- Buffalo Sabres forward Jordan Greenway is expected to return from injury and make his season debut tomorrow in Boston, and today Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff indicated that his return from injury might come alongside a significant change in deployment. As relayed by The Buffalo News’ Rachel Lenzi, Ruff indicated that Greenway may get a look at the center position. Greenway has recently practiced in the team’s third-line center spot, one previously occupied by Noah Ostlund. While Greenway has largely played the wing throughout his NHL career, it appears the Sabres will try to see if he can build some momentum and hit the ground running as a pivot playing between Jack Quinn and Jason Zucker.
Sabres Rumors
Sabres Activate Michael Kesselring From Injured Reserve
Oct. 28: Kesselring will make his Sabres debut tonight and come off injured reserve, Ruff confirmed to Rachel Lenzi of The Buffalo News.
Oct. 27: The Buffalo Sabres have assigned defenseman Zach Metsa to the AHL’s Rochester Americans. The move will open the roster space to activate defenseman Michael Kesselring off of injured reserve. Head coach Lindy Ruff said he expects the team to make that roster move before Tuesday’s game against Columbus, as long as all goes well in the morning.
Kesselring has missed the first nine games of the season with a lower-body injury sustained in an October 1st preseason game. The injury delayed his debut with the Buffalo Sabres after joining the team alongside Josh Doan in the June trade that sent JJ Peterka to the Utah Mammoth.
That trade will be top of mind as Kesselring prepares for his first regular-season game in the blue and gold. Doan has already wowed fans with his early-year performance, netting six points and already rivaling a top-line role. But at the time of the move, many expected Kesselring to have a bigger impact in Buffalo after he proved to be a capable top-four defender in Utah.
Kesselring played in all 82 games of Utah’s inaugural season. He received the lowest average ice time (17:41) among a heavily-rotated Hockey Club defense, but routinely faced challenging roles alongside top defenseman Mikhail Sergachev and against top competition. He was strong on both sides of the puck, showing off a strong stick, lightning-quick speed, and heads-up passing. Those talents led Kesselring to 29 points on the year, the second-most on Utah’s blue line behind Sergachev (53).
Kesselring looked similarly capable in his rookie season of 2023-24. He finished that year with 21 points in 65 games, while operating from a third-pair role with the Arizona Coyotes. With two years of improvement to start his career, he now seems well-poised to bear some more responsibility with the Buffalo Sabres. Buffalo has relied on Conor Timmins and Metsa to fill the right side behind captain Rasmus Dahlin. Timmins has faired pretty well in the second-pair role, recording three assists and 24 blocked shots in nine games. Metsa has been less productive, with no scoring and just two blocks in four games. Kesselring should step ahead of Timmins on the depth chart, placing him next to former first-overall pick Owen Power. Power’s sturdy defense could be a great match for the typically aggressive Kesselring.
Meanwhile, Metsa’s brief appearance in the NHL will come to an end. He played the first NHL games of his career this season, after starting the year with two pointless games with the Americans. Metsa led Rochester’s blue line with 46 points in 69 games last season. It was his second pro season. He posted 24 points in 54 games as an AHL rookie. The 27-year-old will look to return to his top role on the Rochester blue line, and could remain a call-up option should Buffalo face any more injuries.
Sabres' Michael Kesselring Could Be Activated From IR
- The Buffalo Sabres could be getting a huge boost to their defensive core. After today’s practice, Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald relayed a note from head coach Lindy Ruff indicating Michael Kesselring could be activated from the injured reserve for tomorrow’s game. Kesselring, who was acquired from the Utah Mammoth this past offseason, scored seven goals and 29 points in 82 games last year, averaging 17:41 of ice time per game.
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Evening Notes: Strome, Granlund, Ellis
Washington Capitals centerman Dylan Strome exited Saturday night’s game after sustaining a lower-body injury in the opening minutes. The injury occured after Strome got tangled up with teammate Jakob Chychrun and tumbled hard into the endboards. He made a brief return to the ice during a TV timeout later in the game – but didn’t stick around after taking a few small laps.
The chance to see Strome already testing out his injury will be a silver lining for the Capitals, who could be losing their second-highest scorer with this news. Strome has racked up 10 points in eight games this season, all scored across a five-game point streak he was riding entering Saturday night. He led the Capitals in scoring with 82 points in 82 games last season.
Nic Dowd earned the most ice time of Washington’s centers following Strome’s absence. He was already in an elevated role to support Pierre-Luc Dubois, who made his return from a five-game absence. Dowd and Justin Sourdif should be the biggest beneficiaries, though both behind Dubois, should Washington need to fill-in Strome’s minutes.
