Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Dustin Tokarski

Sabres To Start Year With Three Goalies

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Buffalo Sabres, fresh off signing Rasmus Dahlin to an eight-year extension, are preparing their opening night lineup to start the season later this week. Based on what Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News is reporting, it appears the Sabres plan to start the season with three goaltenders on their NHL roster. At least for the time being.

The Sabres reportedly don’t feel confident that Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is ready to take over the backup role full-time. This means that the club is likely to keep veteran Eric Comrie on their NHL roster as insurance just in case they need to give starter Devon Levi some nights off and Luukkonen isn’t up to the task.

Levi is expected to start the bulk of the games in October for the Sabres, and while carrying three goalies will limit the Sabres flexibility should they need to call up forwards and defenseman, the team feels that Comrie offers them more consistency at this point than Luukkonen does, but lacks the upside that Luukkonen offers the team long term.

It’s a delicate predicament for Buffalo as they are hoping to take a big step this season and reach the playoffs for the first time since 2011. The Sabres want to win now, and Comrie offers them a better shot at that, but Luukkonen has played just one less pro game than the 28-year-old Comrie, and at 24 years of age Luukkonen hasn’t come close to reaching the potential that made him a second-round pick in 2017. Statistically, both men have very similar NHL numbers as they both sport a career .897 save percentage and a goals-against average above 3.30.

The three-goalie solution can’t be the Sabres long-term solution as eventually they will have to add a forward or defenseman and will need to move a goalie off the NHL roster to do so. How they solve that problem will be interesting to see as they could find a trade partner or subject a goalie to waivers and demote them to the AHL. This would create another logjam as the Sabres currently employ Dustin Tokarski and Devin Cooley on two-way contracts for the Rochester Americans.

Waivers: 9/30/23

at CDT | by 1 Comment

With the start of the NHL season now just ten days away, daily waiver activity will be continuing league-wide.  Here is a listing of the players that are on the wire today per various team announcements and TSN’s Chris Johnston (Twitter link).

Buffalo Sabres

G Devin Cooley
F Justin Richards
G Dustin Tokarski

Edmonton Oilers

F Drake Caggiula
F Greg McKegg

Montreal Canadiens

D Nicolas Beaudin
F Lucas Condotta
D Brady Keeper
F Mitchell Stephens

Nashville Predators

F Anthony Angello
D Kevin Gravel
G Troy Grosenick
D Jordan Gross

New York Rangers

F Jake Leschyshyn

Ottawa Senators

F Josh Currie
D Dillon Heatherington
F Garrett Pilon
D Lassi Thomson

While Ottawa’s players were announced as being waived on Friday, it was after the 1 PM CT cut-off which means their waiver clock starts today.

Vegas Golden Knights

F Byron Froese
D/F Mason Geertsen
D Dysin Mayo
F Gage Quinney
F Sheldon Rempal
F Jonas Rondbjerg

Most of the forwards on this list have cleared waivers in the past with Condotta being the lone exception as this is his first time eligible for waivers.  He spent most of last season in the minors but scored in his lone NHL appearance.  Quinney and Rempal were productive in the minors last season, averaging just shy of a point per game while Caggiula had over 50 points as well.

Among the defensemen, Thomson could be one to keep an eye on for a potential claim.  The 23-year-old was the 19th overall pick in 2019 and is still on his entry-level contract.  He hasn’t had much success at the NHL level so far but as a young right-shot defender, a rebuilding team or two might be inclined to take a flyer on him.

Mayo logged nearly 21 minutes a night on the back end for Arizona back in 2021-22 but cleared waivers last season and was eventually traded to Vegas in exchange for Shea Weber’s LTIR-eligible contract.  He has two years left on a one-way deal worth $950K per season which could scare teams off.  Beaudin is a former first-rounder himself back in 2018 (27th overall) but has just 22 NHL games under his belt, none of which came last season between Montreal and Chicago.

Grosenick and Tokarski are no strangers to the waiver wire.  Tokarski has cleared all five times while Grosenick has cleared six out of eight times he has been waived over the years.  This will be Cooley’s first time on waivers but while he had a decent season in Nashville’s system last season (posting a .909 SV% with AHL Milwaukee), it would be surprising to see him picked up.

Each player will be available to teams until 1 PM CT on Sunday.

Buffalo Sabres Sign Devin Cooley, Dustin Tokarski, Justin Richards

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The Buffalo Sabres have inked a pair of goalies today. They’ve signed Devin Cooley to a one-year contract per agent Dan Milstein, and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports they’ve brought back Dustin Tokarski on a one-year, two-way deal worth $775K at the NHL level and $450K at the AHL level. They’ve also signed AHLer Justin Richards to a one-year, two-way $775k deal.

Returning to the Sabres organization, Tokarski spent last season in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization, primarily playing for their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He performed well in the minor leagues, garnering a 2.69 GAA and a .910 SV% in 36 games played. With the organizational depth in goal the Sabres already possess, Tokarski will likely serve as their fourth-string goaltender heading into next season.

