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Bowen Byram Fined By Department Of Player Safety

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The Department of Player Safety issued their punishment to Buffalo Sabres defenseman Bowen Byram, issuing him a $5,000 fine for interference, the maximum allowable financial penalty under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement. This will mark the first time in his young career that Byram has received disciplinary action from the Department of Player Safety.

The play in question took place in last night’s game against the Ottawa Senators, as Byram delivered a blindside hit to Senators’ forward Angus Crookshank (Video Link). Byram was assessed a two-minute minor penalty on the play for interference, and Crookshank was able to return to the contest.

Luckily for the organization, the Department of Player Safety did not choose to suspend Byram, allowing the team to keep him in the lineup for the rest of the regular season. Since acquiring Byram from the Colorado Avalanche at this year’s trade deadline, Byram has scored three goals and six points in 10 games, averaging just over 23 minutes of ice time per game.

Unfortunately, although the team got off to a 4-2-0 start with Byram in the lineup, the team has only managed a 1-3-0 record in their last four, dropping them further down in the Eastern Conference wild-card standings. Nevertheless, with a positive showing in his first few games with the organization, Buffalo will be eager for a full year of Byram next season.

Snapshots: Marner, Samsonov, Rielly, Rousek, Quinn

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Star Toronto Maple Leafs winger Mitch Marner won’t make his return for at least two more games, per The Athletic’s Jonas Siegel (Twitter link). That would bring Marner up to 10 games missed with a high ankle sprain. His return is gaining anticipation with each absence, with Marner again serving as one of Toronto’s premier talents. He’s scored 25 goals and 76 points in just 62 games this season – a 100-point scoring pace across 82 games. He’ll try to chase the 90-point mark for the third straight season when he returns, though he may find himself short a few minutes on account of Max Domi. Domi has scored one goal and nine points in eight games while serving in Marner’s top-six role, including a four-assist night on March 20th. But even with Domi’s help, Toronto is undoubtedly missing Marner – going 4-3-1 in his absence, after a 19-3-6 hot streak.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Toronto goaltender Ilya Samsonov feels ready to return after missing the team’s last two games with a calf contusion, per TSN’s Mark Masters (Twitter link). Martin Jones has returned to a backup role in Samsonov’s absence, though his only appearance has been the three minutes he filled for Samsonov in the team’s Saturday game. Joseph Woll has continued to carry the starter role, though he’s lost both games that Samsonov has missed.
  • But while Toronto is expecting Samsonov back, they could still be without defenseman Morgan Rielly, per Sportsnet’s Luke Fox (Twitter link). Rielly is facing an upper-body injury that also held him out of the team’s Tuesday night game. He’s been an impactful defender when active – managing seven goals and 51 points in 65 games this season. He’ll likely bump either Simon Benoit or Ilya Lyubushkin out of the lineup when he returns.
  • Buffalo Sabres forward Lukas Rousek is expected to miss a couple of days with an upper-body injury, after taking a stick in the face from practice, per Bleacher Report’s Joe Yerdon (Twitter link). Rousek’s role will be filled by Jack Quinn, who is making his return from a lower-body injury that required surgery in January. Quinn has only played in 17 games this season – though he’s been impactful, scoring five goals and 12 points.

Sabres To Activate Jack Quinn From Injured Reserve

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The Sabres will activate winger Jack Quinn from injured reserve ahead of Wednesday’s game against the Senators, head coach Don Granato said. The 22-year-old is expected to draw in after a two-month absence due to a lower-body injury.

Quinn looks to end a difficult 2023-24 campaign on a high note. The 2020 eighth-overall pick has been severely limited by injuries dating back to an Achilles injury sustained during training last offseason. Recovery from that surgery landed him on IR to start the season and kept him out until mid-December, costing him the first 32 games of the season. This lower-body injury, which he sustained against the Sharks on Jan. 27, sidelined him for an additional 24.

