Sabres’ Joshua Norris Out Day-To-Day With Upper-Body Injury
Yet another injury has come through for one of the league’s most plagued forwards. Buffalo Sabres centerman Joshua Norris sustained an upper-body injury on Wednesday that will have him out on a day-to-day basis, per a team announcement.
Norris’ final shift came with six minutes remaining in the second period. He received a few cross-checks to the ribs courtesy of Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Nick Seeler. Norris fought through those checks to deliver the primary assist on Buffalo’s fourth goal of the game. It seems those whacks may have caused more damage than it appears, though, and he will now land on the shelf yet again.
Norris missed 25 games between October and December while recovering from a different upper-body injury sustained in the Sabres’ season opener. He has had a bad trend of upper-body injuries through the last few years, sustaining an oblique injury that ended his 2024-25 season early and undergoing multiple shoulder surgeries during his six seasons with the Ottawa Senators.
While this injury doesn’t seem as severe as some Norris has faced, it will still shorthand the Sabres for the near future. Norris has been an electric part of the offense when healthy. His 17 points in 19 games this season gives him the second-highest scoring pace (0.89 points-per-game) on the team behind Tage Thompson (0.98).
This has been a career-year for Norris on the scoresheet. His scoring pace and 0 plus-minus both rank as career-highs. He has reached those heights despite averaging under 16 minutes of ice time each game – a career-low, largely thanks to so often needing eased back from injury. His strong shooting and connection with Buffalo’s stars has still earned Norris a spot on the Sabres’ top power-play unit. They will have to replace that hole, in addition to Norris’ spot in the top-six, for their next slate.
The Sabres have recalled top prospect Konsta Helenius to attempt to fill the gap. Helenius leads Rochester Americans forwards in scoring with 30 points in 34 games. He is in his second AHL season after spending two years in the Liiga, Finland’s top league. Despite yo-yoing prospects like Isak Rosen and Noah Ostlund between leagues, the Sabres have opted for a patient approach with Helenius, leaving him a full-time AHL role through the last two seasons. Now, with Norris out, their patience could come to fruition should Helenius make his NHL debut.
Sabres Recall Konsta Helenius, Place Joshua Dunne On IR
The Sabres have recalled top forward prospect Konsta Helenius from AHL Rochester, according to Rachel Lenzi of The Buffalo News. He could make his NHL debut tonight in Montreal. In a corresponding move, Joshua Dunne was moved to injured reserve with the mid-body issue that’s expected to keep him out for four to six weeks.
Helenius may be entering the lineup as Joshua Norris exits it. Buffalo’s oft-injured pivot left yesterday’s win over the Flyers with an upper-body injury and is day-to-day, head coach Lindy Ruff said.
Selected No. 14 overall in 2024, Helenius is the latest in a years-long slate of high-drafted Sabres forwards to get his first NHL look. The selection was nearly universally lauded at the time. Most had him touted as a top-10 selection after he rattled off 36 points in 51 games for Jukurit in Liiga, Finland’s top professional league, as a 17-year-old.
Helenius took an unusual path, immediately signing his entry-level contract with Buffalo and reporting to Rochester last season at age 18. First-round picks out of Europe are permitted to do so, but teams and players usually opt to give their prospects a bit more runway in a familiar overseas environment before bringing them to the NHL or AHL.
He didn’t blow the doors off in Rochester last year, but in year two of his North American professional career, concerns over his offensive ceiling have quieted. A two-way center first and foremost, he’s now Rochester’s second-leading scorer with a 9-21–30 line in 34 games.
Given he’s within spitting distance of a point per game in the minors as a teenager, he’s more than deserving of at least a brief NHL trial. He entered the season as the organization’s No. 1 prospect, per NHL.com, a billing he’s lived up to so far.
While injuries have continued to plague Norris, limiting him to 19 appearances this year, he’s played the best hockey of his career when he’s been dressed. He’s been as natural a fit as hoped in Buffalo’s top six and has six goals and 17 points in 19 games, placing second on the team at 0.89 per game. That would also stand as a career-high for the 26-year-old and is his best per-game production in four years.
Sabres Notes: Dunne, Kesselring, Jones
Jan. 15th: According to Rachel Lenzi of The Buffalo News, the Sabres have officially activated Kesselring from the injured reserve, per the NHL media site.
