Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Dustin Tokarski

Sabres Reassign Tyson Jost, Dustin Tokarski

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Sabres returned center Tyson Jost and goaltender Dustin Tokarski to the AHL’s Rochester Americans on Friday, per a team statement. In doing so, Buffalo is back below the 23-player roster limit after bringing both players up on emergency loans.

Jost, 25, was recalled on Monday amidst fears of an injury to top-line winger Jeff Skinner, who departed practice with an undisclosed injury that required imaging. Skinner didn’t miss any time and played in both of the Sabres’ games this week against the Panthers and Lightning, so Jost did not play for the first time since being waived in late December.

Buffalo had Tokarski join the team in Tampa for precautionary measures while an illness was running through the group, allowing them to have a third goalie on hand in case Eric Comrie or Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen became unavailable. He did not dress for last night’s overtime win, though; only veteran defenseman Erik Johnson could not dress due to illness.

Both players have struggled in the minors after previously holding full-time roles for Buffalo in recent years. Jost had just four points in 29 NHL games with a -7 rating after signing a one-year, $2MM deal to remain in Buffalo last summer, and has three goals and 13 points in 23 games for Rochester since his reassignment. While solid, it’s not the type of production the Sabres were hoping for from a player selected with the 10th overall pick in 2016.

Tokarski has settled firmly into an AHL role after making some noise as Buffalo’s backup goalie a few seasons ago. The 34-year-old Saskatchewan native has a 3.32 GAA, .892 SV%, and 7-7-3 record in 18 games for Rochester and has not seen NHL action this season.

Sabres Recall Dustin Tokarski

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Sabres have recalled netminder Dustin Tokarski from the AHL’s Rochester Americans, according to a team announcement Sunday.

It’s unclear why the Sabres added a third goalie to the roster ahead of tonight’s game against the Lightning. Tokarski has joined the team in Tampa Bay, but multiple reports from practice indicate that expected starter Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and backup Eric Comrie are both present.

Additionally, Buffalo does not have an open roster spot. They will need to remove someone from the active roster to recall Tokarski, which will likely come in the form of an injured reserve placement. Defenseman Erik Johnson is not with the team at practice this morning after playing just 3:31 against the Panthers on Tuesday, per WGR Sports Radio 550’s Paul Hamilton.

The 34-year-old Tokarski has been recalled multiple times this season after the Sabres opted to keep top prospect Devon Levi in Rochester for the rest of the year, but he hasn’t seen any NHL action. He’s struggled in the minors this year, posting a 7-7-3 record and .892 SV% behind a strong Rochester team. Levi, in contrast, has a .924 SV% in his 13 AHL showings this year.

Tokarski has mainly served as AHL depth throughout his professional career but did have time as a full-time backup in Buffalo from 2020 to 2022. He’s made 67 starts and 13 relief appearances since making his major-league debut in 2010, compiling a 23-34-12 record, 3.15 GAA, and .902 SV% with Buffalo, Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, Anaheim, and Montreal.

Evening Notes: Tokarski, Jankowski, Barabanov

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Buffalo Sabres have loaned netminder Dustin Tokarski to the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League just a few days after recalling the 34-year-old. Tokarski was recalled and reassigned last week before being recalled again over the weekend due to an illness to Sabres backup Eric Comrie.

Tokarski backed up Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s today in a 4-3 loss to the Anaheim Ducks and was nearly summoned to play as Luukkonen struggled stopping just 11 of 15 shots in the loss. Tokarski hasn’t played in an NHL game since February 18th, 2023, and is 7-7-2 with a .887 save percentage in 17 AHL games this season.

In other evening notes:

  • A day after sending forward Mark Jankowski to the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL, the Nashville Predators have recalled the 29-year-old. Jankowski has a goal in five games this season in the NHL but is currently third in AHL scoring with 15 goals and 32 assists in 40 games. He was named the AHL’s Player of the Month for January and will now re-join the Predators as they continue their five-game road trip tomorrow night in Vegas when they take on the Golden Knights.
  • The San Jose Sharks healthy scratched forward Alexander Barabanov today in their 4-0 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. The 29-year-old has seen his name in trade rumors over the last few months despite struggling through a poor offensive season with just three goals and six assists in 34 games. Barabanov has put together a couple of solid offensive seasons in San Jose but hasn’t had the same quality of teammates this year which has led to poor offensive results. Barabanov is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, but it doesn’t appear he was held out of action for a pending trade. Based on reports, it seems as though Barabanov was scratched for his defensive play in a previous game.

Sabres Notes: Power, Clague, Tokarski, Comrie

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Sabres moved defenseman Owen Power to IR on Monday, per the NHL’s media site. Power, 21, has already missed three games with a hand injury and remains listed as week-to-week

Assuming the IR placement is retroactive to Feb. 13, when the Sabres confirmed he sustained the injury in practice, he would be eligible to return Wednesday against the Canadiens. He’s likely to miss a little more time than that, though, and this roster move is for the purpose of opening up a roster spot more than anything else.

