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Buffalo Sabres Recall Felix Sandstrom, Place Mattias Samuelsson On IR

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Just ahead of tonight’s matchup with the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Buffalo Sabres announced a roster move. Buffalo shared that they’ve recalled goaltender Felix Sandstrom from their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans, and have placed defenseman Mattias Samuelsson on injured reserve in a corresponding transaction.

The reasoning behind Sandstrom’s recall is entirely without controversy. Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News reported earlier that Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is out with a minor injury and that although the team would have called up Devon Levi, there wasn’t enough notice given he’s still in California for the AHL All-Star Challenge.

It’ll be the first time this season that Sandstrom will participate in a backup role for the Sabres. After clearing waivers at the beginning of the season, Sandstrom has spent the entire season with AHL Rochester posting a 9-4-1 record in 14 games with a .900 save percentage and 2.89 goals-against average.

If Buffalo didn’t have Levi waiting in the wings, this would be respectable enough production to warrant an unexpected call-up to the NHL level. Still, the Sabres brought Sandstrom in on a one-year, $775K contract this past summer in case Levi needed to be recalled, not the other way around.

Sadly, Sandstrom’s recall adds further complications for an organization that can barely endure more challenges. Samuelsson will again be placed on injured reserve this season after missing 17 games due to injury.

The Philadelphia, PA, native hasn’t skated in more than 55 contests in a single season since joining Buffalo as a full-time defenseman for the 2021-22 NHL season. The Sabres still owe Samuelsson $21.429MM over the next five years after the 2024-25 campaign — a heavy price for a blue liner that has only maxed out at two-thirds of a full season.

Sabres Recall Isak Rosen, Tage Thompson Day-To-Day

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The Sabres recalled winger Isak Rosen from AHL Rochester on Tuesday, per a team announcement. Tyson Kozak was moved to injured reserve in a corresponding transaction after missing Sunday’s win over the Devils with an illness. It turns out the moves were precursors to more injury news today, as head coach Lindy Ruff confirmed leading scorer Tage Thompson won’t play tonight against the Blue Jackets and is day-to-day with the upper-body injury he sustained on a hit from New Jersey winger Stefan Noesen over the weekend (via Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald). Defenseman Mattias Samuelsson also won’t play due to a lower-body issue, per Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News. Neither player is expected to miss significant time.

It’s Rosen’s second recall of the season after an eight-day stint on the roster in November. The 2021 first-rounder entered the lineup for a Nov. 23 win over the Sharks, posting zeros across the board in just 6:29 of ice time.

The 21-year-old is having a great season on the farm, leading Rochester with 23 goals and 39 points in 40 games. It’s yet to translate into a legitimate NHL role, but by already setting a career-high in goals, he’s put himself on the radar for a spot on next year’s opening night roster. The Stockholm native is already in his third season of professional hockey stateside and has 57 goals and 126 points in 173 games with the Americans.

He’s still looking for his first NHL point as he gears up to play game No. 9 of his career tonight. He’s expected to skate in a third-line role with Jiri Kulich and JJ Peterka, presumably receiving more ice time than he did in November.

Thompson exits after Noesen caught him in the head with an open-ice hit early in the third period of Sunday’s game. It earned the Devils forward a match penalty but no supplemental discipline, which Ruff said was surprising. He’s the Sabres’ lone point-per-game player, leading the club with 26 goals and 48 points in 47 games. He had four goals and eight points in his last three games until the Noesen hit, so he’s an even more significant short-term loss for the Sabres with how he’d been playing in the last few days.

Samuelsson, 24, had suited up in nine straight after missing two with an illness. He’s averaging 18:31 per game this season, the lowest since his rookie stint in 2020-21, and has nine points with a minus-two rating in 35 appearances.

Team Finland Adds Henri Jokiharju, Urho Vaakanainen To 4-Nations Roster

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Team Finland has added Buffalo Sabres defenseman Henri Jokiharju and New York Rangers defenseman Urho Vaakanainen to their 4-Nations Face-Off roster. The duo will fill in after Miro Heiskanen and Jani Hakanpaa each suffered injuries that will hold them out through February. They will join Esa Lindell (Dallas), Olli Maatta (Utah), Niko Mikkola (Florida), Rasmus Ristolainen (Philadelphia), and Juuso Valimaki (Utah) on Finland’s blue line.

Finland was down to the wire in finding replacements for their pair of injuries. There are only 11 active Finnish defensemen in the NHL. With this news, Team Finland has already invited nine of those names to the tournament – leaving Ville Heinola (Winnipeg) and Nikolas Matinpalo (Ottawa) as the only two to not receive a call from team general manager Jere Lehtinen. Heinola and Matinpalo are the only active Finns to play in the AHL this season, excluding Hakanpaa’s pair of minor league outings during a conditioning stint.

