Rasmus Ristolainen Could Return Saturday, Jack Eichel And Linus Ullmark Expected To Miss Both Games
There’s some good news and some bad news on the injury front for the Sabres in advance of their pair of weekend matinees against Philadelphia. The good news is that there’s a chance that defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen could return with head coach Ralph Krueger telling reporters, including Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News, that there’s a “high possibility” that the blueliner could play on Saturday. Ristolainen was off to a good start to his season with six points in ten games while logging over 23 minutes per night before a particularly tough bout with COVID-19.
Meanwhile, the bad news is that center Jack Eichel and goaltender Linus Ullmark aren’t expected to be available for either game, relays Jourdan LaBarber on the Sabres’ team website. Eichel was a late scratch on Thursday after experiencing some discomfort during the pregame warmup and is listed as day-to-day. As for Ullmark, he left after the first period yesterday with Krueger indicating that they’re hopeful he will only be day-to-day after their weekend games. One of Dustin Tokarski or Jonas Johansson will need to be recalled from the taxi squad.
Snapshots: Skinner, Rutherford, Matthews
Jeff Skinner has been relegated to the taxi squad in Buffalo, not even skating with the active roster on a regular basis. His agent recently spoke with the team’s GM to voice concerns, but Skinner spoke to the media directly today. When asked by Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News whether he would want to be on a different team he was clear:
No. I love being a Sabre. I love the city of Buffalo. I wouldn’t have chosen to stay here if that wasn’t the case, so that answer is simple.
Skinner handled the questioning as professionally as possible, not willing to detail any of the conversations he’s had with head coach Ralph Kreuger. Unfortunately, professionalism isn’t really the issue here, production is. The 28-year-old didn’t score a single goal in his 14 games earlier this season and is still sitting on just 24 points since signing the $72MM extension.
- Jim Rutherford still has “the bug” to work in a hockey front office again, as he explained to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. The legendary executive resigned his position as GM of the Pittsburgh Penguins earlier this year, replaced by Ron Hextall. That transition seems to have been his plan all along, as he tells LeBrun he suggested Hextall to Penguins CEO David Morehouse as his eventual replacement several times both before and after his resignation.
- Auston Matthews has been dealing with a wrist injury for the Toronto Maple Leafs and today was absent at the team’s practice. Head coach Sheldon Keefe listed him as day-to-day but wouldn’t rule him out for tomorrow’s match against the Edmonton Oilers. The team did have some good news as Joe Thornton, Jack Campbell and Jake Muzzin (with a full shield after breaking a bone in his face), returned to practice.
Latest On Jeff Skinner
Often, a big regulation win can calm the sea for a team that’s trying to bail water from a sinking ship. The Buffalo Sabres got that kind of a win on Tuesday night when they dispatched the New Jersey Devils 4-1, but it took 41 saves from Linus Ullmark and there still wasn’t a goal from their two top forwards. Their ankles, at least, still seem to be submerged.
Today, after sitting out the last three games as a healthy scratch, Jeff Skinner was absent from the morning skate. The $72MM dollar man seems completely forgotten by head coach Ralph Krueger, who denied having a “doghouse” today but didn’t share any real insight on the situation. That doesn’t mean people aren’t looking for answers.
Lance Lysowski of the Buffalo News reports that Skinner’s agent, Don Meehan of Newport Sports, had a “lengthy conversation” on Wednesday with Sabres GM Kevyn Adams, expressing his concerns over the situation.
It has been an incredible fall from grace for Skinner, who signed his eight-year, $72MM deal with the Sabres in 2019 after scoring 40 goals in his first year in Buffalo. Those goals mostly came while riding shotgun with Jack Eichel, but it’s not like it was the first time he had performed at the NHL level. Skinner had been a 30+ goal scorer on three previous occasions, including a 37-goal campaign in 2016-17.
But after signing it, and since Krueger took over as head coach, Skinner has just 14 goals and 24 points in 73 games. He now finds himself out of the lineup completely, certainly not something he expected after 734 career NHL games and at the age of 28.
So to hear that concerns were expressed shouldn’t come as a shock, not at this point.
But what can be done? The Sabres would likely have to eat a huge portion of the deal to trade Skinner, and even that would have further complications. The player holds a no-move clause, meaning his camp would have to be involved in the conversation, and very few teams are looking to add salary right now. Though Skinner’s money drops off at the end of the deal, he’s still owed $10MM in each of the next four seasons.
