide to listen, they appear to want immediate help rather than a package built around future pieces, which is the kind of price tag that can separate the serious suitors from the curious ones and leave Buffalo weighing how much urgency it should attach to a player it may not have considered a must-have yet. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Top Defense Prospect Already Knows What Must Change
Daxon Rudolph arrived in the Sabres system as part of a draft haul that came after Buffalo landed a top-five pick, and the organization is already looking at him as a future piece on a blueline that has some established NHL contracts in place. For now, though, the young defenseman is staying in college, with the University of Denver set to be his next stop while Buffalo keeps tabs on his development from afar.
That gives the Sabres time to watch the most important part of his growth take shape. Rudolph already knows the areas that have to sharpen if he is going to fit into Buffalos long-term defense picture, and the focus is on the finer details that separate a promising prospect from a reliable NHL regular. For a team that has invested in its back end, that kind of awareness is a good sign, even if the real test is still ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Get Goalie Relief But Opening Night Still Has Two Big Worries
The Sabres at least got one bit of good news as they set their initial 23-man roster, with their goalie situation no longer looking quite as dire as it did earlier in camp. Buffalo does not have any of its top three goaltenders on injured reserve, and that alone gives the coaching staff a little more flexibility heading into the start of the season.
Still, the roster comes with two obvious concerns right at the top of the depth chart. Mattias Samuelsson and Connor Timmins are both on injured reserve, leaving Buffalo short on expected top-six defensemen, and the blue line is not the only spot without a clear answer. The club has not yet settled on a starter for the opener, with Alex Lyon, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Colten Ellis all still in the mix. [Read more 🡒]