Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Sabres Rumors

Casey Fitzgerald Placed On Waivers

at CDT | by 5 Comments

2:00pm: It seems as though it won’t be Luukkonen after all. The team has used the roster spot to activate Jokiharju, and Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News relays news that the young goaltender woke up sick this morning.

1:15pm: The Buffalo Sabres, expecting to use a three-goalie rotation for a while, have started the process of clearing a roster spot by placing Casey Fitzgerald on waivers according to Chris Johnston of NorthStar Bets. By including the purpose of assigning to the minor leagues, the team will be able to immediately recall Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who is expected to start tonight.

There’s certainly no guarantee that the 25-year-old defenseman clears, though. Fitzgerald has played in 59 NHL games over the last two seasons and is on an expiring league-minimum contract. If a club is looking for some defensive depth, there are worse options than the 2016 third-round pick, who can do a little bit of everything.

It’s unlikely that he ever becomes a difference-maker at the NHL level, but this move does include some risk for the Sabres. The team doesn’t have a ton of depth on defense, even with Henri Jokiharju returning soon. Beyond the group that is currently on the active roster, only four defensemen are signed to NHL contracts. A few injuries all at once could quickly put them in a tricky situation.

Buffalo Sabres Activate Eric Comrie, Reassign Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The Buffalo Sabres activated goalie Eric Comrie from injured reserve Monday afternoon after finishing his conditioning stint with the AHL’s Rochester Americans, according to a team tweet. Promising young netminder Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was returned to Rochester in a corresponding transaction.

Comrie was recalled from a conditioning stint last weekend after missing roughly six weeks with an undisclosed injury.

His first season in Buffalo has been a brief roller coaster. He’s had above a .900 save percentage in just four of his 11 appearances for Buffalo but has shown the ability to steal games occasionally. On the year, Comrie has a 4-7-0 record, a 3.62 goals-against average, and a .887 save percentage.

While the 27-year-old Comrie is a capable, experienced backup, he may have been surpassed on the organizational depth chart by Luukkonen. His re-assignment to Rochester is, more than anything, a quick fix to get Comrie back on the active roster now that he’s healthy.

Just 23 years old, Luukkonen is amidst a personal six-game winning streak. He’s faced at least 40 shots in four of those six games. His .891 save percentage on the season is bogged down by some early-season stinkers, and most in Sabres circles expect Luukkonen to get back in the Buffalo crease sooner rather than later.

The fact that Buffalo has grown into possessing three NHL-capable goaltenders is impactful to the performance and health of Craig Anderson. He’s been Buffalo’s best goalie this season by a mile, posting an incredulous .923 save percentage. But he’s started just 13 games, and at 41 years old, his workload will be limited. It’ll be up to Comrie now to keep his place on the Sabres roster, with Luukkonen waiting in the wings.

Eric Comrie "Healthy And Ready To Play" For Buffalo Sabres

at CDT | by 7 Comments

Second and third place went to Jack Hughes and Rasmus Dahlin, two of the most impressive young players (and first-overall picks) in the league. Hughes, 21, leads the league in even-strength goals with 21 and has already matched the career-high he set last season with 26 overall. Five of those came last week as he continues to lead the New Jersey Devils into contender status in the Metropolitan Division. Because of the attention that Tage Thompson is getting as an emerging superstar, Dahlin’s season for the Buffalo Sabres may actually be going a little bit under the radar. The 22-year-old now has 44 points in 36 games, putting him in real contention for the Norris Trophy, given how important he is to the Sabres every night. His 1.22 points-per-game rate trails only Erik Karlsson among NHL defenders this season.

  • Speaking of Buffalo, there’s a bit of a roster crunch happening for the Sabres, as they try to figure out the goaltending situation. Eric Comrie’s conditioning stint is over and he told reporters including Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News that he is healthy and ready to play. As of right now, Comrie remains on injured reserve and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who has played so well in his absence, is still on the roster as an emergency call-up. That won’t be allowed to continue, and the Sabres will have to make a decision one way or another. Send Luukkonen down, put Comrie (or Craig Anderson) on waivers to send him down, or carry three goaltenders on the active roster.