Jan. 14th: The Buffalo Sabres will be without their typical fourth-line center for quite some time. According to Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio, Joshua Dunne is expected to miss the next four to six weeks with a mid-body injury.
After Monday’s loss to the Florida Panthers, head coach Lindy Ruff indicated that Dunne wasn’t injured from the hit by Panthers defenseman Donovan Sebrango, which was the original thought at the time. Ruff went on to explain that the mid-body injury has been bothering Dunne for the last little while.
With all due respect to Dunne, he’s not an irreplaceable part of the Sabres’ forward core. The 27-year-old center has scored one goal and four points in 28 games with Buffalo this season, with a -4 rating. Still, he’s given them a 50.6% success rate in the faceoff dot, which has been beneficial given that he’s started 78.2% of his shifts in the defensive zone.
Given the duration of the expected recovery timeline, the Sabres will likely place Dunne on the injured reserve by the end of the weekend. This will give Buffalo the space to recall a depth forward as they embark on a five-game road trip next week.
In more positive news on the injury front, Hamilton also reported that defenseman Michael Kesselring is ready to return to the lineup, but won’t play this evening. Kesselring has been on Buffalo’s injured reserve for the last week, and the idea is that the team doesn’t want him returning for a back-to-back homestand.
Kesselring has been relatively disappointing throughout his first year with the team, though much of that can be attributed to injuries. He’s only appeared in 16 games for the Sabres this season, going scoreless while earning a -4 rating. Still, his advanced metrics have been solid, and he’s only one year removed from scoring seven goals and 29 points in 82 games with the Utah Hockey Club.
Meanwhile, Kesselring’s impending return has spurned a proactive roster move from Buffalo. Earlier today, the team shared that they’ve reassigned Zachary Jones to the AHL’s Rochester Americans. Despite spending multiple days on the NHL roster, Jones has yet to play for the Sabres this season, instead scoring three goals and 32 points in 28 games for AHL Rochester.
Sabres Hire Stacy Roest As Professional Scout
- Jarmo Kekäläinen has made another significant addition to the Buffalo Sabres front office. Earlier today, the Sabres announced that they’ve hired Stacy Roest as a professional scout. It’s technically a step backward for Roest in his professional career, as he was the longtime Director of Player Development and Assistant General Manager for the Tampa Bay Lightning from 2013-14 to 2024-25.
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Latest On Mattias Samuelsson
Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz reached another milestone as he approaches his return. David Alter of The Hockey News revealed that Stolarz skated with the regular group today.
The 31-year-old will be eager to get back into action after what’s been a trying 2025-26 so far. Unable to play since November 11 after an upper-body injury, even beforehand, Stolarz struggled a bit. His .884 SV% and 3.51 GAA are below expectations from the upcoming four year extension worth $3.75MM per year, in which Toronto is banking on the late-bloomer to hold down their crease for his first true #1 role.
Winners of seven out of their last 10, the Leafs have turned the corner after it appeared their season was in serious danger. Just shy of a Wild Card spot for now, the team could finally have two-punch stability between the pipes. Joseph Woll has exceeded expectations since coming in for Stolarz, with a .921 SV% and 10-4-2 record.
There’s not yet a specific return date for Stolarz, but he and Woll figure to give Toronto a formidable duo entering the final push of the season.
Elsewhere across the league:
- Philadelphia Flyers star Travis Konecny has had an eventful last few days, but returned to the lineup tonight, shared by Jackie Spiegel of The Philadelphia Enquirer. Konecny missed Saturday’s game after an upper-body injury from the day before, and came back to practice yesterday, which seemed to be a good sign. The 28-year-old then left yesterday’s skate with another injury, unable to catch a break. Thankfully back tonight without a hitch, Konecny was ejected from the game for abuse of officials, as reported by Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia. The Flyers top forward will look ahead to next Wednesday’s game in Buffalo.
- Buffalo Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson was shaken up late in tonight’s loss against Florida, and Head Coach Lindy Ruff had no immediate update postgame, per Rachel Lenzi of The Buffalo News. Samuelsson has missed just two games on the year, his play as a top pairing blueliner a huge part of Buffalo’s revival of late. The 25-year-old appeared to be favoring his right arm after taking a spill. The Sabres are back in action Wednesday, hosting Konecny and Philadelphia, hopefully not sans their lefty minute-eater in the midst of his best campaign yet.