When in the lineup, he looked like he hadn’t missed a beat from last year’s strong rookie campaign. The Ottawa native notched five goals, seven assists, and 12 points in 17 games between injuries, tied with JJ Peterka for sixth on the team in scoring during that time. He averaged 15:58 per game, up drastically from last season’s 13:51, and saw his points per game increase from 0.49 to 0.71. Along with improved possession numbers – his 53.1 CF% at even strength is fifth among active Sabres – his short stint in the lineup went a long way toward bookmarking him a spot in the team’s top six going forward.

A continued strong showing through the last 10 games of the season would surely secure a sustained increased role in 2024-25. After COVID and injuries cost him most of his post-draft campaign, Quinn has done nothing but score, posting 26 goals and 61 points as a rookie in 45 games with AHL Rochester in 2021-22. Unsurprisingly, he captured the league’s Rookie of the Year award as a result and cracked the Sabres’ opening night roster the following October.

Line rushes indicate Quinn will slot on a quite youthful second line alongside the 22-year-old Peterka and 23-year-old Dylan Cozens tonight against the Sens. He spent 123 minutes with that trio over 15 of his 17 games this year, controlling 56.2% of expected goals, per MoneyPuck. That’s the second-highest mark of any Sabres forward line with over 100 minutes together, trailing Zach Benson, Jordan Greenway, and Casey Mittelstadt (61.5%), the latter of whom was traded to the Avalanche earlier this month for defenseman Bowen Byram.

It may be a wasted season for the Sabres to sneak value out of Quinn’s entry-level contract, but he does have one season remaining at a cap hit of $863.3K. He’ll be due a sizable raise before his deal expires in 2025, and a strong finish this season could also sway Sabres GM Kevyn Adams to kick off extension talks sooner rather than later.

AHL Rochester Signs Scott Ratzlaff To ATO

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One of the Sabres’ goaltending prospects has taken an intermediate step toward joining the organization. 2023 fifth-round pick Scott Ratzlaff signed an ATO with their AHL affiliate in Rochester on Wednesday and could make his professional debut before the 2023-24 season draws to a close. The Sabres still have until June 1, 2025, to sign him to an entry-level contract before losing his exclusive signing rights, though, and the 19-year-old still has one season of major junior eligibility remaining. As such, the Alberta native will return to WHL Seattle for a fourth season in 2024-25. He took over the starting role for the first time this season, but his numbers dived along with the team in front of him, which lost multiple high-caliber talents to NHL clubs after capturing the WHL championship last year. He still managed a respectable .905 SV% and 3.33 GAA in 52 games – decent numbers for that level of hockey – and posted a 21-26-1 record with one shutout. The 6’1″, left-catching netminder was part of Canada’s contingent at this year’s World Junior Championship but didn’t see any playing time.

Lukas Rousek Leaves Practice Early

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  • Sabres winger Lukas Rousek left today’s practice early after taking a stick to the face. Head coach Don Granato told reporters including Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News that Rousek’s status for tomorrow’s game is unknown as he was undergoing medical evaluation.  The 24-year-old has two assists in nine games so far with Buffalo after a strong showing with AHL Rochester where he notched 10 goals and 28 assists in 48 contests.

Jack Quinn Returns To Practice

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Michael Derosa of The Hockey News is reporting that one of the Boston Bruins top forward prospects could miss significant time with an injury. 21-year-old Fabian Lysell suffered an apparent upper-body injury on March 23rd after he fell into the boards in a game against the Charlotte Checkers. The 2021 first-round pick has spent the season in the AHL with the Providence Bruins and has heated up recently registering seven assists in his last five games.

Lysell is in his second season of professional hockey and has posted 15 goals and 35 assists in 56 games this year with Providence. The timing of Lysell’s injury is particularly unfortunate as he was making a case for a call-up with his solid numbers this season.