In Cooley, much like Tokarski, Buffalo is adding some organizational depth to their AHL team, the Rochester Americans. Cooley was originally an undrafted free agent signed out of the University of Denver by the Nashville Predators. Last year for the Milwaukee Admirals, Cooley didn’t get off to a great start to his career, posting a 9-10-4 record, earning a .898 SV% and a 3.06 GAA in 24 games. This past season was much better for Cooley, as the young netminder carried a 15-8-2 record with a .909 SV% and a 2.93 GAA in 26 games.

As for Richards, he’s a 25-year-old center who scored 39 points in 60 games for the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters last season. He earned two NHL games with Columbus and posted one assist, and should end up a solid contributor in Rochester.

Pittsburgh Penguins Reassign Dustin Tokarski

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Pittsburgh Penguins announced goaltender Dustin Tokarski has been reassigned to the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL. Tokarski had been called up on March 23 on an emergency basis to fill in as the team’s backup when Tristan Jarry missed a game with a lower-body injury.

Jarry was able to return, at least as the backup, for tonight’s game against the Washington Capitals, so Tokarski needed to be sent down. With Jarry back and Casey DeSmith healthy as well, the Penguins have two healthy goaltenders and are no longer eligible to keep Tokarski up on an emergency loan.

The 33 -year-old goaltender has split this season between the NHL and AHL, though he has spent most of the season in the minors. He has appeared in four NHL game for the Penguins, with a 3.44 GAA and a .897 SV%. Meanwhile, he has put up a 2.47 GAA and a .917 SV% in the AHL.

The most interesting note here is that Jarry is healthy enough to suit up. He has battled injuries on numerous occasions this season, and while he is not starting tonight, he would not be sitting on the bench if the team still had questions about his injury status. That is good news for the Penguins who are hanging on to the final widlcard spot in the Eastern Conference.

Pittsburgh Penguins Recall Dustin Tokarski, Filip Hallander

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

With the Pittsburgh Penguins barely holding onto a playoff position, the last thing fans want to see are emergency recalls. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what they received today, as the Penguins announced the call-up of Dustin Tokarski and Filip Hallander from the AHL on an emergency basis.

Shelly Anderson of Pittsburgh Hockey Now reports that head coach Mike Sullivan will speak with the media two hours before tonight’s game against the Dallas Stars.

Pittsburgh is coming off a massive win against the Colorado Avalanche last night, stopping a four-game losing streak that threatened the team’s playoff hopes. With a one-point lead on the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference wild card race, every game seems like a must-win for the Penguins these days.

Casey DeSmith, who is dealing with an illness, was healthy enough to serve as the backup last night, but Tokarski’s recall suggests that Tristan Jarry may have to play back-to-back games, unless there is another injury that has popped up in the hours since leaving Denver.

The minor league veteran does have a .917 save percentage in 29 appearances with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins this year but posted an .897 in four games with Pittsburgh earlier. With so much importance attached to every game at this point, it would be a disappointing outcome to see Tokarski have to carry the load tonight in Dallas.

Pittsburgh Penguins Activate Tristan Jarry

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Pittsburgh Penguins activated starting netminder Tristan Jarry from injured reserve, the team announced Monday afternoon. Goaltender Dustin Tokarski was re-assigned to the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a corresponding transaction.

Jarry is expected to start tonight when the Penguins host the New York Islanders. It will be his first start since January 22, missing the following nine games with an upper-body injury.

Pittsburgh’s been their best with Jarry in goal, and his return couldn’t come at a more important time in the season. The Penguins are surrounded by a tight pool of teams looking to secure Wild Card spots in the Eastern Conference, and the team’s 4-4-2 record in their past ten games can be attributed in part to poor goaltending.

The 27-year-old Jarry has been one of the better netminders in the league this season, boasting a .921 save percentage and a 16-5-5 record. Pittsburgh is below .500 with backups Casey DeSmith and Tokarski in the net.

Tokarski returns to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, where he has a sparkling .920 save percentage in 21 appearances.

Penguins Recall Dustin Tokarski On An Emergency Basis

at CDT | by 3 Comments

It appears that Tristan Jarry won’t be able to return after the All-Star break as the Penguins announced that they’ve recalled goaltender Dustin Tokarski from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on an emergency basis.  He had been sent down late last month when Pittsburgh hit their bye week.

The 33-year-old has made two appearances with Pittsburgh this season, posting a 2.67 GAA and a .915 SV%.  While it’s a small sample size, both marks are better than his career averages of 3.12 and .902 respectively in 78 appearances over nine seasons.  Tokarski has spent the bulk of the campaign in the AHL and has done well with a 2.31 GAA and a .920 SV% in 21 games, numbers that put him in the top eight in both categories.

The Penguins were hoping that Jarry would be able to return from the upper-body injury that has kept him out for the last couple of weeks but that’s unlikely to be the case now.  Instead, it will continue to be Casey DeSmith’s net for the time being as he tries to keep them in the playoff mix.  At the moment, Pittsburgh holds a one-point lead on Buffalo for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.  Their schedule resumes on Tuesday with a matchup against Colorado.