Latest On Eric Comrie

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

  • Buffalo Sabres goaltender Eric Comrie’s conditioning stint with the AHL’s Rochester Americans has ended, per Noted Hockey’s Joe Yerdon. Comrie had been in Rochester as part of his recovery process for the lower-body injury he suffered in November. Comrie signed a two-year, $1.8MM AAV deal with the Sabres in the offseason, and has had an up-and-down season, with a hot start and some games he’d like to have back. Overall, his numbers aren’t great (.887 save percentage through 11 games) but the Sabres as a whole seem to have turned a corner from their slow start to the season, so perhaps a healthy Comrie can benefit from the team’s overall improvement.

Latest On Jokiharju, Kulich, Rosen

at CDT | by 2 Comments

  • Buffalo Sabres coach Don Granato told the media, including the Olean Times Herald’s Bill Hoppe, that defenseman Henri Jokiharju could return to play in a week. The 23-year-old defenseman was placed on injured reserve on December 11th.  Should Jokiharju return at that point, the Sabres will likely need to create room on their roster, as they’re currently running a full roster of 23 players. Since they have seven defensemen currently active, it stands to reason that a depth blueliner such as Kale Clague would be the odd man out.
  • The Sabres have announced that two of the team’s top prospects, Jiri Kulich and Isak Rosen, have been re-assigned to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. Both Kulich and Rosen are returning from the World Junior Championships. Kulich has had a wildly successful year in the AHL so far, scoring 16 points in 24 games as an 18-year-old rookie, while Rosen has been solid, scoring 15 points in 25 games.

Tage Thompson Named Third Star For December

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

With the calendar turning to January, the NHL announced its Three Stars for December.  Taking home the top spot was Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin, whose 13 goals last month moved him up into second in all-time NHL goals as he now sits at 806, 88 behind Wayne Gretzky for the record.  Oilers center Connor McDavid was the second star after leading the league in goals (14) and points (31) while tying for the lead in assists (17) and is the first player this season to record 30 points in a month.  Sabres center Tage Thompson was the third star after picking up 22 points in 11 games while helping Buffalo pick up eight wins to get back within striking distance of a Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.

Sabres Assign Eric Comrie To AHL On A Conditioning Stint

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Despite having the top-scoring offense in the league with an average of four goals per game, the Sabres find themselves eight points out of a playoff spot heading into today’s action.  However, they could be getting some much-needed help between the pipes soon as Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News reports (Twitter link) that Buffalo has sent goaltender Eric Comrie to AHL Rochester on a conditioning stint and he will make the start against Toronto this afternoon.

Comrie is in his first season with the team after signing a two-year, $3.6MM deal with them back in July.  The 27-year-old sustained a lower-body injury back in mid-November, one that was expected to keep him out for four weeks.  It’s a little past that point already but with him getting an AHL start today, he’s very close to returning.

This season, Comrie has posted a 3.62 GAA along with a .887 SV% in 11 starts, numbers that aren’t particularly strong.  However, he hasn’t had a lot of goal support relative to Craig Anderson and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen as four of Comrie’s seven losses have come with Buffalo scoring two or fewer goals.  Now with the team being more consistently dangerous offensively, a better performance from Comrie is certainly possible.

His pending return is also good news for the Sabres in terms of developing Luukkonen.  Comrie’s addition was intended to allow the 23-year-old to get a heavy workload in the minors but with Comrie’s absence and Anderson being the oldest player in the league, he has basically been in a timeshare situation lately.  Once Comrie returns to the Sabres, that should change and Luukkonen can go back to being the starter for the Americans as planned.

Lawrence Pilut Clears Waivers

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Dec 30, 1:20 pm: Pilut has now cleared waivers, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Buffalo is free to reassign him to the AHL.