In other morning notes:

  • Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News is reporting that Sabres forward Jack Quinn joined the team this morning to take part in practice as a full participant. Quinn had surgery on January 29th for a lower-body injury and was expected to miss eight weeks. The 22-year-old hasn’t played since January 27th and has five goals and seven assists in 17 games this season for the Sabres. The Cobden, Ontario native was expected to take a big step this season but has dealt with multiple injury issues in what has turned into a lost season for him and the Sabres. Buffalo has 10 games remaining this season and currently sits six points behind the Washington Capitals who for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Capitals have 12 games left on the schedule. Quinn did not comment on when he will dress for a game, but based on reports from practice it could happen sooner than later.
  • Former Colorado Avalanche defenseman Kyle Cumiskey has reportedly signed a two-year extension with Düsseldorfer EG to continue his career in the DEL. The 37-year-old played 139 career NHL games over parts of six seasons with the Avalanche and Chicago Blackhawks and has spent the last four seasons in Germany. The Abbotsford, British Columbia native last saw action in North America during the 2019-20 season when he was a member of the AHL’s Binghamton Devils.

Tyson Jost Out With Undisclosed Injury

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  • The Sabres will be without center Tyson Jost tonight due to an undisclosed injury, relays Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News (Twitter link). The 26-year-old played in their last game on Thursday but was unable to practice yesterday.  Jost has played in 36 games with Buffalo so far this season, notching just two goals and two assists; his early-season struggles resulted in him clearing waivers back in late December.  That’s hardly the type of season he was hoping for as he becomes eligible for unrestricted free agency in July.

Anton Wahlberg Joins Buffalo Sabres Organization

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Earlier this morning, the Buffalo Sabres officially brought over one of their top forward prospects to North America, announcing that Anton Wahlberg has been assigned to their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. Wahlberg recently wrapped up his season with the Malmö Redhawks of the SHL after his team failed to qualify for the 2023-24 SHL playoffs.

Drafted 39th overall by the Sabres in the 2023 NHL Draft, Wahlberg has shown decent production for an 18-year-old at the SHL level, as well as in international events. Scoring five goals and 10 points for the Redhawks this season, Wahlberg also chipped in one goal and three points for Team Sweden in the most recent IIHF World Junior Championships, en route to a silver medal finish.

At still such a young age, it is tough to ascertain exactly where Wahlberg will end up in the Sabres lineup, but has shown the makings of an above-average third-line center. Having a key ability to hold on to the puck, Wahlberg has the capabilities to extend possession for his teams, as well as work the puck into the offensive zone.

Now moving to the AHL, Wahlberg will have the opportunity to help the Americans in their playoff hunt. Currently tied with the Toronto Marlies for third in the North Division, the Americans are right on the cusp of being a top-three team in their division, which would automatically bypass them into the Division Semifinals of the Calder Cup playoffs.

Wayne Simmonds Confirms Retirement

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March 18: Simmonds has officially announced his retirement and will sign a one-day contract with the Flyers, per a team release. He’ll sign the contract and be honored by the team on April 13, the second-to-last home game of Philadelphia’s season.

Jan. 26: Free agent winger Wayne Simmonds told Joshua Clipperton of The Canadian Press on Friday that he won’t continue his 15-season NHL career. The 35-year-old has yet to file retirement paperwork with the league but confirmed he will not attempt a comeback.

Simmonds last suited up in 2022-23, making 18 appearances with the Maple Leafs. The Scarborough, Ontario native reached UFA status after completing a two-year, $1.8MM extension signed with Toronto in June 2021.

He played for six NHL clubs during his career. The first of those was the Kings, who selected him with the final pick of the second round in the 2007 draft from the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack after racking up 49 points and 112 PIMs in 66 games.

Simmonds spent the following season back in junior hockey, breaking out for his first point-per-game campaign and winning gold with Canada at the 2008 World Junior Championship. That was enough of a development jump for the Kings, who named Simmonds to their opening-night roster in 2008-09.

