Sabres Expected To Activate Owen Power From IR
5:32 p.m.: While Power’s cleared to return from his injury, he’s now dealing with an illness that will keep him out of tonight’s opener, along with winger Zach Benson after he took a puck to the face in yesterday’s practice, the team announced. He’ll stay on IR for now as a result. Both are listed as day-to-day. Ryan Johnson and Tyson Kozak will enter the lineup in their place, according to Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald.
10:21 a.m.: The Sabres are set to activate defenseman Owen Power from injured reserve before tonight’s home opener against the Rangers, head coach Lindy Ruff implied (via Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550). Buffalo opened a roster spot yesterday by reassigning goaltender Alexandar Georgiev to AHL Rochester after he cleared waivers, so no corresponding transaction will be required.
Despite being listed on IR for the Sabres’ opening roster submission, Power won’t miss any time. He’s been dealing with a minor strain since the tail end of training camp and was unavailable for Buffalo’s final two preseason games. The team first told reporters he was banged up on Sep. 30, presumably when they backdated his IR placement. As such, he’s already “missed” the seven days required for the designation.
Power, the first overall pick of the 2021 draft, is entering his fourth full NHL season. He saw more conservative deployment in 2024-25 than he’s gotten used to, averaging 21:19 per game after hovering around the 23-24 minute range for his first two years. Nonetheless, he managed career highs across the board offensively with seven goals, 33 assists, and 40 points in 79 contests. His defensive involvement was a different story. His -13 rating, 26 hits, 73 giveaways, 51.5 CF%, and 45.2 xGF% at even strength were all career worsts.
As such, he’ll be looking to get his all-around game back on track – a significant factor in Buffalo ending its 14-season playoff drought. While the club brought in righty Michael Kesselring from the Mammoth in the JJ Peterka deal this offseason with the primary objective of deploying him as Power’s partner, they won’t be able to do that tonight. Kesselring also landed on IR to open the year with an undisclosed injury and remains week-to-week. It’ll be Jacob Bryson, who would likely be scratched if everyone is healthy, opening the year with Power as a result, according to Buffalo’s practice line rushes earlier this week (via Heather Engel of NHL.com).
Power, still just 22 years old, is beginning the second year of the seven-year, $58.45MM extension he signed in October 2023. The 6’6″ lefty leads all 2021 draftees with 92 career assists, a touch ahead of forwards Matty Beniers, Wyatt Johnston, and Mason McTavish.
Alex Lyon Set To Start For Sabres
After a number of moves of late, the Buffalo Sabres are set between the pipes, at least for now; as Alex Lyon will start tomorrow’s game against the Rangers. Bill Hoppe of the Times Herald wrote that the veteran is dialed in, treating it as “just another game.”
While the mindset is admirable, there will be considerable pressure on Lyon to fill in adequately for injured starter Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. Already such uncertainty in net is unfortunate for a Sabres club that desperately needs a strong start. Despite signing a two-year deal in Buffalo over the summer, Lyon did face competition in camp. Along with top prospect Devon Levi, who was reassigned to AHL Rochester, Buffalo brought in a notable name in Alexander Georgiev, who cleared waivers earlier today. Finally, the team claimed Colten Ellis on waivers two days ago, who will back up Lyon for now. Ellis, 25, is an intriguing pickup given his impressive AHL stats in the Blues organization, however, the Nova Scotia native has yet to play in the NHL.
It’s fair to say that a tandem of Lyon and Ellis is questionable at best, however, Lyon will look to prove any doubters wrong, and as he told Hoppe, it is nothing new as his path to the NHL has not been easy. Originally undrafted out of Yale, Lyon spent four seasons mainly with the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms, with spontaneous call-ups for the Flyers. After stops in Carolina and Florida, where he helped lead the Chicago Wolves to the 2022 Calder Cup, Lyon established himself as a full-time NHLer with the Red Wings, posting a respectable 2.81 GAA last season. The performance earned Lyon some security in a multi-year deal with Buffalo, but the Sabres were probably not expecting that the signing was bringing in their day-one 2025-26 starter.
