The Sabres have added some depth on the back end as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman is among those reporting (Twitter link) that they have claimed defenseman Christian Wolanin off waivers from the Kings. To make room on the roster, the Sabres moved defenseman Henri Jokiharju to injured reserve.
The 26-year-old spent most of last season in Ottawa where he played a limited role, getting into 15 games with the Sens, recording three assists while averaging 13 minutes per game. After clearing waivers in late March, he was then traded to Los Angeles in exchange for Michael Amadio. With the Kings, Wolanin was sparingly used, suiting up only three times and was on the outside looking in at a spot in the lineup this season which led to his placement yesterday.
With the claim, Buffalo will once again have seven healthy defensemen on the roster and with Jokiharju set to miss at least a couple of weeks, Wolanin will have a short-term chance to stake a claim to a spot on the roster with the Sabres. It’s a low-risk pickup for Buffalo as Wolanin is making the league minimum of $750K at the NHL level with an AHL salary of $375K and a total guarantee of $400K.
Good depth defenseman with offensive upside, hopefully he gets waived again and the Kings get him back. Then send him to Ontario and play ever game and get better!
Would rather have “lost” Maata than Wolanin. Not because Wolanin is better. But because Maata is stupidly over paid and still has term on his contract.