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Devon Levi Returning To Northeastern

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According to Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News, goalie prospect Devon Levi has informed the organization that he intends to return to Northeastern University for his junior season (link). Though it had not been confirmed, the general belief had been that Levi would return to Northeastern instead of opting to turn pro and sign with Buffalo. As much as the Sabres would like to have the goaltender enter their organization now and learn the business of being a professional hockey player, the move seems to make sense for Levi, who can have another year of development at the NCAA level, another year of education at Northeastern, and another chance at a national title.

Also of note for the 20-year-old is that turning pro would not necessarily mean a regular role with the Buffalo Sabres, and a likely trip to the Rochester Americans of the AHL for at least a year. Although professional could benefit Levi, another year at Northeastern may ultimately be more appealing while still allowing him to develop.

Selected in the seventh-round by Florida in 2020, 212th overall, Levi has been a standout in college. After missing his Freshman year due to injury, Levi burst onto the scene this season as a Sophomore, boasting a .952 save-percentage and 1.54 goals-against average over 32 games. Time will tell how the young goaltender develops, but his return to Northeastern does not make him any less a part of the Sabres’ future plans.

Sabres Want Craig Anderson Back For 2022-2023

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Going into this NHL season, fans who wanted to accuse the Buffalo Sabres of “tanking,” or intentionally icing a weak roster to lose as many games as possible, could have simply pointed to the team’s goaltending situation and made a decent case. On paper, it looked rough. The Sabres were set to run a tandem featuring 40-year-old Craig Anderson and NHL-AHL tweener Dustin Tokarski, a pairing that inspired very little confidence. While the team has battled injuries in the crease, it’s safe to say that the tandem of Tokarski and Anderson has performed better than expected, and it seems that the Sabres agree. According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the Sabres have told Anderson that they “would like to have him back” next season, and are willing to wait for him to decide if he wants to continue playing before seeking a replacement to fill his spot.

While a fan looking just at Anderson’s box score numbers, and specifically his .902 save percentage, might scoff at this development, it is more reasonable than it may seem. Anderson is a beloved veteran whose leadership is likely to be increasingly important in the Sabres’ young locker room. Additionally, his overall performance is more impressive when put into the context of the Sabres’ season in general. Buffalo is not a team that has an abundance of talent on their blueline, and Anderson more frequently faces nights without much help than he does nights where his team makes the game easy for him. More than anything, the stability and poise he has brought to the Sabres’ net has helped them come out on top in some big moments this season, highlighted by the team’s win in an outdoor game versus the Toronto Maple Leafs. For a Sabres organization that hasn’t had many highlights to speak of over the past decade, wanting to re-sign the goalie who led the charge during this season’s best moments is not an unreasonable desire.

Colin Miller Enters COVID Protocol

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While COVID-related absences have slowed down significantly since last season and earlier this season, they are not totally a thing of the past just yet. The Buffalo Sabres have announced that defenseman Colin Miller has been placed in the NHL’s COVID-19 Protocol, and will be out for the foreseeable future. The Sabres are set to take on the New York Rangers tonight, so Miller will obviously be unable to play in that game as the Sabres might have originally planned.

This loss will not likely be anything of major concern for the Sabres, who are 6th in the Atlantic Division with a 23-33-9 record. The remaining games of their season have pride at stake more than anything else, so losing Miller to the COVID protocol is unlikely to make anyone in the Sabres organization lose any sleep. As Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News reports, Miller’s normal defense partner Mark Pysyk will also not suit up for tonight’s game versus the Rangers, and in his (and Miller’s) place, Casey Fitzgerald and Will Butcher will re-enter the lineup. In a media availability, Sabres coach Don Granato stated that he wanted Butcher and Fitzgerald to play as a pair because they had been “skating together all week,” so the loss of Miller to COVID protocol may have the unintended consequence of making it easier for Granato to slide that pairing into his lineup.

For Miller, this absence is not likely one he welcomes but also not one that looks to be any major setback to his career, similar to the COVID absences of many other players this season. Miller has had an improved season this year compared to last, although he has struggled to stay in the lineup with any great degree of consistency. He has 14 points in 36 games this season, an improvement on his 12 points in 48 games last season. For Miller, who is a pending unrestricted free agent as his $3.875MM AAV contract is expiring, the hope has to be that he misses only a few days thanks to this development.

John Hayden Placed In COVID Protocol

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Unrelated to Vegas’ COVID protocol players is Buffalo Sabres’ forward John Hayden, who was placed in COVID protocol earlier today (link). While the Sabres don’t play tonight, COVID protocol affects all elements of a player’s involvement with the team, so an announcement of Hayden’s unavailability on an off day makes sense.

Sabres Trade Hagg To Florida For A Sixth-Round Pick

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A day after acquiring Claude Giroux from the Philadelphia Flyers, the Florida Panthers are acquiring a former Flyer in that of defenseman Robert Hagg from the Buffalo Sabres, reports Frank Seravalli of The Daily Faceoff.  The pick is expected to be a sixth-round selection in 2022, reports The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun. That pick was originally the Calgary Flames’ selection, but was traded to Florida last year along with Sam Bennett.

The now 27-year old Hagg was once one of the Flyers’ top prospects and has gone on to be a steady defenseman in the NHL. He was traded by the Flyers to the Sabres last summer in the Rasmus Ristolainen trade. This year, Hagg has eight points in 48 games, averaging 17:01 time on ice for the rebuilding Sabres and will now join his former teammate Giroux as additional depth in the wake of Aaron Ekblad’s injury.