Pittsburgh Penguins Send Two Players To AHL

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

With the Pittsburgh Penguins off through the All-Star break, the team has assigned a pair of players to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL. Forward Jonathan Gruden and goalie Dustin Tokarski will rejoin Pittsburgh’s minor-league affiliate, the team said Sunday morning.

Gruden’s past two weeks on the NHL roster was the first call-up of his career, discounting preseason moves. He played in his first three NHL games on January 16, 18, and 20 and was held off most box-score stats as he averaged just 5:19 of ice time per game.

He was essentially an emergency injury replacement, as many of Pittsburgh’s bottom-six forwards were absent from the lineup with injuries. As players like Ryan Poehling returned to health over the last couple of weeks, Gruden was a scratch for Pittsburgh’s last four games. The 22-year-old natural winger, acquired in the Matt Murray trade from the Ottawa Senators in 2020, returns to Wilkes/Barre-Scranton, where he has 16 points in 32 games this season. Barring more injuries, that’s where he’ll stay for the remainder of the 2022-23 campaign.

Tokarski, on the other hand, is a much more experienced NHLer who could see a recall back to Pittsburgh when the All-Star break concludes, depending on the health of starter Tristan Jarry. Pittsburgh’s recalled Tokarski twice in the past month, once on January 3 and once on January 25, as Jarry’s dealt with injury issues that have kept him out of the lineup for most of the month.

The 33-year-old Tokarski, with 78 NHL games under his belt, is one of the best third-string options available in the league. He served as a full-time backup for the first time in his career last season, posting a 10-12-5 record and a .899 save percentage in 29 appearances with the Buffalo Sabres. Sitting third on the depth chart in Pittsburgh behind Jarry and Casey DeSmith, however, Tokarski’s dominated the minors with a .923 save percentage in 20 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

In two appearances in the NHL this season with Jarry out, Tokarski’s split his decisions with a 1-1-0 record and a .915 save percentage. If Jarry isn’t ready to go by the conclusion of the All-Star break, Tokarski could be in line for some more starts. DeSmith’s play has been subpar since the calendar turned to 2023, going 3-4-2 in 10 games with a .887 save percentage.

 

Pittsburgh Penguins Recall Dustin Tokarski; Reassign Ty Smith

at CDT | by 1 Comment

With Tristan Jarry scratched right before last night’s game, forcing Casey DeSmith into the lineup, the Pittsburgh Penguins have added another goaltender to the roster. Dustin Tokarski is up under emergency conditions, while Jarry’s injury continues to be evaluated.

To make room, it’s Ty Smith going back down despite playing well in his recent opportunity. The young defenseman is still waiver-exempt and can be brought back once Jarry is healthy enough to continue.

Still, it has to be frustrating for Smith, who has averaged over 20 minutes a night during his call-up and has four points in nine games. That still ended up in a few healthy scratches, and with Kris Letang’s return, there is even less room for Smith to get into the lineup.

But the 22-year-old has proven he should be in the NHL. That chance will come again (soon, probably), and Smith will have to be ready for it. Now, he returns to the minor leagues to stay in game shape and continue his strong play for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, where he has 14 points in 26 games this season.

Jeff Petry, Tristan Jarry Activated From Injured Reserve

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Pittsburgh Penguins are getting both Jeff Petry and Tristan Jarry back, activating the pair from injured reserve today. To make cap and roster room for their return, Kris Letang has been moved to long-term injured reserve, Jan Rutta has been moved to regular injured reserve, and Dustin Tokarski and Taylor Fedun have been reassigned to the AHL.

It’s been more than a month since Petry appeared in a Penguins lineup, last playing on December 10 against the Buffalo Sabres. The 35-year-old defenseman had been seeing a ton of ice time for the club, averaging over 26 minutes in the five games previous to his injury. While that kind of usage may not immediately come into play, Petry’s return is an important one for the Penguins, who have struggled to get much consistent offense from their blueline this season.

Despite missing a month, Petry is still just one point behind Marcus Pettersson for second among Penguins defenders and sits ahead of Pierre-Olivier Joseph, Brian Dumoulin, and Rutta, who have all played at least 40 games. The veteran was practicing with the first powerplay unit today, as they await the return of Letang.

Jarry, meanwhile, hasn’t played since being pulled from the Winter Classic after just 15 minutes of action against the Boston Bruins. The 27-year-old netminder had been struggling for a few games before that outdoor action, and now hopefully will get his game back on track after spending the last few weeks on the sideline.

Through 25 appearances, Jarry has posted a .918 save percentage, almost exactly in line with last season’s performance that earned him some down-ballot Vezina consideration. Given his status as a pending unrestricted free agent, Jarry is essentially playing for his next contract and can’t be missing huge chunks of the season if he can help it.

Letang and Rutta have both been moved to injured reserve retroactively, meaning they can return much sooner. Letang’s LTIR stint is backdated to December 28, meaning his 24-day window is almost up. Rutta’s is backdated to January 14, meaning his seven-day minimum is also about to expire.

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

scroll to top