One has to wonder whether a buyout, as historic as it would be, is a possibility at this point. The money would be paid out over 12 seasons, but the highest cap charge would be in 2022-23 at $8.97MM. Two other seasons would have boosted numbers, but the vast majority would have something under $2.5MM. That’s doable, especially for a team that doesn’t really look close to contending anyway.
A move like that is far down the road–the buyout window doesn’t open until the summer–but it’s obvious there needs to be some kind of resolution to this issue. The best solution would be Skinner getting back to his top-six, goal-scoring ways; but that seems like an era ago at this point.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Buffalo’s Jeff Skinner Made A Healthy Scratch
Feb. 23: Another night, another Sabres game in which Skinner and his $9MM cap hit will watch from the press box. NHL.com’s Mike Morreale confirms that Skinner will be a healthy scratch again on Tuesday night, indicating that this was not just a one-off decision by Krueger to send a message to his expensive, underperforming star. It may in fact beg the question of whether there will be more scratches or games played from Skinner over the rest of the season, especially if Buffalo continues to struggle.
Feb. 22: Skinner will indeed be in the press box tonight, a healthy scratch for the Sabres. John Vogl of The Athletic relays the explanation from Krueger:
We don’t measure players only on statistics. It’s part of the mix. It is just a bit of a gut feel that the best lineup for tonight was with Casey Mittelstadt in that spot. It’s less against Jeff than it is for what we think this group needs today. There will be underlying messages, of course, anytime somebody doesn’t play. But in the end, the decisions are for the team and for the group and for the chance to win. I just think it’s good for Jeff to take a look once from the outside.
Feb. 21: The Buffalo Sabres were hoping that after signing his eight-year, $72MM deal back in 2019 that Jeff Skinner was going to continue to put up big numbers. After all, the forward was coming off a 40-goal season in 2018-19. However, he struggled last year, putting up just 14 goals in 59 games and now has failed to score this season in 14 contests.
With the Sabres struggling in last place in the East Division with just five wins, head coach Ralph Krueger is looking to make some changes. After benching Henri Jokiharju and Tage Thompson on Saturday, Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington writes that Krueger is now focusing on Skinner. During practice Sunday, Casey Mittelstadt skated in Skinner’s place, while Skinner skated with Curtis Lazar and taxi squad forward Rasmus Asplund. A final decision on whether Skinner stays in the lineup will come on Monday.
Skinner played a season-low 11:22 against New Jersey Saturday even though he had four shots, which tied for a season high. However, he had just three shots on goal in the back-to-back games against the New York Islanders last week in which he went shot-less in the second game.
“We will continue to analyze postgame what we feel and what we see,” Krueger said. “And look for the mix that we believe gives us as a team within the roles we need the best chance to be successful. You saw a potential change in the mix today. We won’t confirm it till tomorrow. But it’s how we function here. We look honestly at production. We look honestly at the inputs in and around the team game that we need, and try and put that mix in place that gives us a chance.”
Skinner currently is tied for the league lead in shots on goal without a goal, tied with New York Rangers forward Phillip Di Giuseppe, each with 31 shots on goal (and no goals). The fact that he also has just one assist doesn’t help his case either. Regardless, Skinner believes that sitting out isn’t the answer.
“This is my 11th year, over 700 games in the league and I don’t think I’ve ever really felt like I needed a day off to relook at things,” Skinner said. “I think I’ve seen a lot in this league. Run through adversity before my career. You just work, keep working and put your head down. And that’s what I’ll do.”
Will Borgen Out 6-8 Weeks With Fractured Forearm
The Buffalo Sabres already lost Jake McCabe to a season-ending knee injury and now will be without William Borgen for the next two months. The 24-year-old defenseman underwent surgery on a broken right forearm today and will miss approximately six to eight weeks.
Borgen had actually made quite an impact in his short four-game stint with the Sabres, even partnering with Rasmus Dahlin for a time. Originally a fourth-round pick in 2015, he spent three seasons at St. Cloud State before spending the last two mostly in the minor leagues. He’ll now face a pretty hefty hurdle in his development, missing a good chunk of this season.