2026 NHL Draft Will Be Held In Buffalo
1/12: The NHL has officially announced that Buffalo will host the 2026 NHL Draft on June 26th and 27th per NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman.
1/9: The NHL Draft could be returning to Buffalo, New York this year. The Buffalo Sabres have made an earnest push to host the First Round of the 2026 NHL Draft, sources told Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News. A potential return to draft day in Buffalo was first teased by broadcaster John Buccigross on Thursday.
Buffalo has hosted three other NHL Drafts. It became the third American city to serve as host in 1991, seven years after the NHL moved away from a yearly trip to Montreal. The Quebec Nordiques drafted centerman Eric Lindros first-overall in Buffalo, but the future Hall-of-Famer refused to sign with the club, prompting a trade to Philadelphia in 1992. Meanwhile, the NHL Draft didn’t return to Buffalo until 1998, when the Tampa Bay Lightning drafted Vincent Lecavalier with the top pick. By then, the league had begun traveling to a new city every year for the Draft, which kept the league from returning to Buffalo again until 2016, when Auston Matthews landed with the Toronto Maple Leafs at first-overall.
The 2026 Draft will be unlike any previously held in Buffalo, though. NHL general managers voted to decentralize the NHL Draft beginning last season. This format is more in-line with other professional sports leagues, like the NFL, and saw NHL management teams stay in their home city while draft prospects were greeted on stage by league personnel. The change in format was criticized by fans and media after the 2025 Draft wrapped up but NHL managers voted to uphold it headed into 2026.
That places a unique challenge on the next host to try and spark a format that landed flat last year. The heap of talent set for the first-round in 2026 could make that task a bit easier. The hockey world is in the midst of debating the first-overall chair after hopefuls Gavin McKenna, Ivar Stenberg, Keaton Verhoeff, and Chase Reid dueled out at the 2026 World Junior Championships. Stenberg – a standout in Sweden’s top pro league – earned the last laugh of the tournament with a Gold Medal win. Whether that trend will continue through June – and into host city Buffalo – is yet to be seen.
Michael Kesselring Nearing Return
- According to an article from Bill Hoppe of the Times Herald, defenseman Michael Kesselring should make a return to the Buffalo Sabres relatively soon. Regardless of his current health status, the 25-year-old blue liner can’t make his return to the Sabres lineup until next Wednesday against the Philadelphia Flyers due to the IR activation requirements. He went scoreless in 16 games before going down with a lower-body injury on January 6th.
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Buffalo Sabres Recall Zachary Jones
Saturday: It was a short-term demotion for Jones as WGR 550’s Paul Hamilton relays (Twitter link) that he is back up with Buffalo to once again serve as the reserve defender. The assignment was simply to get him into a game with AHL Rochester to keep him fresh.
Friday: The Buffalo Sabres announced that they’ve reassigned depth defenseman Zachary Jones to the AHL’s Rochester Americans. The Sabres are now down to six defensemen on the active roster.
Since the team has an upcoming five-game homestand beginning tomorrow night against the Anaheim Ducks, they may be able to wait a few days before recalling another defenseman if the rest of the core is fully healthy. Still, since Michael Kesselring won’t be eligible for activation until Buffalo’s January 14th contest against the Philadelphia Flyers, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them recall a different option, such as Ryan Johnson for a day or two.
Despite being the second recall of the year for Jones, he has yet to play a game for the Sabres. After being non-tendered by the New York Rangers last offseason, Jones quickly signed a one-year, $900K agreement with Buffalo on the opening day of free agency.
Although he may have liked to get into an NHL contest by now, it’s been all AHL for the former 68th overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft. Given his output with AHL Rochester this season, it’s somewhat surprising that the Sabres haven’t gotten him at least one look.
At the time of writing, Jones has scored three goals and 31 points in 28 games for the Americans, leading the team in scoring. He’s only two points back of Ryan Ufko for the highest-scoring defenseman in the AHL with four fewer games played. If he continues his current pace, it’ll be surprising if Jones doesn’t come home with the Eddie Shore Award, annually given to the league’s top defenseman.