Now, in what could finally be a do-or-die year for the Sabres and their well-stocked young core, the 32-year-old faces what may be the biggest test of his career. It starts tomorrow when Buffalo hosts their in-state rivals.
Sabres’ Alexandar Georgiev Clears Waivers
10/8: Georgiev has cleared waivers for the Sabres, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. He will head to the AHL’s Rochester Americans, per Chad DeDominicis of Expected Buffalo. DeDominicis points out that Georgiev will become the fourth goalie on Rochester’s lineup, likely prompting another move or demotion to the ECHL for one of the quartet.
10/7: The Sabres will be placing goaltender Alexandar Georgiev on waivers today, head coach Lindy Ruff told reporters (including Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald).
Georgiev was listed on Buffalo’s opening night roster yesterday, but they were carrying three goalies after claiming Colten Ellis off waivers from the Blues. The Sabres value the latter more, with Ruff telling Rachel Lenzi of The Buffalo News that Ellis is someone the Sabres have been “really high on” for quite some time and were unwilling to pass up the opportunity to have him on the wire. As a result, Georgiev won’t be starting the season with the club and will head to AHL Rochester should he clear waivers.
Georgiev, 29, finished top 10 in Vezina Trophy voting as recently as 2022-23 but is now scrambling to find an NHL job. He made 49 appearances last year between the Avalanche and the Sharks, heading to San Jose in the midseason deal that sent Mackenzie Blackwood the other way. Among goalies with at least 30 starts, no one had a worse save percentage or GAA than Georgiev’s marks of .875 and 3.71, and that includes making over a third of his appearances behind a dominant group of Colorado skaters in the first half of the year.
He still has roughly league-average numbers for his career. Since debuting with the Rangers in the 2017-18 season, he’s logged a 151-108-26 record with 15 shutouts, a 2.99 GAA, and a .903 SV% in 303 appearances. He’s allowed 21.1 goals (4%) more than the average netminder during that time. It’s his last two seasons of work that have soured teams. Despite posting a league-leading 38 wins for the Avs in 2023-24, he only managed a .897 SV% in 63 appearances. That preceded a 2024-25 campaign where only the Flyers’ Samuel Ersson posted a worse goals saved above expected figure than Georgiev’s -17.9, according to MoneyPuck.
That three-goalie figure from yesterday doesn’t include starter Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who begins the season on injured reserve after suffering a lower-body injury late in preseason. That’s a different injury from the one he showed up to camp with, which was the motivator for Buffalo to sign Georgiev to a one-year, $825K deal last month in the first place. Luukkonen has improved in the past few days, according to Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550, although he still carries a week-to-week designation. Buffalo certainly wasn’t going to carry four goalies after he returned, so it’s no surprise to see them get ahead of the wheel and remove one from their active roster now – especially after Georgiev allowed 11 goals on 74 shots in four preseason games for a .851 SV% and 4.19 GAA.
The Sabres might very well carry three goalies when Lukkonen returns, though. It’s hard to see them risk losing Ellis on waivers unless he struggles in his first taste of NHL action. The club also signed Alex Lyon to a two-year, $3MM deal in free agency over the offseason to be Luukkonen’s primary backup option. He might have an easier time passing through waivers thanks to his $1.5MM cap hit, so if Buffalo does want to only carry the traditional pair, Lyon might end up hitting the wire, too.
Benson And Samuelsson Return To Practice, Greenway And Power Skate
- Sabres winger Zach Benson (undisclosed) and defenseman Mattias Samuelsson (upper body) returned to practice today as they work their way back from their respective injuries. Neither has been ruled out of Thursday’s season opener. Meanwhile, winger Jordan Greenway (mid-body) and defenseman Owen Power (strain) skated on their own today. Unlike Benson and Samuelsson, they’re not on the active roster as they were among the long list of players that landed on injured reserve today. At this point, their availabilities for Thursday appear to be in question.
Buffalo Sabres Claim Colten Ellis
The Buffalo Sabres have added one of the top netminders from the AHL last season off the waiver wire. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Sabres have claimed netminder Colten Ellis from the St. Louis Blues.