It also could complicate the Sabres plans, especially when it comes to Brandon Montour‘s trade availability. Defensemen are dropping like flies in Buffalo and the team quite literally may not have enough to fill a roster if they start trading them away. Rasmus Ristolainen is still working his way back from a brutal fight with COVID-19 and with Borgen out the team has just six healthy defensemen on the roster. Jacob Bryson and Casey Fitzgerald (with a combined zero NHL games) are on the taxi squad, but beyond that, the team has just two defensemen—20-year old Mattias Samuelsson and 21-year-old Oskari Laaksonen—signed to NHL contracts.
One wonders if that could precipitate a waiver claim by the Sabres today, as both Mark Friedman and Luke Schenn find themselves on the wire.
Brandon Montour Available For Trade
The Buffalo Sabres are the focus of plenty of trade speculation these days, but much of it is centered around the forward group. Jack Eichel will continue to draw plenty of chatter until the Sabres actually put a winning team around him, Jeff Skinner was just made a health scratch despite earning more salary than nearly every other left winger in the league, and Taylor Hall is on a one-year deal that could be cashed in at the deadline.
But it’s not the forwards that are making headlines today. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that Brandon Montour is available, as he also is scheduled for unrestricted free agency after signing a one-year, $3.85MM contract in the offseason.
Montour, 26, has been something of an enigma for years. Originally selected 55th overall in 2014 by the Anaheim Ducks, he quickly climbed the ranks thanks to an outstanding offensive ceiling. In 2015-16, his first full season of pro hockey, the young defenseman scored 57 points in 68 games for the San Diego Gulls. He followed it up with a near point-per-game pace the next season, before eventually getting the call to the NHL.
Once at the highest level, he continued to produce offensively, though his defensive play was still a little suspect. Montour had 32 points in his first full NHL season, including scoring five powerplay goals. It looked like he would be a pillar of the Anaheim blueline for years, even if some of the others might have to carry some of the defensive load.
Instead, Montour found himself traded to the Sabres in 2019 for a first-round pick and prospect Brendan Guhle. In Buffalo, his minutes have stayed high but the offense has dipped, and since the team is in another losing season, he seems likely to be cashed in at the deadline.
It seems very unlikely that the Sabres will be able to recoup the assets they spent on Montour, but trading him at some point this season would at least get them a little bit back. Friedman gives no inkling to where he could end up (except for a tiny connection to the Arizona Coyotes, who might be looking for rentals at the deadline), but right-handed, puck-moving defensemen are always in high demand at the deadline. If Montour came with a reasonable extension, he might be even more valuable.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Jake McCabe Out Six To Eight Months
Buffalo Sabres head coach Ralph Krueger expressed serious worry yesterday when speaking about Jake McCabe‘s injury and now we know why. The veteran defenseman suffered injuries to the ACL, MCL, and meniscus in his right knee and has been given a recovery timeline of six to eight months. McCabe was injured in a game against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday. His season is over.
McCabe, 27, has emerged as one of the more reliable options on the entire Sabres roster over the last few seasons and was off to arguably the best start of his NHL career. Playing over 19 minutes a night, the left-show defenseman had just three points in 13 games but posted strong possession numbers as he routinely shut down opponents and moved the puck out of the zone. He will be sorely missed in the Buffalo lineup as they attempt to drag themselves out of the bottom of the East Division standings.
Not only does this end McCabe’s season, but there’s a chance it could mean an end to his career with the Sabres as well. The alternate captain is an unrestricted free agent this summer and would need a new deal if he’s to return to Buffalo in 2021-22. Given that an eight-month timeline puts the start of next season in jeopardy, it’s hard to know exactly where his market will be. The timing couldn’t be worse for a player looking to cash in with a multi-year contract.
Sabres Prepared That Jake McCabe May Miss Rest Of Season
The Buffalo Sabres were fearful after defenseman Jake McCabe left Saturday’s game with a lower-body injury. McCabe left the game against New Jersey midway through the third period after trying to hit Nico Hischier against the boards, but instead, his right leg buckled and he clutched his knee after going down. Head coach Ralph Krueger said Sunday that McCabe has left the team to return home and is expected to get an MRI today with results expected Monday. However, he doesn’t believe the injury looks good at all. Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington adds the team is preparing that he will be out for the season.
“I’ll be honest with you,” said Krueger. “Not very optimistic about the diagnosis that will come out of this. The lower-body injury is serious.”
