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Sabres, Kraken Exploring Goalie Market

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With teams now at the quarter mark of the season, they now have a greater sense of what they have and what they need.  Two of those teams – the Sabres and Kraken – appear to have determined that goaltending help is high on the priority list as Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that both squads are looking at what’s available between the pipes.

For Seattle, Philipp Grubauer has struggled mightily out of the gate, putting up his worst numbers in now his third season with the team.  Joey Daccord won the backup battle in training camp but hasn’t fared much better, posting a save percentage of just .898.  Meanwhile, they still have Chris Driedger at AHL Coachella Valley but he hasn’t seen regular NHL action for a couple of years now.

Garrioch notes that Montreal is among the teams the Kraken have spoken to.  The Canadiens are one of the few teams still carrying three netminders on its active roster – the recently extended Samuel Montembeault, veteran Jake Allen, and youngster Cayden Primeau who is no longer waiver-exempt.

With a little over $2MM in cap room at the moment per CapFriendly, Seattle does have a bit of flexibility to work with.  If they can clear out Driedger’s contract as part of any swap, they’d free up an additional $2.35MM to work with as that’s the cap charge they incur with Driedger being with the Firebirds.

As for Buffalo, Garrioch reports that they’re believed to have been sniffing around a veteran netminder.  Devon Levi, when healthy, hasn’t played at the same level as he did down the stretch last season, resulting in a recent demotion to AHL Rochester.  Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has taken over the number one role for the time being (current illness notwithstanding) but has just 59 NHL appearances under his belt.  Veteran Eric Comrie is also with the team but has a 4.01 GAA and a .861 SV% in his seven starts so there’s definitely room to upgrade.

Garrioch suggests that Allen is one of the goalies Buffalo is believed to have looked at.  The 33-year-old has another year on this one on his contract with a $3.85MM AAV.  His numbers are a bit better than Comrie’s with a 3.74 GAA and a .898 SV% in his ten starts.  Buffalo has ample cap space to take on Allen’s full deal although they could also offset some of the cost of any possible trade by including Comrie’s $1.8MM expiring deal as part of any swap.

It has been out there for a while that the Oilers are looking for goalie help with the early struggles of Jack Campbell and Stuart Skinner.  Now, it appears they’re not the only ones looking for an upgrade at that position.

Buffalo Sabres Acquire Eric Robinson From Columbus

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4:48 p.m.: The draft pick included in the deal will only be transferred to the Blue Jackets if Robinson plays 45 NHL games this season, per CapFriendly. He’s already logged seven appearances with Columbus.

3:27 p.m.: The Sabres have made the news official, sending a 2025 seventh-round pick (originally belonging to the Predators) to Columbus in return for Robinson’s services. In a corresponding transaction, forward Brandon Biro was returned to AHL Rochester.

1:32 p.m.: The Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski has confirmed that the Buffalo Sabres have acquired Eric Robinson from the Columbus Blue Jackets. This was originally reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Robinson, 28, is in his seventh season of NHL play, after signing with the Blue Jackets as an undrafted free agent in 2018. He’s since totaled 266 career NHL games and 82 career points. The details of the trade are not yet certain, although Lysowski reports that Robinson won’t join Buffalo for their Thursday matchup against the Boston Bruins.

Robinson has appeared in seven games with the Blue Jackets this season, scoring one goal and recording a -3. He has also played in nine AHL games and scored four points. It was Robinson’s first appearance in the AHL since 2019-20, as the veteran winger has been a fixture of Columbus’ lineup over the last four seasons. He recorded a career year in the 2021-22 campaign, scoring 10 goals and 27 points in 67 games. He followed it up with 12 goals and 24 points in 72 games last year.

Robinson is a New Jersey native who played four seasons at Princeton University from 2014 to 2018. The Nashville Predators invited Robinson to their training camp ahead of the 2015-16 season and signed a professional try-out contract with the team ahead of the 2016-17 season. He also briefly signed with Nashville’s AHL affiliate, before opting to return for his senior season, where he set a collegiate-career high of 31 points in 36 games and earned an NHL contract with Columbus.

He is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st and carries a $1.6MM cap hit this season.

Snapshots: Kane, Dahlin, Durzi

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The Detroit Red Wings have announced that legendary winger Patrick Kane will make his debut with the club in their Thursday night matchup against the San Jose Sharks. The game will also mark Kane’s return from the hip resurfacing surgery that he underwent on June 1st.

Kane will look to become the third NHL player to return from a hip resurfacing surgery, with top centerman Nicklas Backstrom representing the second to ever return. Backstrom made it back for the second half of the 2022-23 season, and eight games this season, but is currently on a leave of absence from the Washington Capitals due to complications with his injury.

