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Mattias Samuelsson

Atlantic Notes: Klingberg, McMann, Benoit, Korpisalo, Samuelsson

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Maple Leafs defenseman John Klingberg will meet with a doctor in New York this week to determine whether surgery is required to correct his nagging hip injury, GM Brad Treliving informed the media Monday afternoon (via David Alter of Sports Illustrated/The Hockey News).

Klingberg, 31, has missed five out of the last six games with the injury and is currently on long-term injured reserve retroactive to November 11. The soonest he can return to the lineup is December 12 against the Rangers. However, all indications point to a more prolonged absence regardless of the clarity gleaned from his appointment this week. While Klingberg has reportedly been battling various hip issues for multiple seasons, Treliving confirmed Klingberg sustained a specific injury on October 19 versus the Panthers, keeping him out of the lineup. Klingberg did not miss any games immediately after sustaining the injury.

A free-agent signing by the Maple Leafs last summer, Klingberg’s presence in the lineup quickly deteriorated after a strong showing in the team’s season opener against the Canadiens. After notching two points, a +1 rating, and over 24 minutes of ice time in his Toronto debut, his defensive game again lapsed significantly. It caused head coach Sheldon Keefe to reduce his ice time gradually gradually. He has five assists through 14 games this season, and his 0.35 points per game mark is by far the worst of his NHL career. He is averaging under 21 minutes per game for a second straight season after skating over that mark in eight consecutive seasons to begin his career.

Other snapshots from the Atlantic Division:

  • Sticking with Toronto, depth forward Bobby McMann and defenseman Simon Benoit took line rushes with the Maple Leafs at practice today, Alter reports. This suggests both players will be recalled from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies before tomorrow’s game against the Panthers. In recent days, McMann and Benoit have repeatedly been ferried between leagues to extend their waiver-exempt period. Both players were placed on waivers before the start of the season, allowing the Maple Leafs to assign each player to the AHL freely until each spends 30 days on the NHL roster or plays ten games. While McMann took reps as a healthy scratch in practice today, Benoit skated on the third pairing alongside Conor Timmins and could re-enter the lineup. The 25-year-old has played six games this season, recording a +2 rating, five shots on goal, and a strong Corsi share of 57.4% at even strength while averaging 13:13 per game.
  • Senators goalie Joonas Korpisalo will be an option in goal against the Panthers tonight, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch relays. After making 37 saves on 41 shots in the Senators’ first Global Series game against the Red Wings on November 16, Korpisalo sat out the second overseas contest against the Wild as well as last Friday’s game against the Islanders with a minor undisclosed ailment which the team described as general soreness. This was an expected development after the Senators returned top goalie prospect Mads Søgaard to the minors yesterday. The 29-year-old is improving after a rocky start to his Senators career, solidifying himself as the team’s number-one option with a 5-4-0 record, .906 SV%, and 1.3 goals saved above average through ten starts.
  • Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson will be a game-time decision tonight against the Rangers as he deals with an upper-body injury, head coach Don Granato told reporters this morning (via Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News). The oft-injured blueliner left Saturday’s blowout loss to the Devils after taking a stick to the face and receiving multiple stitches to repair a cut on his lower lip, which is still causing him significant pain. Per Granato, he was held out of the remainder of the contest to clear concussion protocol. If Samuelsson does not play tonight, it will be his second injury-related absence of the season. A lower-body issue cost him three games at the beginning of the month. The 23-year-old is averaging a diminished 19:27 per game this season through 18 games, recording one goal, two assists, a -1 rating, and a middling Corsi share of 47.6% at even strength.

Sabres Notes: Tuch, Savoie, Cozens, Samuelsson

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Buffalo Sabres winger Alex Tuch is listed as questionable for Friday’s game against the Minnesota Wild, head coach Don Granato said today. Granato said Tuch has been dealing with some “soreness,” explaining a rash of missed practices lately, and will likely only play one of two games of their back-to-back today and tomorrow.

Tuch, 27, has rebounded nicely after a slow start to the season. Recently reunited with Jeff Skinner and Tage Thompson on the team’s top line after some shuffling, Tuch has three goals and six points in his last five contests and has seen his ice time creep north of 20 minutes in the previous two games. He’s also dominating possession, recording a career-high relative Corsi share of 6.3% at even strength.