All of a sudden, the Sabres have accumulated a relatively solid crop of goaltending depth. The team is expected to be without regular starter Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen through the first couple of weeks of the regular season. Still, they’ll have three NHL-caliber netminders, all acquired this offseason, to hold down the fort. And that’s without factoring in Devon Levi.
Unfortunately, unlike Alex Lyon and Alexandar Georgiev, along with Levi, Ellis has no NHL experience to rely on. Should he appear for the Sabres over the next few weeks, it would become his NHL debut after spending the last four years within the Blues organization.
Ellis came to the Blues as the 93rd overall selection of the 2019 NHL Draft, coming from the QMJHL’s Rimouski Océanic. After one more year with the Océanic and another with the Charlottetown Islanders, he made his professional debut in the 2021-22 campaign.
His AHL tenure didn’t get off to a positive start, leading him to spend much of his first two years in the ECHL. Still, he came into his own last year, managing a 22-14-5 record in 42 games with a .922 SV% and 2.63 GAA, including three shutouts.
It’s difficult to argue that Ellis is better than Lyon or Georgiev at this stage. Though the latter’s shaky performance last season could open up an opportunity for Ellis should he falter out of the gates. Still, by adding Ellis today, Buffalo now has seven netminders signed to NHL contracts for the 2025-26 campaign, meaning their goaltending carousel could be far from over for this season.
Training Camp Cuts: 10/4/25
Less than 72 hours remain until opening night rosters are due on Monday evening. Teams are down to their final few rounds of cuts as a result, but some have more work to do than others. We’re keeping tabs on all of today’s demotions here as clubs near their final 23-man form to open the season:
Buffalo Sabres (per team announcement)
D Radim Mrtka (to AHL Rochester)
F Noah Ostlund (to AHL Rochester)
New Jersey Devils (per team announcement)
F Thomas Bordeleau (to AHL Utica pending waiver clearance)
F Angus Crookshank (to AHL Utica pending waiver clearance)
F Brian Halonen (to AHL Utica pending waiver clearance)
F Zack MacEwen (to AHL Utica pending waiver clearance)
D Dmitry Osipov (to AHL Utica)
D Colton White (to AHL Utica pending waiver clearance)
Pittsburgh Penguins (per team announcement)
D Alexander Alexeyev (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton pending waiver clearance)
F Tristan Broz (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton)
F Robby Fabbri (released from PTO)
D Ryan Graves (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton pending waiver clearance)
F Rafael Harvey-Pinard (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton pending waiver clearance)
F Avery Hayes (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton)
F Bokondji Imama (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton pending waiver clearance)
G Sergei Murashov (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton)
D Owen Pickering (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton)
F Samuel Poulin (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton pending waiver clearance)
Utah Mammoth (per team announcement)
F Cameron Hebig (to AHL Tucson pending waiver clearance)
G Matt Villalta (to AHL Tucson after clearing waivers)
Tampa Bay Lightning (per team announcement)
G Brandon Halverson (to AHL Syracuse after clearing waivers)
Vancouver Canucks (per team announcement)
F Nils Aman (to AHL Abbotsford after clearing waivers)
F Max Sasson (to AHL Abbotsford)
G Nikita Tolopilo (to AHL Abbotsford)
Winnipeg Jets (per team announcement)
G Dom DiVincentiis (to AHL Manitoba)
Sabres Return Komarov And Metsa To Rochester
- The Sabres announced that defensemen Vsevelod Komarov and Zach Metsa have been returned to AHL Rochester. Komarov is entering his second professional season while Metsa was one of the top-scoring blueliners in the minors last season, notching 46 points with the Amerks.
Sabres Notes: Luukkonen, Kesselring, Mrtka
The Sabres issued multiple injury updates today, none of them particularly positive. Goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is dealing with a new injury unrelated to the one that’s kept him out of commission thus far, head coach Lindy Ruff told WGR Sports Radio 550’s Paul Hamilton. According to Ruff, Luukkonen’s injury will keep him sidelined on a week-to-week timeline, ruling him out for the Sabres’ season-opening contest and perhaps several more after that.