While their output pales in comparison to who they’re replacing, Finland will get a nice match of styles in Jokiharju and Vaakanainen. The former has been an aggressive two-way defenseman for the Sabres this season. He only has four points through 36 games this season, but has posted a +6 – just the second positive plus-minus of his seven-year NHL career. He posted his first, a +14, through 74 games last season – and coupled it with a career-high 20 points. Jokiharju is working to rediscover those numbers this season, but nonetheless brings stout neutral zone control to the Finnish lineup. While he controls north of the blue line, Vaakanainen will be tasked with filling Hakanpaa’s stout defensive role. Vaakanainen began this season with the Anaheim Ducks but joined the Rangers after just five games, as part of the deal that sent Jacob Trouba to the west coast. Vaakanainen has since stepped into 21 games with New York, filling a bottom pair role and recording five assists, 10 penalty minutes, and a +2. He’s also been a quietly impactful defender in New York state, bringing physicality and size to a Rangers blue line in need of both. He’ll bring the same attributes to the 4-Nations tournament, and hopefully blend with Jokiharju well enough to somewhat match the top-tier impact lost by Heiskanen’s injury.

Afternoon Notes: Kulich, Stolarz, Savage, Durzi

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The Buffalo Sabres cleared up space in their bottom six by placing winger Nicolas Aube-Kubel on waivers. After the team’s practice, head coach Lindy Ruff shared that the decision was influenced by how well 20-year-old Jiri Kulich has performed as of late, per Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News. Ruff elaborated that the team will face a roster crunch with Jordan Greenway expected to return to practice soon. An undisclosed injury has forced Greenway out of 28 of Buffalo’s last 32 games.

Through the weeds of roster moves, this news shines a spotlight on Kulich. The young center recorded the first three-point game of his career last Tuesday, and was promptly awarded with the most ice time of his career on Thursday. Kulich didn’t manage any scoring, but made sure to find the scoresheet in Buffalo’s Saturday game – scoring one goal on a career-high seven shots. He’s playing much more confident and determined than he was earlier in the year, and the Sabres seem ready to reward him with a hardier role and a chance to prove his worth.

Across the Atlantic Division, Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube told media after practice that he won’t hold back goaltender Anthony Stolarz if he’s healthy before the league breaks for the 4-Nations Face-Off, captured in a video from TSN. Stolarz participated in his first full practice after missing the last 21 games with a knee injury. He’s been upgraded to day-to-day and nearing a return, but will have just five chances left to return before the Leafs go on a two-week break.

Stolarz effectively leads the league in save percentage among goalies with 10-or-more games played. He’s recorded a .927 through just 17 games this season, backed by a stout 9-5-2 record. Stolarz seemed to be the reliability in net that Toronto had been seeking, but his untimely injury has put the team in a challenging spot. The Leafs have been outscored 70-to-69 since Stolarz’s injury, though they’ve still managed a 12-9-0 record. His return will be hotly anticipated as, hopefully, the catalyzing piece of a second-half run in Toronto.

Traveling south of Toronto, Michigan State Spartans captain and Detroit Red Wings prospect Redmond Savage has suffered a season-ending injury, Spartans head coach Adam Nightingale told local reporter Conor Earegood of Detroit News Sports. Savage’s season will end with 11 points in 20 games – a dip in scoring pace from his 27 points in 38 games last season, but still a better pace than his two years at Miami University of Ohio. Detroit drafted Savage in the fourth round of the 2021 NHL Draft, but haven’t yet signed him to his entry-level contract. They will lose his rights next summer if he doesn’t sign.

Finally, out in the plains of the Western Conference, Utah Hockey Club defender Sean Durzi returned to the team’s practices on Tuesday. Durzi has missed Utah’s last 45 games with a shoulder injury. Head coach Andre Tourigny joked about the defender’s return to Belle Fraser of the Salt Lake Tribune, saying that Durzi looked a bit rusty but that the team is incredibly excited to have him back. Utah signed Durzi to a four-year, $24MM contract this summer, but he’s so far only played four games on the deal. He was still productive enough to illicit excitement in the brief showing – recording two assists, seven penalty minutes, and a +2. Durzi will likely return to a role on Utah’s second pair, once he eases his way back to full practice.

Sabres To Reassign Nicolas Aubé-Kubel

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Jan. 28: Aubé-Kubel cleared waivers, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. The Sabres announced they’ve recalled forward Tyson Kozak from Rochester in a corresponding move.