His potential absence has created some opportunity for 2022 ninth-overall pick Matthew Savoie, who Granato says will make his NHL debut Friday regardless of Tuch’s status. Savoie had a strong rookie camp but sustained a shoulder injury that kept him out for most of the preseason and the first few weeks of October. He returned to action later in the month when the Sabres assigned him to the AHL’s Rochester Americans on a conditioning stint, during which he racked up two goals and three assists in six games. The Sabres recalled him from his conditioning stint earlier this week, although he was a healthy scratch for Tuesday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Other Sabres items of interest:

  • Granato confirmed that center Dylan Cozens is returning to the lineup Friday after missing two games with an upper-body injury. Cozens sustained the injury in a fight with Philadelphia Flyers winger Garnet Hathaway late in a 5-1 loss one week ago today. The 22-year-old has three goals and four assists through 11 contests this season after breaking out for 31 goals and 68 points in 2022-23. Cozens and Savoie entering the lineup tonight means one or two out of Tyson Jost, Victor Olofsson and Lukáš Rousek will sit, depending on Tuch’s availability.
  • Lastly, Granato said defenseman Mattias Samuelsson could return to the lineup for Saturday’s road tilt against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Samuelsson will miss a third straight game with a lower-body injury tonight, which was sustained in the first period of last Friday’s loss to the Flyers. Samuelsson’s play has been okay this season after signing a seven-year, $30MM extension, recording four points through 11 games and a Corsi share of 48% at even strength. His impending return means rookie Ryan Johnson will likely return to AHL Rochester tomorrow after a three-game trial with the big club.

Sabres Place Mattias Samuelsson On IR, Recall Ryan Johnson

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Mattias Samuelsson’s lower-body injury from last night’s game against Philadelphia will keep him out for at least a week as he has been placed on injured reserve.  Taking his place on the roster will be Ryan Johnson who has been recalled per the AHL’s transactions log.

Samuelsson was averaging over 21 minutes a night heading into last night’s game (third among Sabres blueliners) while being a key cog on Buffalo’s penalty kill.  He has a goal and two assists plus 25 hits and 25 blocks through his first 11 games of the season and his absence will certainly be notable inside their top four.  The 23-year-old is in the first season of a seven-year, $30MM contract that was signed a little over a year ago when he had less than 60 games of NHL experience under his belt.

As for Johnson, he is in his first professional season after wrapping up his college career last year at the University of Minnesota.  He had 18 points in 40 games for the Golden Gophers, giving him 59 points in 143 contests over his four seasons there.

The 2019 first-round pick is off to a decent start with AHL Rochester, notching four assists in his first nine games and now has a chance to get his first taste of NHL action.  If he doesn’t take Samuelsson’s spot in the lineup, Jacob Bryson would be next in line after being healthy scratched on Friday.

Sabres Notes: Savoie, Olofsson, Samuelsson, Levi

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With Matthew Savoie’s conditioning stint coming to an end shortly, the Sabres will have a decision to make with the young forward.  Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News suggests that Buffalo will promote the 19-year-old and start his nine-game stint, delaying his likely return to junior.  Savoie is doing well in the minors with five points in as many games but is ineligible to play there full-time this season.

However, they’ll need to open up a roster spot to do so.  While returning Lukas Rousek to AHL Rochester is the easiest option, Harrington proposes that waiving Victor Olofsson might make more sense.  With a $4.75MM cap hit, he’s a lock to pass through unclaimed, allowing the Sabres an opportunity to give Rousek (who is part of their future) a longer look.  Olofsson has been scratched in five games so far this season and has been held without a point in the six contests he has played in.

More from Buffalo:

  • The team announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Mattias Samuelsson suffered a lower-body injury in the first period of last night’s loss to Philadelphia; head coach Don Granato didn’t have an update on his status post-game. The 23-year-old has been his usual steady self in the early going this season, notching three points along with 25 hits and 25 blocks in his first eleven appearances while averaging over 21 minutes of ice time per night before Friday’s contest.  If he’s going to be out for a while, an IR placement would also open a roster spot for Savoie’s promotion although it’d leave the Sabres with only six healthy blueliners.
  • Goaltender Devon Levi is expected to start tonight against Toronto, relays Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald. The 21-year-old has missed a little over two weeks with a lower-body injury.  Levi had gotten off to a bit of a slow start this season, posting a 3.26 GAA with a .892 SV% in his first four appearances.  Buffalo never moved Levi to IR during the injury so no corresponding roster move needs to be made.