Luukkonen, 26, has emerged as the Sabres’ undisputed number-one netminder over the last two years. He was brilliant in 2023-24 posting a .910 save percentage in 54 games, but took a step back in 2024-25. (.887 save percentage across 55 games) With Luukkonen sidelined moving forward, the Sabres will turn to one of Alex Lyon or Alexandar Georgiev as the team’s season-opening starting netminder. Georgiev was signed to a league-minimum deal just before the preseason, while Lyon signed a two-year $1.5MM AAV deal earlier in the offseason.
Some other notes from Western New York:
- Luukkonen was not the only Sabre Ruff said would be out week-to-week: he also noted that defenseman Michael Kesselring would be out of commission on a similar timeline. That’s a tough blow for the Sabres, who acquired Kesselring in the JJ Peterka trade and had hoped his addition would go a long way to shoring up their defense. He still could, of course, but it now appears he’ll miss at least the start of the season. In his place, the Sabres could elevate Conor Timmins from the third pair to play next to Owen Power on the team’s second pairing, or Jacob Bryson could draw into the lineup to fill that role.
- Ruff also said today that 2025 first-round pick Radim Mrtka is dealing with an illness and will be unable to play in the short-term as a result. Because of this, Rochester Americans defenseman Zach Metsa will be recalled to play in his place in the team’s final preseason game. Metsa, 26, is an NCAA National Championship-winning defenseman who scored an impressive 46 points in 69 games last year for the Americans. He’s expected to begin the season in Rochester, but if his stellar play continues he could be a name to watch for an NHL call-up down the line.
Poll: Which 2025 Draft Picks Will Make The NHL Out Of Camp?
Over the course of NHL training camps, there are few more exciting things than watching which rookies break into the league out of camp. That’s especially true for players coming straight from the NHL Draft, who are often making the massive leap from junior leagues directly to competition on the world’s biggest stage at 18-years-old. As the end of this year’s camps approaches, it appears the 2025 class could offer up multiple stars capable of making that jump, and even sticking around for the full year.
The strongest bids for an NHL role sit, aptly, with the top two picks. Matthew Schaefer has seemed destined for an NHL role since he was drafted. He exudes confidence in both personality and performance, and has looked sharp from his first preseason game despite not playing a game since December 2024. Schaefer’s top-to-bottom playmaking and slick stickhandling has stayed effective against pro competition. Even with the growing pains of going from OHL injury to NHL minutes, it seems the Islanders would be foolish to not see what their star prospect can show when the season kicks off.
Michael Misa‘s camp hasn’t burst in the same way as Schaefer’s – but his bright moments have surely looked as dominant. He has continued to show an impressive level of speed, deception, and highlight-reel goal-scoring. That could be enough to earn a spot on an already young and inexperienced Sharks roster – though Misa still looks a few steps back from NHL tempo and physicality. There could be merit to letting him work through those challenges next to other young, top-picks Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, and William Eklund. All three have found ways to make their offense work in the NHL, despite facing the same barrier that Misa is faced with now.
Fifth-overall pick Brady Martin could have the strongest chance for an NHL role behind the draft’s stars. He has fit right into an offense of heavy, smooth-moving forwards with the Nashville Predators – and even skated alongside Ryan O’Reilly and Filip Forsberg late in camp. That’s a strong spot to be with final cuts approaching, helped along by Martin being one of only three 2025 draftees with multiple preseason points. He has two in three games.
The other multi-point scorers are former Seattle Thunderbirds teammates Radim Mrtka (1 G, 1 A, 4 GP) and Braeden Cootes (2 G, 3 GP). Mrtka has flashed as a versatile puck-mover for the Buffalo Sabres. He looks like he’ll fit right in with the Sabres’ downhill style, but has also looked a bit too shaky in his moments away from the puck. He seems headed for a return to Seattle – while Cootes is making the Vancouver Canucks’ decision tough. He’s proven capable of holding his own against pros, with the smarts and the strength to keep making plays in the dangerous areas of the ice. He could be the jolt of effective depth that Vancouver’s been searching for, though that could be a lot to ask the 18-year-old centerman.