The Kings struggled that season, finishing three games below .500 and scoring only 2.46 goals per game, but Simmonds’ rookie performance was promising. He didn’t earn Calder Trophy consideration, but he played in all 82 games while posting 23 points in a bottom-six role.

His sophomore season wasn’t his defining campaign, but it was a large step forward. The Kings offense went from 28th to seventh in 2009-10, and Simmonds’ 16 goals and 40 points (along with 116 PIMs) helped kickstart the jump. He finished with a team-high +22 rating, too, earning him a handful of Selke Trophy votes.

He took a small step back in the third and final season of his entry-level contract, though, seeing his goal and point output drop to 14 and 30, respectively. With the Kings exiting their late 2000s rebuild and looking to build a more veteran core around Anže Kopitar and Drew Doughty, they decided to cut bait with Simmonds and ship him, along with center prospect Brayden Schenn, to the Flyers in the 2011 offseason in exchange for established top-six threat Mike Richards.

The trade worked out well for the Kings, who won two Stanley Cups over the next three seasons with Richards anchoring their second line. It also worked out quite well for Simmonds, who scored 28 goals in his first season with Philadelphia and spent parts of eight years in the City of Brotherly Love.

With the Flyers, Simmonds became one of the most visible power forwards in the league, inking a six-year, $23.85MM extension within two years of the trade and eventually eclipsing the 30-goal mark twice. He racked up 203 goals, 175 assists and 378 points over his 584 games for the Flyers, consistently logging top-six minutes and serving an important leadership role, as evidenced by his Mark Messier Leadership Award win in his final season with the team.

As the extension wrapped up, though, it was clear Simmonds was in an early decline. His totals had steadily dropped since his 32-goal, 60-point season in 2015-16, and the Flyers decided to part ways with the fan-favorite near the 2019 trade deadline. They dealt him to the Predators, who were two years removed from a Stanley Cup Final appearance, but his play outside of Philadelphia stagnated further. He recorded one goal and three points in 17 games with Nashville after the trade and played in two of six games during their first-round loss to the Stars.

Simmonds spent the following four seasons playing for the Devils, Sabres and Maple Leafs in a reduced role, seeing his ice time dip below 10 minutes per game by the 2021-22 season. He was waived twice over the course of the 2022-23 campaign, recording two assists in 18 games to close out his career.

He ends his time in the NHL with 263 goals, 263 assists and 526 points, along with 1,313 PIMs, over the course of 1,037 games. He also added 22 points in 53 career playoff games.

PHR extends its best wishes to Simmonds in his post-hockey career and congratulations him on a lengthy and impactful NHL stint.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Sabres Recall Devon Levi

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5:02 p.m.: Buffalo has officially announced Levi’s recall after losing to the Red Wings 4-1 earlier today.

9:56 a.m.: The Sabres are bringing up some goaltending insurance for their five-game road trip as Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News reports (Twitter links) that they will be recalling goaltender Devon Levi from AHL Rochester.  The move isn’t expected to be registered until after their game this afternoon against Detroit is finished.

The 22-year-old is in his first professional season and had high expectations coming in after taking over the starting job down the stretch last year when his college campaign came to an end.  However, Levi struggled with consistency with Buffalo, playing to a 3.30 GAA and a .891 SV%.  That resulted in the Sabres deciding to send Levi down in late January, allowing him to get a steady workload outside the NHL spotlight.

That decision was a wise one as Levi thrived with the Amerks, posting a 2.52 GAA and a .919 SV% in 19 games while helping Rochester move up to third in the North Division.  Now, with Eric Comrie continuing to struggle in the backup role, Levi will likely serve as the second-string option for the stretch run as Buffalo looks to continue to gain ground in their late playoff push; they enter play today just three points out of a tie for the last Wild Card position.

With Comrie (who also saw AHL action this season) now ineligible to play for Rochester for the rest of the year, Buffalo will instead carry three netminders at least for the short-term future.  Accordingly, Levi’s pending promotion will count against Buffalo’s four post-deadline recall limit once it’s registered later today.

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