East Notes: Anderson, Stamkos, Guhle, Samuelsson, Bonino

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The Ottawa Senators are expected to sign free agent netminder Craig Anderson to a one-day contract to officially retire as a Sen, TSN’s Darren Dreger reports Thursday morning. It will likely come Tuesday, October 24, when the Senators host the Sabres, Anderson’s most recent team.

Anderson is arguably the best netminder in Senators history and certainly the longest-serving starter. After coming over via trade from the Avalanche in 2011, Anderson would go on to record a 202-168-46 record, a .914 save percentage and 28 shutouts in 422 starts and 13 relief appearances. He’s most remembered from the team’s storybook 2016-17 campaign when Anderson returned from a lengthy leave of absence to be with his wife, Nicholle, who was battling cancer. He recorded a sparkling .922 save percentage in the postseason as he guided the Sens to the Eastern Conference Final, losing to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins in overtime in Game 7.

He departed the Sens in free agency in 2020, serving as the Capitals’ taxi squad netminder for the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign before heading to the Sabres for the final two seasons of his 20-year, 709-game career. While there was never an official announcement, it became clear at the end of last season that Anderson would not return for a 21st year. PHR wishes him and his family the best in his post-playing career and looks forward to providing more coverage of Anderson’s career when an official announcement is made.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference today:

  • Lightning captain Steven Stamkos told reporters today he expects to make his return to the lineup Thursday night against the Canucks (via the Tampa Bay Times’ Eduardo A. Encina). Stamkos missed the last two games with a lower-body injury after a hot start to the season, already potting two goals and two assists in two contests. His return couldn’t come at a better time for the struggling Lightning, who begin a crucial five-game homestand tonight after going 0-2-1 on an early road trip against key divisional rivals.
  • The Canadiens announced Thursday that defenseman Kaiden Guhle is day-to-day with an upper-body injury, likely a wrist ailment. Guhle left Tuesday’s 5-2 drubbing at the hands of the Wild with the injury and has not practiced since. There was some concern in Habs circles that Guhle’s absence would be longer-term, but he appears to have avoided the worst. It’s the second injury to a core Habs player in a matter of days after a dual ACL-MCL injury costed center Kirby Dach the remainder of his 2023-24 season. Guhle, 21, had notched an assist and a +4 rating in three contests, the latter being the second-highest on the team behind Johnathan Kovacevic. Another 21-year-old defender, Justin Barron, is expected to make his season debut Saturday against the Capitals with Guhle out of commission.
  • In more positive news, Sabres head coach Don Granato said today that defenseman Mattias Samuelsson has avoided any further absence after leaving Tuesday’s win over the Lightning in the third period and will dress Thursday against the Flames. Samuelsson left the game with an upper-body injury but participated in morning skate today and seems no worse for wear. The 23-year-old is in the first season of a seven-year, $30MM extension signed just over a year ago and leads Sabres defenders with a +2 rating through three contests, adding one assist while averaging over 20 minutes per game.
  • After being listed as day-to-day yesterday morning, Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette says center Nick Bonino will be a game-time decision for tonight’s tilt against the Predators. Bonino, who’s still looking for his first point as a Ranger, is dealing with a lower-body injury. The 35-year-old joined the Rangers on a one-year, $800K deal during free agency and has anchored their fourth line alongside a mixture of Barclay Goodrow, Tyler Pitlick and Jimmy Vesey to begin the season.

Evening Injuries: Vilardi, Samuelsson, Guhle

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For the first time since being acquired from the Winnipeg Jets this offseason, forward Gabriel Vilardi would take on his former team, the Los Angeles Kings. Unfortunately, Vilardi would only play around six minutes of the game before leaving with an apparent knee injury. Shortly thereafter, the Jets would announce that Vilardi would miss the rest of the game, and more would be known about the severity after the game.

Playing in their defensive zone early on the first, as they were both going into the corner, forward for the Kings, Blake Lizotte, appeared to get his stick behind the left leg of Vilardi, causing him to fall awkwardly on his right knee. Without the ability to put much pressure on his right leg after the fall, Vilardi immediately bolted for the locker room, where he is being attended to by team doctors (Link to video).