Benjamin Kindel has also been a standout, showing he has the skill to play above his size with the Pittsburgh Penguins. It’s his ability to work around his experienced linemates that has helped Kindel shine. His snappy speed and smart paths around the offensive end have worked on a high-skilled Penguins offense, though Kindel has only one goal in five preseason appearances. Like many rookies, he faces an uphill battle in adjusting to NHL physicality, which could result in one more year in the WHL proving the best bet.
Each of the six draftees – all former CHL players – have done well to prove their case to stick in the NHL. At the least, it seems all five could be headed for a nine-game trial period before returning to their junior clubs. But with final cuts yet to come, it remains to be seen who will break camp with their new team.
Who do you think will make the NHL, and who needs another year of honing?
Which 2025 Draft Picks Will Make The NHL?
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Matthew Schaefer, NYI 49% (475)
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Michael Misa, SJS 19% (186)
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Benjamin Kindel, PIT 11% (112)
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Braeden Cootes, VAN 10% (95)
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Brady Martin, NSH 7% (72)
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Radim Mrtka, BUF 4% (37)
Total votes: 977
Mobile users click here to vote.
Snapshots: Luukkonen, Portillo, Paper Moves
The Buffalo Sabres are once again uncertain about the short-term health of their starting goaltender, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. The team pulled Luukkonen after just one period of action in Wednesday night’s preseason loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. After the game, head coach Lindy Ruff said that Luukkonen was still feeling some discomfort with the lower-body injury he recently returned from, per Michael Aguello of The Hockey News.
Luukkonen returned to Buffalo’s practices last week, after missing the start of training camp due to a late-summer injury. He described his injury as a, “flare up” and told reporters that he had no concerns with being ready for opening night. One week later, it appears Luukkonen is still in need of a bit more conditioning. He’ll be headed for a major workload when he does reach full health. Luukkonen played at least 50 games in each of the last two seasons. He’s posted a cumulative .899 save percentage in 109 games since taking the reigns as Buffalo’s starter. The goal will be to push that average above .900 with a return to the starter’s crease this season. First, he’ll need to ease himself back into the role. Should Luukkonen be unavailable for opening night, the Sabres will turn towards Alexandar Georgiev, who posted a .875 Sv% in 49 games last season.
Other notes from around the league:
- The Los Angeles Kings have recalled goaltender Erik Protillo from the AHL. He will get a chance to continue his preseason action, after being assigned to the minors on Wednesday. Los Angeles also placed goaltender Pheonix Copley on waivers for the purposes of an AHL move, but the Tampa Bay Lightning submitted a claim to prevent that from happening. With Copley now out of the organization, Portillo is one of only fourt Kings goaltenders with an NHL contract, alongside the team’s top tandem of Darcy Kuemper and Anton Forsberg – and top goalie prospect Carter George, who is on his entry-level contract. That standing will earn Portillo a bit more attention as Los Angeles’ training camp comes to a close. He hasn’t yet made his prseason debut, but posted . 966 Sv% in his NHL debut last season, and a .889 Sv% through 24 AHL games. Expect Portillo to get a hardier look in the Kings’ final preseason matchups, before vying for the Ontario Reign’s starting role out of the gates.
- The Kings would have been unable to make the swap with Portillo that they did had it happened after next weekend. The NHL has altered their use of “Paper Loans” for this season, and will now require that players assigned to the AHL play in at least one game before being called back up, per PuckPedia. However, the league clarified to teams that the new rule won’t take effect until October 10th, which could allow teams the opportunity for some cap gymnastics at the start of the regular season. PuckPedia points out that, under this rule, teams could assign waiver-exempt players to the minors and submit an eligible opening night roster, then place injured players on in-season, long-term injured reserve, and recall their waiver-exempt players. An example could be the Edmonton Oilers assigning winger Isaac Howard to the minors, placing Zach Hyman on LTIR, and then recalling Howard before their first game on October 8th.