Penguins Have Shown Interest In Robert Hagg

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  • The Penguins have shown interest in Sabres defenseman Robert Hagg, reports Josh Yohe of The Athletic (subscription link). Cap space will be an issue for Pittsburgh with all of their current space coming from Jason Zucker who’s on LTIR but will return next month but if Buffalo is able to retain half of Hagg’s $1.6MM AAV, his cap hit would be just above the league minimum which is something they should be able to afford.

Buffalo Sabres “Open” To Bringing Back Craig Anderson

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It’s been quite the career reversal for veteran netminder Craig Anderson. After a reported retirement last season, Anderson may now be returning to the NHL yet again in 2022-23, back with the same team that offered him their starting role last summer. Speaking with both Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams and Anderson, The Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski reports both sides would be interested in a reunion for 2022-23.

Battling through injury, the 40-year-old goalie has had quite the season in Buffalo. He’s been by far the team’s best option this season, and he actually has a record above the .500 mark (10-8-0). The other Sabres goalies have combined for a 10-24-8 mark this year.

Buffalo will have a lot of money to spend in free agency, though, and goaltending is obviously a position they’ll look to upgrade. The team looks to finally carry some positive momentum into the following season, and they’ll likely be at least moderately active in filling out their roster.

But the question remains on whether Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen will be ready for full-time NHL action next season. He’s struggled at times in the minor leagues but has looked more comfortable in NHL action in limited samples. If the best place for Luukkonen is the NHL, is there room for Anderson if the Sabres choose to buy a goalie on the open market?

There may be still, as Anderson’s not only proved a valuable on-ice contributor in Buffalo but he’s been an incredibly positive voice in helping build back a winning culture in Buffalo this season along with other leaders such as Kyle Okposo and Alex Tuch. It very well may be that Father Time hasn’t come for Anderson just yet.

Mark Jankowski Clears Waivers

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March 16: Jankowski has cleared and can now be re-assigned to the AHL.

March 15: The Buffalo Sabres have placed Mark Jankowski on waivers today, according to Chris Johnston of TSN. The move suggests that Zemgus Girgensons is ready to return from injured reserve.

It seems like a decade ago that Jankowski broke out with 17 goals as a rookie, even though it was actually in 2017-18. The 27-year-old forward has fallen off a cliff since then, and has been a healthy scratch for the Sabres over the last few weeks. With just two goals and five points this season, his totals from the past three seasons combined reach just 11 and 23, coming as a part of three different teams.

Now on waivers for the first time in his career, there will be an easy way to tell what kind of value the rest of the league places on the 2012 first-round pick. Jankowski is signed to just a one-year, two-way contract that carries an NHL cap hit of just $750K, one that he didn’t even ink until partway through the season. If there was anyone looking for a depth addition who can play both center and wing, there’s no financial reason why they couldn’t claim him.

Still, given his play so far and the fact that he can’t get into the Buffalo lineup, it seems more likely that he’ll clear and be sent to the minor leagues. Before signing the NHL deal in November, he had 12 points in 13 games for the Rochester Americans.

Snapshots: Draft Capital, Juniors, Anderson

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When it comes to acquiring rentals at the trade deadline, the most used currency is draft picks. Dozens of picks usually change hands, with several first-round selections being tossed around to try and give teams the best chance at the Stanley Cup. This year has an interesting “wrinkle” according to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff, who reports that 2023 selections are seemingly preferred over 2022 picks at the moment.

There’s no doubt that the excitement around next year’s draft is palpable. Not only is there Connor Bedard and Matvei Michkov at the very top (though the latter’s status is a bit complicated by the recent change in the NHL-KHL relationship) but an early feeling that 2023 will be an impressive draft well into the middle rounds. That opinion manifested in a recent trade between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Arizona Coyotes. In it, the Maple Leafs surrendered a conditional pick that is either a 2023 third or 2025 second. Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong even explained at the time that they believed 2023 would be a very strong draft, and that they would take that pick if “the player is there” when the turn comes up.

  • There soon may be another league for scouts to visit, as Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News reports that an announcement on a new junior hockey league based on the west coast is expected tomorrow. The league, yet unnamed, is backed by four NHL franchises and spearheaded, according to Kennedy, by Ben Robert, founding partner of West Coast Hockey Sports and Entertainment. The league would potentially give players from the area an alternative to the USHL or CHL.
  • Craig Anderson is expected to generate some “tire kicking” according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, though the insider notes that it is likely up to the veteran goaltender on whether he goes or stays. Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman also touched on Anderson in the latest 32 Thoughts podcast for Sportsnet, explaining how much the Buffalo Sabres have appreciated his leadership this season. Anderson, 40, has a .907 save percentage in 18 appearances this season, winning career game number 301 on Sunday at the Heritage Classic.

Alex Tuch Leaves Sunday's Game Early

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  • Sabres winger Alex Tuch left today’s game against Los Angeles after crashing into the post. Fortunately, following the game, head coach Don Granato told reporters, including Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News (Twitter link) that the post-game testing was “as positive as it can be”.  Tuch has certainly impressed after being acquired from Vegas and has collected seven goals and 16 assists in 25 games with Buffalo this season.

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