Thursday night will mark only the 20th regular-season game that Kane has played outside of the Chicago Blackhawks organization. He joined the New York Rangers at last season’s trade deadline, appearing in 19 games and scoring 12 points with the club. These performances brought his career totals to 1180 games, 451 goals, and 1237 points. Kane was originally the first-overall selection in the 2007 NHL Draft.

Other notes from around the league:

Sabres Place Alex Tuch, Jordan Greenway On IR

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The Sabres announced a handful of roster moves before tonight’s game against the Red Wings, placing winger Alex Tuch and Jordan Greenway on IR. As reported earlier in the day, these moves make room on the 23-man roster to recall goaltender Devon Levi from AHL Rochester. Levi will back up Eric Comrie tonight while Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is sidelined with an illness.

Head coach Don Granato told the media Tuesday that both Tuch and Greenway’s injuries are short-term and will keep them out between seven and ten days (via Bill Hoppe of the Times Herald).

Tuch suffered his injury in Saturday’s narrow 2-1 loss to the Predators. He’s had one injury-related absence this season – an upper-body ailment sidelined him for three games in mid-November. This appears to be a lower-body issue that Tuch sustained without contact while backchecking to catch up with Predators winger Filip Forsberg.

Greenway sustained an upper-body injury in the first period of Friday’s game against the Hurricanes and did not return. He missed Saturday’s game against Nashville and has now played in just two out of Buffalo’s last six games, including a three-game absence for personal reasons in late November.

The Sabres, who are now 3-6-1 in their last ten games and are three games below the .500 mark, are in serious trouble. Things won’t get better without the services of two of their better wingers. Tuch is fifth on the team in scoring with eight goals and 17 points in 22 games, while Greenway has been one of their better defensive wingers despite his scoring cooling off from the beginning of the season.

This should afford 2021 first-round pick Isak Rosen a more extended look in the NHL lineup over the next five or so games. The 20-year-old has seen fourth-line duties since being recalled last month and is still looking for his first NHL point. He’s averaged 9:35 and posted a -3 rating in four contests to begin his NHL career.

Latest On Tage Thompson, Devon Levi

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Buffalo Sabres star Tage Thompson has returned to team practice this morning, taking line rushes with Casey Mittelstadt and Jeff Skinner today. Thompson has not played since November 14th and has been working his way back from an upper-body injury.

Should Thompson return to the Sabres’ first-line next to Mittelstadt and Skinner, he would thereby be displacing winger Alex Tuch from that trio. Thompson’s return could very well result in Isak Rosén returning to the AHL’s Rochester Americans, seeing as he has no points through four NHL games this year and a spot in the team’s forward lineup would need to be cleared.

  • According to The Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski, the Sabres are expected to recall goaltender Devon Levi from the Americans today. Netminder Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is battling an illness, so with the Sabres set to play the Detroit Red Wings tonight, Buffalo is likely to recall its top goalie prospect. Levi was sent down in order to have a “reset” after a difficult start to the season, so while he’ll likely serve as the backup for this recall he should be expected to be returned to the AHL in relatively short order.

Jordan Greenway Will Not Return To Game Due To Upper-Body Injury

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Early in their game tonight against the Carolina Hurricanes, Buffalo Sabres’ forward, Jordan Greenway, left the bench with an apparent injury. After the first intermission, the Sabres announced that Greenway would not return to tonight’s game due to an upper-body injury.

Through 20 games this season, Greenway had gotten off to a solid pace compared to his previous production, scoring two goals and five assists while averaging just under 17 minutes a night. Primarily playing on Buffalo’s third line next to Peyton Krebs and Kyle Okposo, Greenway has mostly factored in as a gritty player on the Sabres roster, blocking 20 shots and throwing 29 hits to start the season.

Given the nature of the injury, it is unlikely that Greenway will be cleared to play in the team’s game tomorrow against the Nashville Predators, meaning the Sabres’ extra forward, Isak Rosen, will likely factor into tomorrow’s contest. Through three games in the NHL this season, Rosen has yet to score a point, but has scored eight goals and 11 assists through 16 games for Buffalo’s AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans.

Nevertheless, it is a tough blow to a Buffalo forward group that has struggled immensely compared to last year’s team. The Sabres currently sit 23rd in the league in GF/G as opposed to last season, when the team finished third in the respective category.