Other later-night notes:
- Anaheim Ducks forward Mikael Granlund also exited his team’s game, in the first period, with a lower-body injury. It’s not exactly clear when Granlund’s injury occured, though he appeared in discomfort away from play and headed towards the locker room after just six minutes of ice time. Granlund is tied with Leo Carlsson for the Ducks’ scoring lead with eight points in seven games. He’s in his first year in Anaheim, after spending last season split between the San Jose Sharks and Dallas Stars. He scored 66 points in 83 games between the two teams, his most since he scored 67 points in the 2017-18 season. Now playing for his sixth NHL club, Granlund has continued to prove he can be a flexible scorer in any lineup. His absence would leave Anaheim with a big role to fill. The Ducks would likely lean on Carlsson, Mason McTavish, and Nikita Nesterenko to fill in.
- The Buffalo Sabres intended to start Colten Ellis in Saturday’s overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, but opted to rest the rookie after he woke up with tightness in his back, head coach Lindy Ruff told Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic. Ellis made 29 saves on 31 shots, and recorded a win, in his NHL debut on Wednesday. He was strong throughout, carrying over the same sharp movement that earned him a .922 save percentage in 42 AHL games – sixth-highest in the league – last season. Ellis is another promising young goaltender in Buffalo’s system, and could get a chance to compete with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen for a role behind Alex Lyon, should the Sabres continue carrying three goalies. Ellis should be back to game-readiness soon.
Sabres Recall Josh Dunne, Place Tyson Kozak On IR
Josh Dunne’s time in the minors was short-lived. After being sent back down earlier this week, the Sabres announced that they’ve recalled the winger from AHL Rochester.
The move comes on the heels of center Tyson Kozak suffering a lower-body injury on Friday against Toronto. While Kozak was still being evaluated after the game, it’s clear that he will be out for at least a week as Buffalo has placed him on injured reserve, per the NHL’s media site.
Dunne has played in two games with the Sabres this month, albeit in a very limited role as he’s averaging just 6:30 per outing while failing to register a shot on goal or a point. The 26-year-old has 19 career contests at the top level, split between Buffalo and Columbus. He was on Buffalo’s roster for nearly two weeks earlier this month and technically has spent more days with them than with Rochester since the season started. Dunne played in last night’s game with the Americans, making him eligible to be recalled once again.
As for Kozak, the 22-year-old had locked down a regular spot on Buffalo’s fourth line in the early going this season, in part thanks to being waiver-eligible for the first time. He had done relatively well, picking up a pair of goals while chipping in with 19 hits in just under 10 minutes a night of playing time and will likely return to that role whenever he’s cleared to return.
Sabres Notes: Kozak, Mrtka, Mogilny
The Buffalo Sabres announced mid-game that center Tyson Kozak will not return due to a lower body injury, playing just 1:49 before exiting. Buffalo, winners of three out of their last four games, has seemed to find some momentum but now will have to hope Kozak’s injury is not serious.
Originally drafted in the seventh round of the 2021 draft by Buffalo, the 22-year-old Kozak has impressively become a solid defensive center, appearing in 21 games for the Sabres last year, and six so far in 2025-26 where he has netted two goals.
Elsewhere from Buffalo:
- Earlier today in advance of tonight’s game vs Toronto, the Sabres announced that Radim Mrtka was reassigned to the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL. Drafted 9th overall by Buffalo in last summer’s draft, the defenseman did not appear for the big club but made his professional debut with AHL Rochester, skating in 4 games, posting one assist and mixing it up a bit with 7 penalty minutes. At just 18-years-old, the Czech and his 6’6” frame will be a welcome addition back for Seattle, as Buffalo looks to set their prospect up for success in 2025-26 before a potential pro return next year.
- A former Sabre confirmed that he will not attend the 2025 Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremony in person. Alexander Mogilny, finally being elected this year after 16 years of eligibility, will instead deliver an acceptance speech through video message, as confirmed by Kelly Masse, Director of Media Relations for the Hockey Hall of Fame. The legend, who scored an unreal 76 goals for Buffalo in 1992-93, also made tremendous impacts in Vancouver, New Jersey, and Toronto. Although known of having a fear of flying, Mogilny is President of the KHL’s Amur Khabarovsk club, their season in full swing on the other side of the globe.