Jan. 27: The Buffalo Sabres placed winger Nicolas Aubé-Kubel on waivers Monday, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. He’ll head to AHL Rochester tomorrow if he clears.

This roster move marks the fourth time in his seven-year NHL career that Aubé-Kubel has been placed on the waiver wire. He was claimed by the Colorado Avalanche from the Philadelphia Flyers in 2021, claimed by the Washington Capitals from the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2022, and went through unscathed at the beginning of last season. Granted, all those waiver claims came when Aubé-Kubel was making significantly less.

He signed the richest contract of his career this past summer with the Sabres. Buffalo gave Aubé-Kubel a one-year, $1.5MM contract in the hopes he would help reimagine the bottom six of their forward group. Unfortunately, Aubé-Kubel is amidst the least productive season of his career registering a measly one goal and one assist in 19 games with the Sabres.

Still, Aubé-Kubel lost a few games at the beginning of the season due to a lower-body injury which could help explain his decrease in productivity. He’s continued to be a very physical forward in Buffalo and is managing the third-highest CorsiFor% of his career at even strength with a 52.0% mark albeit in limited action.

Some less physical teams such as the Edmonton Oilers, Dallas Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning, Carolina Hurricanes, and Capitals could use a player with Aubé-Kubel’s expertise. However, given his relatively high salary for a player destined for a lower-tier role, it would be unsurprising to see Aubé-Kubel go unclaimed over the next 24 hours.

Canucks Receiving Interest In Elias Pettersson

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Over the past few weeks, the expectation has been that if Vancouver winds up moving one of its top two centers, that player was likely to be J.T. Miller.  Last weekend, a potential deal was close enough that the Canucks pondered scratching him but the move never materialized and Miller remained in the lineup that night.

Meanwhile, earlier this week, various reports indicated that Carolina was in discussion with Vancouver about both Miller and Elias Pettersson with various proposed offers for either one.  Ultimately, neither of those happened with the Hurricanes instead pivoting to adding Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall from Colorado and Chicago respectively.

But with discussions for Miller not seemingly going well, it appears that teams are still calling about Pettersson.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the Sabres are believed to be among the teams showing a lot of interest in the 26-year-old.  The Fourth Period suggests that the Senators could be a team to keep an eye on as well.

Pettersson is in the first season of an eight-year, $92.8MM contract, or a cap hit of $11.6MM per season.  Notably, since this is the final of his original RFA-eligible years, Pettersson doesn’t have any form of trade protection.  Miller, on the other hand, has a full no-move clause which could make things more complicated for the Canucks.

Two years ago, Pettersson put up his first 100-point season, picking up 39 goals and 63 assists in 80 games.  He wasn’t quite able to reach those numbers in 2023-24 but still managed 34 goals and 55 helpers, giving him another season of over a point per game.  While that wasn’t elite production, it was still legitimate top-line numbers at a premium position.

Unfortunately for both Pettersson and the Canucks, the decline in output has continued into this season.  He has 11 goals and 19 assists through 42 games, putting him fifth on Vancouver in scoring.  While some believe his struggles are at least in some part related to the apparent rift between him and Miller, it’s clear that the Canucks are expecting much more from him either way.

Both Buffalo and Ottawa have younger centers on long-term deals that would seemingly serve as starting points for a Pettersson offer.  Dylan Cozens is only two years removed from a 31-goal, 68-point season and is signed through 2030 at $7.1MM per year.  Meanwhile, Josh Norris has a 35-goal campaign under his belt from 2021-22 and checks in at $7.95MM per season through 2030.

Neither player is a number one middleman but would give Vancouver a serviceable second option behind Miller.  Of course, those would only be the starting point of offers and finding the other pieces needed will determine whether a swap gets past the finish line.  And again, other teams are believed to be interested as it’s not too often that a top-line center in his prime becomes available.

At this point, it doesn’t look like the Canucks are getting the types of offers they’re hoping for to get a Miller trade done.  As a result, a Pettersson move looks like it’s starting to become a bit more palatable so expect GM Patrik Allvin to be fielding more calls about his young center in the coming days.

Sabres Activate Ryan McLeod Off IR, Assign Tyson Kozak To AHL

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As expected, the Sabres announced today that they have activated center Ryan McLeod off injured reserve.  To make room for him on the active roster, center Tyson Kozak has been assigned back to AHL Rochester.

McLeod’s activation should come as little surprise as he was a full participant in practice on Friday with the team indicating at that time that he was expected to play against his former team today and line up on the second line.  He winds up missing just three games with a nagging upper-body injury.

