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Mattias Samuelsson

Snapshots: Three Stars, Heinola, Samuelsson

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The NHL released its Three Stars for last week, and first place went to one of the game’s legendary players. Sidney Crosby is back on top after scoring 11 points in four Pittsburgh Penguins matches, passing Bryan Trottier for 17th on the all-time points list. With 64 more points, he will become just the 15th player in NHL history to record 1,500 in a career.

Second and third place went to Pavel Buchnevich and Martin Jones, respectively, after their own impressive weeks. The St. Louis Blues forward had seven points in four games to help power the incredible turnaround that now has them on a six-game winning streak and sitting fourth in the Central Division. Jones, meanwhile continued his resurgent season and now carries a .913 save percentage through 15 appearances.

  • The squeaky wheel is getting some grease in Winnipeg, where the Jets will dress Ville Heinola for the first time this season. Earlier this month, Heinola’s agent publicly requested some additional playing time for his client, who has been stuck in limbo somewhere between leagues for much of his professional career. Now 21, Heinola has seven points in 11 games for the Manitoba Moose but will make his season debut against the Carolina Hurricanes tonight, according to Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun.
  • Speaking of getting a defenseman into the lineup, the Buffalo Sabres are expecting to have Mattias Samuelsson dressed tomorrow night. The team has gone into a tailspin since he was injured earlier this season and is currently on an eight-game losing streak. Buffalo went 4-1 with Samuelsson, who signed a seven-year extension in early October.

Buffalo Sabres Considering Depth Addition

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The Buffalo Sabres lost Mattias Samuelsson and Henri Jokiharju within a few days of each other, suddenly robbing their defensive group of much of its depth. The good news, as general manager Kevyn Adams told reporters including Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News, is that while Samuelsson will miss several weeks, he will not need surgery. Jokiharju meanwhile is week-to-week with a fracture from taking a puck to the face.

With that in mind, Adams explained that the team is considering adding an NHL-level defenseman of some kind, but downplayed the significance of any such move. It won’t be a big change (if one comes at all) but the Sabres are in an interesting situation when it comes to additions like this.

With so much cap space available – the team is still ~$20MM under the ceiling – they could afford to add a bad contract from another team looking for space, with a sweetener to go with it. While it might look odd to add a big ticket for just a few weeks of depth play until Samuelsson and Jokiharju come back, weaponizing the cap space the team has right now can be an effective way to make sure their window is open even longer down the road.

Remember, that cap space isn’t going to be there forever in Buffalo. The team has big extensions kicking in for Tage Thompson and Samuelsson next season and has Dylan Cozens to sign next summer. The following year, Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, Jacob Bryson, and Peyton Krebs are all up for new deals, meaning that extra breathing room is going to disappear quickly.

It’s an enviable position to be in, not needing to make a big move but having the capacity to help out another team. While they obviously want their young studs back in the lineup, Adams has all the leverage here in any negotiations as he calls around the league.

Snapshots: Samuelsson, Bear, Wright

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Buffalo Sabres fans held their breath last night when freshly extended defenseman Mattias Samuelsson went down with an injury in their game against Vancouver. Now, The Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski reports that Samuelsson avoided a long-term injury but is still set to miss at least “a few weeks,” joining Henri Jokiharju on the list of injured Sabres top-four defensemen.

An exact timeline won’t be had on Samuelsson until the team returns to Buffalo, head coach Don Granato said today, and the injury will force some depth defenders to shine in order for Buffalo to keep up its strong start. Lawrence Pilut will make his season debut in the team’s next game after two seasons overseas, and free-agent acquisition Ilya Lyubushkin will be tasked with replacing Samuelsson as the defensive anchor on the top pairing alongside the red-hot Rasmus Dahlin.

  • It’s no secret the Canucks are in trouble, winless so far to start the year. With injuries and general positional depth weakness hampering their defense, the team has been looking to add, and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on 32 Thoughts that the team has checked in on defenseman Ethan Bear as a potential trade acquisition. Bear, the 25-year-old right-shot defenseman, has been thrust down the depth chart in Carolina and has yet to appear in a game this season. The Hurricanes were shopping him prior to the season’s start, and the Canucks have more than enough room thanks to LTIR to accommodate his $2.2MM cap hit. He still has some upside and could provide some better matchups once Quinn Hughes returns to the lineup.
  • Sportsnet’s Jason Bukala ponders whether the Seattle Kraken may opt to send Shane Wright back to the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs after an unimpactful start to the season. Wright hasn’t received many opportunities, he has shown smooth skating and pace, but Bukala points out that Wright’s had some positional issues defensively and may need a bit more development before being able to execute his playstyle properly at the NHL level.