Panthers, Red Wings, Sabres Among Teams Interested In Yegor Chinakhov
It has been over three months since Blue Jackets winger Yegor Chinakhov’s former agent said that his client had requested a trade out of Columbus. Much has happened since then, including an apparent reconciliation with head coach Dean Evason, but that was short-lived before he ended up back in a fourth-line/press box role in training camp. Following that move, Chinakhov switched his representation at the beginning of the month in hopes of accelerating his departure from the organization.
According to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, Chinkahov’s new representation at Maverick Sports Management now has permission to speak directly with other teams about facilitating a trade. Among the teams that “have recently kicked the tires” in trade talks with the Jackets are the Panthers, Red Wings, and Sabres, he adds.
All of those Atlantic Division clubs are looking to fill out their middle-six depth for various reasons, and it’s clear why Chinakhov specifically offers some intrigue there. While it’s been a tough go in Columbus for him, particularly over the last 12 months due to injuries and dwindling usage, he’s shown the ability to come up with productive scoring lines when given more considerable ice time. In his career-best 2023-24 season, the former first-round pick averaged 15:10 of ice time per game and managed 16 goals and 29 points in 53 appearances. That was on track for 45 points had he played a full 82-game schedule, and he also managed to record half a point per game last year with 15 in 30 appearances.
He’s by no means a top-six needle-mover for a contender with those numbers, but for teams needing to plug a third-line or fringe second-line hole, he could be of real benefit. The Panthers are without top-six forwards Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk for months, and the ripple effect has been ugly. They’ve understandably gotten off to a sluggish 4-5-0 start and, more concerningly, are only scoring 2.44 goals per game – 29th in the league. Names like Sam Bennett (1-1–2 in nine games), Eetu Luostarinen (1-1–2 in nine games), and Jesper Boqvist (1-0–1 in nine games) have struggled to produce in elevated roles. Getting another body in the mix to ease everyone’s workload is a short-term priority for general manager Bill Zito.
Teams considering Chinakhov a short-term fix can non-tender him at the end of the season. He’s in the final year of a contract that carries a $2.1MM cap hit and an identical qualifying offer that he’s unlikely to warrant with his current trajectory. However, that can quickly change if he manages to return to his 2023-24 form with a new club.
As for the Red Wings, adding forward depth was always going to be a priority for them based on how they entered the season. Leaning into their youth has made them one of the league’s pleasant surprises early on. Still, they’ve struggled to find offensive consistency outside of their explosive first line of rookie Emmitt Finnie, Dylan Larkin, and Lucas Raymond. Only three other forwards have more than four points through eight games, and there’s been a bit of a mix-and-match through the first few weeks with Jonatan Berggren, Elmer Söderblom, and James van Riemsdyk all coming in and out of the lineup.
Detroit presumably hopes Chinakhov can be an upgrade on a similarly cast young winger in Berggren. The latter has never received the kind of leash Chinakhov did previously in Columbus, never averaging more than 13:28 of ice time per game. His career points-per-game pace, though, isn’t too far off from Chinakhov’s. Berggren averages 16 goals and 31 points per 82 games, while Chinakhov averages 16 and 33.
Like Florida, Buffalo’s interest is injury-fueled. Their already semi-questionable forward depth has been decimated in the season’s opening weeks by injuries to Jordan Greenway and Joshua Norris, among others. They’re looking for additional top-nine wing insurance, but with all of Zach Benson, Josh Doan, Jack Quinn, and Jason Zucker off to strong starts, their interest might be more tempered than what Detroit and Florida are bringing to the table.
Sabres Activate Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen From Conditioning Stint
Oct. 23: The Sabres announced they’ve recalled Luukkonen from his conditioning stint, putting him back on the active roster. He suited up for Rochester in a 4-2 win over Syracuse on Wednesday, making 21 saves on 23 shots for a .913 SV%.
Oct. 21: Sabres starting netminder Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen will head to AHL Rochester on a conditioning stint, the club announced. The team also reassigned defenseman Zachary Jones to Rochester after recalling him on Sunday. Luukkonen remains on IR while on his conditioning stint, so Buffalo is operating with an open roster spot with the Jones reassignment.
Luukkonen, 26, has yet to suit up in the regular season. He showed up to camp with a lower-body issue that sidelined him for a few days. He was eventually able to make a preseason start but sustained a second injury in the first period of that game that landed him on the shelf on a week-to-week basis before opening night. He’s now eligible to suit up for or practice with Rochester for up to two weeks before the Sabres have to leave him on IR or reinstate him.