Dec 29, 2:49 pm: Buffalo Sabres defenseman Lawrence Pilut has been placed on waivers, according to CapFriendly. If Pilut clears waivers, he’ll be eligible to be assigned to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans.

Pilut, 26, has spent most of the season in Buffalo after being originally called up in late October. The Swedish blueliner hasn’t been there for his offensive production — he’s scored just three points — but he’s chipped in sporadically on the penalty kill (he averages just under a minute played per game shorthanded) and given his team over twelve minutes of ice time per night.

The Sabres announced that defenseman Jacob Bryson would be returning to the lineup tonight, meaning Pilut’s placement on waivers cleared the roster spot necessary to facilitate Bryson’s return from injured reserve.

As he costs just $750K and will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year, it’s possible a team in need of some low-cost reinforcement on their back end will place a claim on the former SHL star.

The Sabres are likely hoping he passes through waivers and can be assigned to Rochester, though. Pilut has been extremely successful in Rochester in the past, such as when he scored 26 points in 30 games there as a rookie in 2018-19.

The Americans have had the second-worst power play in their division so far this season, so perhaps if he clears waivers Pilut can be of assistance there.

The Americans’ top-scoring defenseman is Ethan Prow, who has just 13 points in 26 games. Should Pilut clear waivers and spend an extended period in Rochester, he should quickly become their go-to offensive option from the back end.

NHL Postpones Tuesday’s Game Between The Buffalo Sabres And Columbus Blue Jackets

at CDT | by 5 Comments

4:15 pm: The NHL, as well as Columbus and Buffalo, have since confirmed the postponement, adding that a makeup date will be set at some point, though they don’t have one right now.

3:08 pm: It appears yet another game will be postponed due to this past week’s winter weather in the upstate New York and Ontario area. According to the Columbus Dispatch’s Brian Hedger, tomorrow’s game featuring the Buffalo Sabres and Columbus Blue Jackets is expected to be postponed. Neither team nor the NHL has confirmed the postponement yet and no makeup date is known.

This postponement comes on the heels of two additional games that were rescheduled from Friday. Both the Tampa Bay Lightning and Ottawa Senators, in Ottawa, and the Detroit Red Wings and Buffalo Sabres, in Buffalo, had to be postponed. Buffalo, who hasn’t played since last Monday, December 18th, will now have to make-up two games.

Although tomorrow’s game was supposed to be in Columbus, the reason for the postponement appears to be the Sabres’ inability to get to Columbus. At this point in time, many roads in the Buffalo area are closed to traffic, and the airport itself will remain closed through tomorrow. The Sabres had been due to fly out of Buffalo tomorrow morning for that evening’s game. Interestingly, the same-day travel had nothing to do with the weather in Buffalo, but instead the league’s restriction on practice and travel today.

Looking ahead, the Sabres are scheduled to host the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday before hitting the road and heading to Boston on Saturday. Thus far, there’s been no word on the status of either of those games.

Buffalo Sabres Activate Ilya Lyubushkin

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Buffalo Sabres are activating defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin ahead of tonight’s game, putting him right into the lineup. Lyubushkin hasn’t played since November 28th while dealing with an undisclosed injury. In a corresponding move, the team announced that defenseman Jeremy Davies has been returned on loan to the Rochester Americans, their AHL affiliate.

A key veteran and quality shutdown defenseman, the Sabres have surely missed Lyubushkin’s steady presence in their lineup. Though Lyubushkin doesn’t play top minutes for the Sabres, averaging just 15:24 time-on-ice this season, his 76% of defensive zone starts show just how much Buffalo trusts him in their own end.

As for Davies, the former New Jersey Devils prospect got into just one game ont his recall, his only NHL contest of the season, which came this Saturday. He’ll return to Rochester where he’s been a steady piece of their blueline amid a season of injuries and recalls affecting the entire Sabres organization. With Rochester, Davies has five points in 19 games to start the season.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top