The 25-year-old was acquired from Edmonton in the summer along with prospect Tyler Tullio in exchange for prospect Matthew Savoie.  He has fit in well with the Sabres and enters play today tied for sixth in team scoring with blueliner Owen Power.  McLeod has 10 goals and 15 assists in 45 games this season while winning over 52% of his draws, the best rate of Buffalo’s full-time middlemen.  He carries a $2.1MM cap charge this season and will be a restricted free agent with salary arbitration rights this summer.

As for Kozak, the 22-year-old has gotten into nine games with the Sabres this season during his three recalls, his first taste of NHL action.  He has just one point – a goal – in those outings while blocking 14 shots in 10:36 of playing time.

Kozak is in his third professional season and generally hasn’t been particularly productive with the Amerks.  He had 10 points in his rookie year and 12 last season.  However, he has already matched that mark this season with six goals and six assists in 24 games in Rochester which should help his case as he’s set to become a restricted free agent with his entry-level deal expiring at the end of June.

Sabres To Activate McLeod Saturday

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The Sabres will welcome back Ryan McLeod back to their lineup on Saturday.  Team reporter Jourdan LaBarber indicates that the center will be activated and return after missing just three games with what was described as a nagging upper-body injury.  The 25-year-old is in his first season with Buffalo since being acquired from Edmonton over the summer and has fared pretty well, notching 10 goals and 15 assists in 45 games while winning over 52% of his draws.  He’ll likely line up on the second line against his former team.  Buffalo has a full roster at the moment so they will need to make a corresponding roster move in order to officially activate McLeod before the game.

Sabres Recall Tyson Kozak, Reassign Devon Levi

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The Buffalo Sabres have swapped two frequent-movers between their NHL and AHL lineups, recalling winger Tyson Kozak to the majors and assigning goaltender Devon Levi back to the minors. This move comes in response to Sabres’ starting goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen returning to full health after missing the team’s Monday game with an undisclosed injury. Luukkonen will start in net when Buffalo faces Vancouver on Tuesday, head coach Lindy Ruff told Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News.

Levi started in Buffalo’s Monday loss to the Seattle Kraken. He allowed five goals on 33 shots, bringing his season statline to a 2-7-0 record, .872 save percentage, and 4.12 goals-against-average in nine appearances. He’s been much more effective with the AHL’s Rochester Americans, where he’s served as the team’s starter. Levi has posted a defiant 12-3-2 record and .913 save percentage in 17 games with Rochester, making him the team’s only goaltender with more than 10 wins and a save percentage north of .900. He briefly matched that success in the first seven games of his NHL career, back in 2022-23, when Levi managed a 5-2-0 record and .905 save percentage through matchups that included four playoff teams. This move will return Levi to his post looking over Rochester, and give him another chance to prove his consistency to the Sabres brass.

Meanwhile, Kozak will return to Buffalo’s roster after being assigned to the minors before Monday’s game. The Sabres activated forward Jiri Kulich from injured reserve in a corresponding move. Kulich returned from a four-game absence on Monday, and even earned a top-line role with fellow center Ryan McLeod inactive due to an upper-body injury. Buffalo winger Jordan Greenway is also out with injury, though the team hasn’t yet disclosed any specifics. Even with those absences, Kozak is likely to serve as the 13th forward in Tuesday’s matchup. He will however be a quick fill-in if the Sabres experience any further injuries or cold streaks, giving Kozak a chance to break his own cold spell after recording no scoring and just two shots through his last four NHL appearances. He has one goal in seven NHL games – the first of his career – this season.

Buffalo Sabres Activate Jiri Kulich, Reassign Tyson Kozak

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The Buffalo Sabres are taking one small step toward a completely healthy roster. The Sabres announced they’ve activated forward Jiri Kulich from the injured reserve and have reassigned forward Tyson Kozak to their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans, in a corresponding roster move.

Kulich has missed Buffalo’s last four games with a lower-body injury but he’s back in the lineup today as the Sabres take on the Seattle Kraken. He finally cracked Buffalo’s roster out of training camp this season after a few dominant years with AHL Rochester. Unfortunately, Kulich hasn’t been as effective as the Sabres may have hoped.

Similarly to his peers on offence, head coach Lindy Ruff has tried Kulich with multiple combinations throughout the season. He’s had the most success next to Zach Benson and Peyton Krebs but has also been made a healthy scratch numerous times. Overall, Kulich has scored seven goals and nine points in 31 games in Buffalo this year averaging 13:53 of ice time per game.

Kozak returns to the AHL after going scoreless in his last four games with the Sabres. The high-motor forward will look to build upon his quality junior season in the AHL having scored six goals and 12 points in 24 games which ties his career-high from a year ago.

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