If McCabe misses significant time, as expected, that would be a big blow to a team that has struggled to put together an effective defensive lineup and will miss their alternate captain and his defensive presence on the ice. While not an offensive player (one goal, three points in 13 games), he does make up for it on defense. He has averaged 19:11 of ATOI and has 22 hits and 15 blocked shots this season, while playing all over the lineup.
The team has been without Rasmus Ristolainen, who could miss extended time after a suffering through a significant case of COVID-19. Defenseman William Borgen is out day-to-day and the team has had to depend others to step up their game, including Colin Miller, Matt Irwin and now will have to depend more on Henri Jokiharju and Brandon Davidson to get by with McCabe likely to be out of the lineup for some time.
Poll: NHL’s “Thanksgiving Trend” Revisited
Fans of the NHL are sure to be familiar with the deeper meaning that American Thanksgiving holds each season. With unrelenting consistency, the NHL’s standings on the final Thursday of November have had great predictive ability when compared to the final regular season standings. In fact, over the past seven years the Thanksgiving standings have been about 75% accurate at forecasting eventual playoff teams, predicting 12 of 16 spots on average. Even though American Thanksgiving only rolls around less than two months into the season, three out of four teams in a playoff spot at that time will have retained their postseason berth when the season ends.
The 2019-20 season of course did not have a standard postseason, but if it had then the Thanksgiving trend would have proved even more prophetic in a shortened campaign. Last year, in which teams were limited to between 68 and 71 games apiece prior to the early termination of the regular season, the Thanksgiving standings would have predicted 13 of 16 playoff teams in the standard format. Of the three teams that would have slid out of the postseason, the Florida Panthers trailed the Toronto Maple Leafs by .014 points percentage in the Atlantic Division and the Winnipeg Jets missed out by a measly .001 points percentage behind the Calgary Flames as the final Western Conference wild card. The Thanksgiving standings were that close to predicting 15 of 16 playoff teams in the shortened season, with the unexpected slow start for the Vegas Golden Knights and hot start for the Arizona Coyotes being the other unsurprising course correction.
But how does this trend impact a season that didn’t even begin until well after American Thanksgiving? Based on total games played by Thanksgiving over the past few seasons, Thanksgiving represents about the 30% progress through the NHL season. In the current 56-game season, that comes out to about the 17-game mark. Although postponements and rescheduling have created a wide discrepancy in games played among teams this year, the league as a whole passed that 17-game average on Saturday: Happy Thanksgiving. Admittedly, the 2020-21 campaign does have a different playoff model as well, one that is somewhat stricter than the last few years without the fallback of a wildcard spot for a team on the fifth-place fringe in their division. Yet, it is still a 16-team postseason and the Thanksgiving trend should hold. Using points percentage to rank the standings (the stat may end up determining playoff position for a second consecutive season anyhow) and adjusting for the season’s makeshift divisions, here is the current “Thanksgiving” outlook:
North Division East Division
Toronto Maple Leafs (.789) Boston Bruins (.733)
Montreal Canadiens (.625) Philadelphia Flyers (.679)
Winnipeg Jets (.618) Washington Capitals (.594)
Edmonton Oilers (.600) Pittsburgh Penguins (.594)____
Calgary Flames (.472) New Jersey Devils (.583)
Vancouver Canucks (.405) New York Islanders (.559)
Ottawa Senators (.237) New York Rangers (.469)
Buffalo Sabres (.429)
West Division Central Division
Vegas Golden Knights (.700) Carolina Hurricanes (.781)
Colorado Avalanche (.679) Florida Panthers (.750)
St. Louis Blues (.611) Tampa Bay Lightning (.700)
Minnesota Wild (.571) Dallas Stars (.583)
Los Angeles Kings (.531) Chicago Blackhawks (.579)
Arizona Coyotes (.500) Columbus Blue Jackets (.526)
San Jose Sharks (.500) Nashville Predators (.412)
Anaheim Ducks (.417) Detroit Red Wings (.325)
Now this begs the question, especially seeing how accurate the Thanksgiving standings were in last year’s shortened season but also accounting for the many disruptions for a number of teams early this season, who is the trend currently overlooking? Which teams currently outside the playoff picture, if any, do you think will make the postseason when all is said and done later this season? Use the comments section below as well to discuss which teams may fall out of the postseason and whether you feel the Thanksgiving trend will apply this season.