Although it is too early to tell, if Vilardi is set to miss significant time for the Jets, it would obviously be a big blow to both him and the team. There have been injury concerns for Vilardi in the past, but with him now playing on the top line in Winnipeg, it creates a much larger hole to fill. As it is well known throughout the league, Conor Garland of the Vancouver Canucks is on the trade block and could be a potential landing spot if Vilardi is set to hit the LTIR.

Other injuries:

  • The Buffalo Sabres announced that defenseman Mattias Samuelsson would sit out the remainder of the game against the Tampa Bay Lightning with an upper-body injury. Although the Sabres did add defensemen Connor Clifton and Erik Johnson to significantly improve the team’s defense, as far as the ability to shut down the opposing team’s forwards, Samuelsson is one of the best on the team. In the first season of a seven-year, $30MM contract extension signed at the start of last year, it would be a significant hurdle for Buffalo if Samuelsson is set to miss any time beyond tonight.
  • In one of the more chaotic games of the young season, the Montreal Canadiens announced that defenseman Kaiden Guhle would miss the rest of the team’s game against the Minnesota Wild after leaving late in the second period. In total tonight, before leaving the losing effort, Guhle played just over 10 minutes of action, taking one slashing penalty against Marcus Johansson.

Sabres Sign Rasmus Dahlin To Eight-Year Deal

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The Buffalo Sabres kicked off the week by announcing a highly anticipated eight-year extension with star defenseman Rasmus Dahlin. The long-term deal will begin in the 2024-25 season and will carry run until 2032. The Sabres have now locked up a core piece of their back end through the bulk of his prime as Dahlin will be 32 years old when this extension expires. Early indications are that the deal will carry an $11MM AAV.

The $88MM extension will be tied for the second-highest cap hit among defensemen with Los Angeles Kings defender Drew Doughty. Their salary cap hits trail only Erik Karlsson and his $11.5MM price tag. It’s a big price to pay for the Sabres as it puts Dahlin into another salary stratosphere alongside two defensemen who have arguably failed to live up to their large salaries. The key difference between Doughty/Karlsson and Dahlin is that the Sabres are locking up the 23-year-old through his entire prime. While Doughty and Karlsson are still terrific players, they were paid largely for past performances.

Dahlin had a career year last season posting 15 goals and 58 assists in 78 games all while logging 25:48 of ice time a night. He finished fifth among NHL defensemen with 73 points, one of the highest scoring rankings ever by a Sabres defenseman. On the defensive side of things, the 2018 first-overall pick finished second on the Sabres in hits and led the team in blocked shots, a testament to his improved defensive capabilities that finally seem to be catching up to his elite offensive ability.

Many skeptics will point to the $11MM AAV and call the deal an overpay for the Sabres, and at first glance, it does seem steep. The closest comparable to Dahlin’s deal would be Charlie McAvoy’s eight-year deal with a $9.5MM cap hit that was signed in October 2021, or the eight-year deal that Mikhail Sergachev signed in July 2022 that carries an $8.5MM cap number. Those deals, while both massive bargains today, were signed at a time when the offensive upside of both players was more of an unknown. Prior to signing his eight-year deal, Sergachev had topped 40 points only once in his career, while McAvoy had never topped 32 points when he signed his long-term extension. Dahlin is in a different category as he has averaged well over 40 points a season and is now rounding into form defensively.

Critics might also point to Jake Sanderson’s recent extension for $8MM per year with the Ottawa Senators, but again the context is important to understand Dahlin’s deal. Sanderson has one season of NHL experience, while Dahlin has five. Sanderson posted 32 points last season, while Dahlin has routinely posted over 40 points a season. Dahlin’s contract is also buying out more unrestricted free-agent seasons, which typically cost more than restricted free-agent seasons.

With Dahlin’s long-rumored extension finally complete, Dahlin now joins Dylan Cozens, Tage Thompson, and fellow defenseman Mattias Samuelsson – all of whom signed long-term extensions since the start of last season. The Sabres are expected to compete for a playoff spot this season as they finally emerge from a long rebuild.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.

East Injury Notes: Bergeron, Lafferty, Samuelsson

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Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney inferred on Sunday that team captain Patrice Bergeron will be a game-time decision for Game 1 of the team’s first-round playoff series against the Florida Panthers tomorrow. Sweeney confirmed that Bergeron, 37, had been dealing with both an illness and an injury. He also stated that the veteran center “doesn’t need extra days of practice” to prepare for the upcoming matchup. Bergeron recorded 27 goals and 31 assists in 78 games during the Bruins’ record-breaking regular season.

