The Buffalo Sabres may be heading into the season short on two defensemen after Lindy Ruff said Wednesday that Mattias Samuelsson is out week-to-week with a lower-body injury and Olen Zellweger is in concussion protocol.
Both injuries happened in Tuesday’s 5-1 preseason win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Samuelsson left early after blocking a shot, while Zellweger was on the receiving end of a heavy hit from Blue Jackets defenseman Carson Soucy late in the second period. Zellweger remained on the ice for a while before being helped to the Sabres’ dressing room.
Samuelsson, 26, was a major piece on Buffalo’s blue line last season. He finished with 13 goals and 28 assists for 41 points in 78 games while logging just under 23 minutes a night.
He added three goals and four assists for seven points in the Sabres’ 13 playoff games. He’s now entering the fourth season of the seven-year, $30 million deal he signed with Buffalo.
Zellweger, 23, joined the Sabres in June when they acquired him from the Anaheim Ducks for a second-round pick and forward Anton Wahlberg. In 76 games with Anaheim last season, the Calgary native put up seven goals and 15 assists for 22 points while averaging roughly 17 minutes of ice time. He also recorded a goal and an assist for two points in three playoff games.
Buffalo is back in preseason action Thursday at the Detroit Red Wings and then hosts the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday. The Sabres open the regular season on October 1 at Columbus.
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Kent Johnson Just Gave Blue Jackets Fans Real Reason For Hope
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Blue Jackets Roster Debate Is Heating Up In One Key Area
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The bigger issue is where the pressure is building next: the roster cuts are coming, and the club is moving toward a final group for opening night while more NHL regulars are expected to filter into the remaining exhibition games. For a team already looking for more punch after a quiet start, those final preseason looks should go a long way in deciding which players are still in the mix and which ones are on the outside of the conversation. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jackets Fans Can See What No. 8 Now Means In Columbus
Before Zach Werenski turned No. 8 into one of the most recognizable numbers in Blue Jackets history, it had a little bit of everything attached to it in Columbus. Geoff Sanderson wore it during the early years, Jan Hejda brought his steady defensive presence to it, Scott Upshall passed through with a shorter stop, and Maksim Mayorov and Nathan Horton each had their own brief chapters, adding to a number that never really settled on one identity for long.
Werenski changed that. He arrived as the kind of cornerstone the Blue Jackets had been searching for and has since stacked up the franchise defensive records that now define the number. The next layer is already in view, with more milestones sitting just ahead as he enters another season carrying both the history of No. 8 and the expectation that he will keep rewriting what it means in Columbus. [Read more 🡒]