The 2021 first-overall pick hasn’t shown massive development from last year’s solid rookie campaign, but he’s not having a sophomore slump, either. He remains on track to be a long-term fixture in the Sabres’ top four and has been one of their best two-way defenders this season, recording 18 points and a +3 rating in 51 games while averaging 22:27 per game. He’s taken a significant step forward defensively, being on the ice for 0.74 expected goals against per game at even strength compared to last year’s 1.04 mark, per Hockey Reference, although it’s come at the expense of some offense.

The 6-foot-6 Mississauga native is signed to a seven-year, $58.45MM extension that begins next season. He will be eligible for unrestricted free agency in 2031.

More from the Sabres to open the week:

  • Power’s roster spot is going to defenseman Kale Clague, who the Sabres have recalled from AHL Rochester on an emergency basis, per a team announcement Monday. Buffalo recalled Clague under emergency conditions before Saturday’s overtime win over the Wild, but he was returned to Rochester after serving as a healthy scratch. Clague will likely be a scratch again against the Ducks on Monday but is an option to play if there’s an unexpected scratch. The 25-year-old has 23 points and a -8 rating in 42 games with Rochester.
  • Also coming up to the active roster is netminder Dustin Tokarski, who will back up Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen against Anaheim on Monday, head coach Don Granato says (via Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550). Eric Comrie is unavailable with an illness and will be scratched. Tokarksi was summoned last Thursday to back up Comrie against the Panthers while Luukkonen was sidelined with a lower-body injury, but was returned to Rochester after Luukkonen was cleared to play over the weekend. The 34-year-old Tokarski has struggled in the minors this year, posting a .887 SV% in 17 games.

Sabres Recall Kale Clague, Reassign Dustin Tokarski

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Sabres have recalled defenseman Kale Clague from AHL Rochester, per a team release Friday morning. In a corresponding transaction, Buffalo returned goaltender Dustin Tokarski to Rochester after they summoned him on an emergency loan yesterday.

This recall is the 25-year-old Clague’s second of the season. Buffalo added him to the roster on an emergency basis for a Jan. 15 game against the Sharks, but he did not play.

Now in his second season with the Sabres organization, Clague is second on Rochester in assists with 20 in 41 games and leads Amerks defensemen in points with 23. His 52 PIMs this season are the most he’s had since his junior hockey days with the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings.

A second-round pick of the Kings in 2016, Clague’s tenure in Los Angeles ended when he was claimed off waivers by the Canadiens in December 2021. He didn’t do enough in 25 games with Montréal to end the 2021-22 season to convince them to give him a qualifying offer, thus reaching unrestricted free agency sooner than expected after his age-23 season.

The Sabres have since picked him up on two straight one-year, two-way deals, and he’s settled into the ninth spot on their defensive depth chart. An unexpected rookie showing from Ryan Johnson has limited his call-up opportunities, although he remains a dependable third-pairing option if needed. He struggled to control shot quality when handed some tougher matchups alongside Owen Power last season, controlling only 41.7% of expected goals in 27 games together, per MoneyPuck.

Clague will draw in only if injuries require it. With the Sabres heading on a one-game road trip to Minnesota and Power unavailable with a suspected hand injury, the Sabres opted to carry a seventh healthy defenseman.

Tokarski returns to the minors after backing up Eric Comrie in last night’s 4-0 loss to the Panthers. His reassignment suggests that Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, a late scratch with a lower-body injury yesterday, will return against the Wild tomorrow. The 34-year-old Tokarski is backing up top prospect Devon Levi in Rochester, where he’s struggled with a .888 SV% and a 7-7-2 record in 16 games.

Sabres Notes: Tokarski, Luukkonen, Quinn

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Buffalo Sabres have recalled goaltender Dustin Tokarski from the Rochester Americans of the AHL. The 34-year-old has yet to play in the NHL this year and has sat fourth on the Sabres goaltending depth chart this season. The veteran of 80 NHL games will split duties with Eric Comrie for the time being as the Sabres have opted to leave youngster Devon Levi in the AHL.

A standout junior goalie in the WHL with the Spokane Chiefs, Tokarski has never been able to put it together in the NHL. He last dressed for an NHL game nearly a year ago to the day for the Pittsburgh Penguins surrendering four goals on 42 shots in a 5-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils. This season in the AHL, the native of Watson, Saskatchewan has struggled to a 7-7-2 record with an .888 save percentage and a 3.47 goals-against average.

In other Sabres notes:

  • Another Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is day-to-day after suffering a lower-body injury during the team’s morning skate. The 24-year-old was slated to start his fifth straight game tonight but will be sidelined for a few days. Luukkonen has started 10 of Buffalo’s last 11 games and is coming off his fourth shutout of the season on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Kings. The native of Espoo, Finland is 13-13-2 this season with a 2.51 goals against average and a .913 save percentage.
  • The Sabres also placed forward Jack Quinn on the injured reserve today with a lower-body injury. The 22-year-old underwent surgery on January 29th and is expected to be out for eight weeks meaning that his IR placement won’t affect a potential return when he is ready to get back into the lineup. The Ottawa, Ontario native has struggled with injuries this season and has played just 17 games. He was heating up before the injury with four points in his last two games and had been productive most of the season, posting five goals and seven assists.

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.

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

scroll to top