Adams Provides Updates On Thompson, Quinn, And Girgensons; Komarov Set To Be Moved In QMJHL

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  • Earlier this week, Sabres GM Kevyn Adams provided injury updates to Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald on several injured Buffalo forwards. Tage Thompson is progressing well from his hand injury and the team hopes that he’ll be on the shorter end of the timeline for a recovery period that’s supposed to be less than two months; he has been out since November 14th.  Jack Quinn, meanwhile, is on track to return sometime around January 1st as he works his way back from a torn Achilles tendon from the offseason.  As for Zemgus Girgensons, who has missed the last week with a lower-body injury, is listed as week-to-week.
  • Still with Buffalo, Sabres prospect Vsevolod Komarov is expected to be traded in the QMJHL to Drummondville in the coming days, reports Journal Express’ Jonathan Habashi. The 19-year-old was a fifth-round pick back in 2022 and earned his entry-level contract back in May following a good showing with Quebec in their Memorial Cup run.  Now with the Remparts rebuilding, it appears that Komarov will get a chance to catch on with another contender.  Through 21 games this season, he has two goals and 14 assists.

Sabres Send Jiri Kulich To AHL, Jordan Greenway Set To Return

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The Buffalo Sabres have shared that Jordan Greenway is expected to return to the lineup on Thursday when the team takes on the St. Louis Blues. Greenway’s return required a player to be sent down, with Buffalo choosing to return rookie Jiri Kulich to the AHL. This move solidifies fellow rookie Isak Rosen’s spot in the NHL lineup for the short term, with Brandon Biro’s recent recall providing additional depth.

Greenway has missed a week of action due to personal reasons. He’s played in 19 games so far this season, recording two goals and six points. He’s also tallied 19 penalty minutes, ranking fourth on the Sabres roster in the stat. Greenway is in his first full season with the Sabres, joining the team midway through last season via trade. Greenway had previously spent six seasons with the Minnesota Wild, recording 317 games, 119 points, and 227 penalty minutes with the club.

Kulich and Rosen both made their NHL debut on November 25th. Neither player has scored their first NHL point yet, although Rosen did earn one more game than Kulich, slotting into the team’s most recent matchup. The duo has proven incredibly productive in the AHL, serving as the top two scoring leaders for the Rochester Americans. Rosen has scored eight goals and 19 points in 16 AHL games, while Kulich has netted 11 goals and 17 points in the same amount of games.

Biro ranks third in scoring at Rochester, with 12 points in 10 games. He has also played in two NHL games this season, netting his first two NHL goals and recording a +1. Biro signed with the Sabres as an undrafted free agent in 2020, following the conclusion of Penn State University’s 2019-20 season.

Buffalo Sabres Recall Brandon Biro

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The Buffalo Sabres have recalled forward Brandon Biro from their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. He swaps with goaltender Devon Levi, who was reassigned from the Sabres to Rochester yesterday.

The Sabres have an upcoming two-game road trip that will take them through St. Louis and North Carolina, so adding Biro gives the club an extra forward to work with as they embark on that trip.

Biro, 25, was signed to the Sabres organization as an undrafted free agent out of the Big-10 and Penn State. He became an instant impact scorer for Rochester, potting 12 goals and 41 points in his 48-game rookie campaign.

Last season, Biro was Rochester’s top scorer on a points-per-game basis, notching 16 goals and 51 points in just 49 games. He did not play in any NHL games last year, though.

So far this season, Biro has already played in two NHL contests. He has gotten off to a strong AHL start once again, scoring six goals and 12 points in 10 games.

He also has two goals in the NHL, and the Sabres will hope that his offense can continue to translate and Biro can help them get some valuable points against two tough road opponents.

Sabres Loan Devon Levi To AHL

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The Buffalo Sabres have sent top goalie prospect Devon Levi to the Rochester Americans of the AHL. Rochester is gearing up for a road trip with back-to-back games against the Belleville Senators on Friday and Saturday, which could present a good opportunity for Levi to get AHL conditioning. The 21-year-old goaltender has appeared in nine NHL games so far this season, setting a 3-4-1 record and a .876 save percentage.

Buffalo has faced a lot of questions with their goaltending this season, currently carrying three serviceable goalies in Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Eric Comrie, and Levi. Luukkonen has taken on the starting job, at least in the short term, as he’s recorded a 6-3-1 record and .918 save percentage through 11 games this season. This includes the 25-save win that he recorded on Monday night, taking down the top-ranked team in the league, the New York Rangers. Comrie has matched Levi’s .876 save percentage while appearing in five games of his own.

Levi has yet to play in the AHL through his early career, joining the Sabres after the conclusion of Northeastern University’s 2022-23 season. He tallied a dazzling .933 save percentage in 34 games with Northeastern last season, a mark that was one-upped by his 2021-22 season when he recorded a .952 save percentage in 32 games – the sixth-highest, single-season save percentage in NCAA history. His two seasons of action at Northeastern University earned him a career .942 save percentage in college, the third-highest career save percentage of any collegiate goaltender, sandwiched between Connor Hellebuyck and Ryan Miller.

Levi has played a total of 16 career NHL games, recording a .890 save percentage in total. He is the youngest goalie to play in the NHL this season.

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