In the meantime, veteran backup Alex Lyon has more than picked up the slack. He signed a two-year, $3MM deal in the offseason, and he’s started and finished all six of the Sabres’ games thus far. He’s carrying a 2-4-0 record after last night’s loss to Montreal, but has an eye-popping .924 SV% and 2.55 GAA in the process, even recording a 32-save shutout against the Panthers last weekend. His 4.5 goals saved above expected rank ninth in the NHL, per MoneyPuck.
It begs the question whether Luukkonen will even see the lion’s share of starts when he’s ready to return. Lyon is untested in this type of usage – the 32-year-old has only ever topped 30 starts in a season once – but it’s nearly impossible to justify taking the reins away from him given his early-season showing.
Giving Luukkonen a conditioning stint, aside from getting up to speed, also provides the Sabres more time to decide what to do with Colten Ellis. They claimed the 25-year-old off waivers from the Blues a few weeks ago for him to supplement Lyon with Luukkonen out. They sang his praises after the claim and would prefer to retain him, but must expose him to waivers again if they want him to go to Rochester. Doing so could result in a reclaim by the Blues, who could send him directly to their AHL affiliate if they’re the only team to submit a claim.
Luukkonen now looks to shake off the rust following a tough start to the year. After finishing 12th in All-Star Team voting in 2023-24 with a career year, the 2017 second-round pick regressed mightily in 2024-25. While he made a career-high 55 starts, it didn’t come with great numbers – a 24-24-5 record, .887 SV%, and 3.20 GAA with a pair of shutouts. That was “good” for -8.6 GSAx after posting a 9.4 the year before.
As for Jones, he was a healthy scratch for last night’s loss. Buffalo recalled him to ensure they had seven healthy defensemen on the active roster while Jacob Bryson sat in concussion protocol. He hasn’t been cleared yet, but if Buffalo needs another defenseman for tomorrow’s home game against the Red Wings, they can easily recall someone else from Rochester.
Jason Zucker Leaves Game With Upper-Body Injury
- Despite getting back in the win column against the red-hot Detroit Red Wings last night, the Buffalo Sabres may have lost a valuable top-six winger for the foreseeable future. According to Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic, Jason Zucker left last night’s game with an upper-body injury and is still being evaluated by the team’s medical staff. Although he only skated in 8:28 of yesterday’s contest, Zucker finished with one goal on two shots.
- Moving back to Toronto, the team could be without defenseman Chris Tanev for their upcoming matchup against the Sabres. After leaving their most recent game with an upper-body injury, TSN’s Mark Masters reported yesterday that Tanev remains questionable to return. Given that the Maple Leafs are financially limited in what they’re able to do, the expectation is that Philippe Myers will make his season debut if Tanev is unable to play on Friday.
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Sabres Reassign Joshua Dunne
The Sabres announced Wednesday that they’ve loaned forward Joshua Dunne to AHL Rochester. They now have two open roster spots, one of which will go to goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen as he comes off injured reserve following yesterday’s news that he’s been assigned to Rochester on a conditioning stint. The other will go to winger Beck Malenstyn, who’s returned to the team after taking paternity leave and was on the non-roster list, per Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550.
Dunne’s first recall of the season lasted nearly two weeks. He was summoned from Rochester on Oct. 10 after Zach Benson took a puck to the face, resulting in a hospital visit, and after Joshua Norris sustained an oblique injury in the season’s first game. Benson has since returned and has six assists in three games, although Norris is on IR and will remain there until mid-December.
Recalled to serve as a depth piece rather than a lineup fixture, Dunne only appeared in two out of five games on his recall. The soon-to-be 27-year-old saw ice on Oct. 13 against the Avalanche and last Monday against the Canadiens, but only averaged 6:30 of ice time. The 6’4″, 208-lb pivot factored in on the wing and, aside from recording three hits, didn’t have a tangible impact. His ice time was down even further from the already-slim 7:06 per game he saw in a two-game look with Buffalo last year.
The Missouri native has 18 games of NHL experience but is still looking for his first point. Fourteen of them came with the Blue Jackets, where he first signed as an undrafted free agent out of Clarkson in 2021. He’s in the back half of a two-year, $1.55MM deal he signed with Buffalo in the 2024 offseason that carried a two-way structure last year but guarantees him the full NHL league minimum of $775,000 in 2025-26. In 202 career AHL appearances, 68 of which came with Rochester, he has a 46-48–94 scoring line with 194 PIMs and a minus-three rating.
Malenstyn could take Dunne’s place in the lineup when the Sabres host the Red Wings tonight. Since he was on the non-roster list and not on injured reserve, he doesn’t need to miss seven days since his last appearance. Through five games before exiting the lineup, he had no points with a minus-two rating and 13 hits while averaging 9:52 of ice time per game.