Devon Levi Knocking On The Door
In Tuesday’s rendition of Oilers NOW with Bob Stauffer, his guest, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, spoke on the situation in the crease for the Buffalo Sabres. Friedman believes that the Sabres will need to recall Devon Levi sooner rather than later, which would confound an already complicated situation between the pipes.
Despite Kekäläinen’s desire to move a goalie off the roster, Levi remains blocked. Nonetheless, the 24-year-old has made a name for himself, compiling a record of 53-25-15 in 91 games with the AHL’s Rochester Americans, achieving a .917 SV% and a 2.45 GAA over the past three years. It’s hard to see how Levi could make the NHL roster this season, so the Sabres have more work ahead regarding their goaltending situation.
Buffalo Sabres Make Four Roster Moves
The Buffalo Sabres announced a series of roster moves today, as they activated veteran Jason Zucker off of injured reserve and recalled defenseman Zac Jones from their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. In two corresponding moves, the Sabres placed defenseman Michael Kesselring and goaltender Alex Lyon on injured reserve.
Zucker, 33, has been out since the Sabres’ Dec. 8 contest against the Calgary Flames. Despite losing Zucker, a veteran of nearly 800 games who had 18 points in 21 games before his injury, the Sabres went on a 10-game win streak starting in their first game without Zucker, a streak that only came to an end Jan. 3 at the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Per NHL.com’s Heather Engel, Zucker will return to the lineup as the Sabres’ second-line right winger. When he last played, Zucker was the team’s third-line left wing, skating on a line with Jack Quinn and Ryan McLeod. Zach Benson is now in that spot.
The return of Zucker should help the Sabres build more momentum in their push to end their playoff drought, which stands as the league’s longest. The 33-year-old is playing out the first year of a two-year contract extension he signed in March of last year, one that carries a $4.75MM cap hit.
Shifting focus to the Sabres’ defense, the team placed Kesselring on IR after he missed the team’s Saturday loss to the Blue Jackets. The 25-year-old missed nearly a month with a lower-body injury in November and December, and also began the season with a lower-body injury that cost him nine games. The 6’5″ blueliner was acquired by the Sabres over the summer as part of the JJ Peterka trade. The Sabres also received breakout winger Josh Doan from the Utah Mammoth in the deal.
His difficulty staying healthy has cost Kesselring the chance to play a significant role on head coach Lindy Ruff’s defense. Through 16 games played this season, Kesselring doesn’t have a point and is averaging just over 15 minutes of ice time per game, including just over a minute shorthanded.
Replacing Kesselring on the roster is Jones, a former minor league and NCAA standout. Once one of the better prospects in the New York Rangers’ system (he was ranked No. 2 in their pool by The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler in 2022), Jones failed to earn a regular role on the Rangers, serving mainly as a reserve defenseman under former head coach Peter Laviolette.
Jones was not extended a qualifying offer by the Rangers last summer, and the Sabres signed him to a one-year, $900K deal with a hefty $550K AHL salary. While he has yet to make his Sabres debut after failing to earn a spot on the team out of training camp, he has been brilliant at the AHL level. Jones has 30 points in 27 games for the Americans, leading the team in scoring.
If Jones gets the chance to play during this recall, it would be a significant opportunity for him as he is a pending restricted free agent. The Athletic’s Matthew Fairburn wrote on Jan. 3 that the Sabres “don’t have a lot of internal options Ruff trusts.” If Jones can find a way to earn the trust of Ruff to a greater extent than his rival Sabres depth blueliners have been able to (namely Zach Metsa, Jacob Bryson, and Ryan Johnson), he could secure an extended runway to show off his skills at the NHL level.
To clear sufficient room for Jones’ recall and Zucker’s activation on their regular roster, the Sabres placed Lyon, a goalie, on IR. Lyon has been dealing with a lower-body injury and will now miss at least a week due to this IR placement. The 33-year-old has a 10-6-3 record this season with a .904 save percentage, and is under contract at a $1.5MM AAV through next season. Since the Sabres have been carrying three goalies on their active roster, they are able to place Lyon on IR without recalling another netminder.
With Lyon injured, Ruff and the Sabres will turn to veteran Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and rookie waiver claim Colten Ellis in the crease to help sustain the momentum they built with their win streak.
Photos courtesy of Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images