Which Of These Teams Will Buck The "Thanksgiving" Trend And Make The Playoffs?
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New York Islanders 23% (263)
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Chicago Blackhawks 19% (215)
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Los Angeles Kings 10% (110)
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None - "Thanksgiving" goes 16/16 9% (102)
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Columbus Blue Jackets 8% (88)
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Calgary Flames 6% (73)
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New Jersey Devils 6% (64)
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New York Rangers 4% (50)
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Arizona Coyotes 4% (42)
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Vancouver Canucks 4% (42)
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Buffalo Sabres 2% (25)
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San Jose Sharks 2% (18)
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Detroit Red Wings 1% (17)
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Nashville Predators 1% (14)
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Anaheim Ducks 1% (9)
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Ottawa Senators 1% (7)
Total votes: 1,139
Taxi Squad Shuffle: 02/21/21
As the NHL prepares for another day at Lake Tahoe – one that hopes to run smoothly after Saturday’s debacle – there are also three other games on the Sunday slate. Roster transactions continue to come at a torrid pace this season and today should be no different with a number of teams in action. Keep up with all of the moves right here:
Central Division
- The Detroit Red Wings have returned a trio of players to the taxi squad. The team announced that veteran defensemen Alex Biega and the recently-waived Danny DeKeyser, as well as rookie forward Mathias Brome, have all been reassigned. After back-to-back games, Detroit is off until Tuesday.
- Matiss Kivlenieks is on his way back to Columbus after a brief stint in the minors. The Blue Jackets announced that the goaltender has been recalled from the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters to join the taxi squad. While the team may give Kivlenieks spot starts in Cleveland from time to time to keep him fresh, he looks to be locked in to that No. 3 taxi squad role for the franchise this season.
- The Nashville Predators announced they have reassigned forward Eeli Tolvanen to the squad. The 21-year-old has appeared in eight games with the Predators this season.
East Division
- The New Jersey Devils have swapped a pair of forwards, sending Yegor Sharangovich to the taxi squad while calling up Mikhail Maltsev as his replacement. Although they have been used differently so far this season, both rookies have been effective in the Devils lineup. However, after a hot start Sharangovich has cooled off while Maltsev has performed in his more recent showings. According to the AHL’s Binghamton Devils, New Jersey has also reassigned forward Nick Merkley from the taxi squad to the minors. Merkley has actually played well in the NHL so far this season, recording three points in five games with the Devils.
- With the losses of Jake McCabe and William Borgen to injuries, the Buffalo Sabres have promoted two players from the Rochester Americans to the taxi squad. The team announced that Jacob Bryson and Casey Fitzgerald will move up and fill the defensive depth void that the team has dealt with over the last few days.
North Division
- The Edmonton Oilers announced they have recalled defenseman Theodor Lennstrom from the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL and moved him to the taxi squad. The move was required with the injury to defenseman Slater Koekkoek. Lennstrom will need time to quarantine with Bakersfield being in the U.S., requiring the player to cross the border.
- Ryan Pike of FlamesNation reports that the Calgary Flames have made a salary cap move, sending defenseman Oliver Kylington to the taxi squad and thereby filling up their taxi-squad roster. The 23-year-old has yet to appear in a game for the Flames this season.
- The Ottawa Senators announced they have recalled a number of players from the taxi squad for Sunday’s game, including goaltender Joey Daccord, defenseman Braydon Coburn and forward Micheal Haley. The team also assigned forward Artem Anisimov to the taxi squad to make room for them and also moved Logan Shaw from the Belleville Senators of the AHL to the taxi squad.
West Division
- The Minnesota Wild have moved a pair of young players back to the minors. The team announced that defenseman Calen Addison and goalie Dereck Baribeau have been reassigned to AHL Iowa. Addison, one of Minnesota’s top prospects, logged over 18 minutes of ice time on average through his first three NHL games.
- The Arizona Coyotes announced they have swapped several players from the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL and the taxi squad. The team has assigned forwards Frederik Gauthier and Kyle Capobianco from the Tucson to the taxi squad. The Coyotes also assigned forwards Hudson Fasching and Michael Chaput to Tucson to replace them. Capobianco has appeared in two games for Arizona this season.
- The San Jose Sharks announced they have reassigned forward Maxim Letunov and goaltender Josef Korenar to the San Barracuda of the AHL. Neither player has appeared in a Sharks game this season.