The team will likely leave the decision up to their captain, with Sweeney telling reporters, “if [Bergeron’s] feeling well enough, he’ll play.” If Bergeron cannot play, Pavel Zacha has taken line rushes between Brad Marchand and Jake DeBrusk on the Bruins’ top line during practice this weekend.

Other injury notes from the Eastern Conference on Sunday:

  • Toronto Maple Leafs forward Sam Lafferty has returned to the team after missing the last three games of the regular season due to an undisclosed injury. He was seen back on the ice at practice today, as reported by TSN’s Mark Masters, indicating his potential readiness for Game 1 against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday. Lafferty’s return provides a boost to the Leafs’ depth heading into the playoffs, recording six points in 19 games down the stretch after arriving via trade from the Chicago Blackhawks.
  • Buffalo Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson played through a broken hand and a sprained MCL towards the end of the season, according to a tweet from The Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski. Despite the injuries, Samuelsson appeared in all but three of the Sabres’ final 10 games. The 23-year-old defenseman averaged over 22 minutes per game this season and led Sabres defensemen with a +14 rating.

Snapshots: Wisconsin, Sabres, Perunovich, Krys

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The Wisconsin Badgers have announced the hiring of new head coach Mike Hastings. Most recently, Hastings had been the head coach of the Minnesota State Mavericks.

Since he took over as head coach during the 2012-13 season, Hastings led Minnesota State to eight appearances in the NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament, topping out in a finals appearance against the eventual champion Denver University Pioneers last season. In total, Hastings will leave the state of hockey with a 299-109-25 record. In Wisconsin, he will be replacing the vacancy left by NHL veteran Tony Granato.

Since Granato took over for Wisconsin before the 2016-17 season, the team went 105-129-16, ending up in the NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament one time in 2021. As the Big Ten already features top teams such as the University of Michigan Wolverines and the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers, it appears that Wisconsin is looking to turn the corner and become a competitive team once again.

More from around hockey this afternoon:

  • Bill Hoppe, a beat writer for the Buffalo Sabres, gave several updates on some key injuries to the lineup before tomorrow night’s game against the New York Rangers. As top prospect Devon Levi looks to make his NHL debut, Hoppe writes that forwards Tage Thompson and Jordan Greenway, as well as defenseman Mattias Samuelsson could all see their return to the lineup the same night. Currently, the Sabres sit five points back of the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with nine games remaining in the regular season.
  • Speaking with St.Louis Blues head coach Craig Berube today, Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic reports that St.Louis defenseman Scott Perunovich will finish his season with the Springfield Thunderbirds, the Blues AHL affiliate. Since being activated from LTIR on February 20th of this season, Perunovich has scored one goal and 10 assists for the Thunderbirds in 17 games.
  • Contributor for the NHL, Mark Divver reports that now-former Brown University captain Luke Krys will be transferring to Providence College for the 2023-24 NCAA season. In his 92 games playing at Brown, Krys scored nine goals and 29 assists, wearing a letter in his final two seasons.

Mattias Samuelsson Listed As Week-To-Week

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The Buffalo Sabres reported on Sunday morning that defenseman Mattias Samuelsson will be listed as week-to-week with an upper-body injury after the team’s overtime loss to the New York Rangers last night. Already without top defenseman Rasmus Dahlin in the lineup, the Sabres will once again be looking for different players to step up on their back end in the team’s pursuit of a playoff spot.

Unlike Dahlin, Samuelsson is not known for his offensive prowess coming from the blue line. Drafted 32nd overall by the Sabres in the 2018 NHL draft, Samuelsson has become a very serviceable defenseman for Buffalo. With only eight points so far this season, before the injury, Samuelsson was well on his way to recording over 100 blocks and 100 hits this season. Becoming one of the more physical players on the Sabres’ back end, the team rewarded his work ethic with a 7-year, $30MM contract extension which will kick in next year.

Thankfully for Sabres fans, Scott Harrington of TBN Sports reports that head coach Don Granato clarified it is not a season-ending injury for Samuelsson. As the Sabres continue their hunt towards making the playoffs for the first time since the 2010-11 season, they will be without one of their most physical players for the foreseeable future.

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