Buffalo Sabres Recall Kale Clague

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Amid a brief wave of injuries to their defenseman, the Buffalo Sabres announced that they have recalled defenseman Kale Clague from the Rochester Americans of the AHL. No corresponding move has been announced. The Sabres, who have $19MM in cap space, didn’t make the move for any cap purposes, but instead had a spot to give after Mattias Samuelsson left last night’s game with a lower-body injury. Though not specified in the Sabres announcement, Samuelsson has been placed on IR reports Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News.

Buffalo is clearly having itself a tough weekend on the injury front, losing not only Samuelsson, but defenseman Henri Jokiharju as well, who was placed on IR on Friday with an upper-body injury. In response to that injury, the Sabres recalled defenseman Lawrence Pilut from Rochester the same day. Should they play, Pilut and Clague will have a chance to make an impact on a Buffalo team that appears to finally be turning a corner, off to a 4-1-0 start early on this season.

If and when Clague plays, it’ll be his first game in a Sabres sweater. The 24-year-old was originally a 2016 draft pick of the Los Angeles Kings, where he played parts of three seasons before the Montreal Canadiens selected him off waivers last December. Montreal failed to quality him this summer, and he hit the free agent market, where the Sabres signed him to a one-year, two-way contract. This season, Clague has three points, all assists in five games at the AHL level. For his NHL career, he has 16 points in 58 games.

As much as these injuries impact the Sabres, they can be felt in Rochester too. With Pilut and Clague making the trip up the road from Rochester to Buffalo, the Americans are out a pair of defensemen themselves. As a result, the team appears to have recalled defenseman Zach Berzolla from the Cincinnati Cyclones, their ECHL affiliate.

Injury Updates: Hughes, Samuelsson, Chychrun

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The Vancouver Canucks are having a tough time at the start of this season, to say the least. The team is still searching for its first win of the season, and it’s gotten bad enough that coach Bruce Boudreau was openly questioning his players’ effort level when conducting his postgame media duties last night. To make their situation even more difficult, they may have to chase their first win of the season without one of their top players.

Coach Boudreau told the media last night, including The Athletic’s Thomas Drance, that defenseman Quinn Hughes is injured on a day-to-day timeline. It was noted that the injury isn’t expected to be a “long-term thing,” although few in Vancouver could be blamed for not caring about the long-term with the short-term situation this dire. Unlike many of his teammates, Hughes hasn’t gotten off to a horrible start this season. While his defense could stand to improve, he has registered five assists in five games and is tied for second on the team in points. If the Canucks want to right the ship after this disastrous start, they’ll need to get Hughes back and healthy as soon as possible.

Some other injury updates:

  • The Buffalo Sabres received an injury scare last night when defenseman Mattias Samuelsson, a core piece of their blueline, left their contest against the Canucks with a lower-body injury. While we don’t yet have full details on what Samuelsson suffered, we do know that Sabres fans can breathe a sigh of relief. The Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski reports that the Sabres and Samuelsson “got good news” regarding Samuelsson’s injury and that the team and player “avoided the worst.” While this update is obviously relatively vague, it does suggest that Samuelsson won’t be out as long as some might have initially feared he would be.
  • The Jakob Chychrun trade winds have been picking up quite strongly in recent days, and the talented Coyotes blueliner could be on the move in the relatively near future. That being said, though, he’ll have to get healthy first, and he may not be all that close to returning. Per the Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch, Chychrun is still “a few weeks away,” and he relatively recently conducted an in-person visit to the wrist specialist who conducted his offseason surgery. Yesterday, we covered the timeline update to Chychrun’s status, and now with more information on the nature of Chychrun’s absence, (that it could relate to the wrist issues that troubled him this summer) it’s fair to wonder if we really are any closer to a Chychrun deal than we might have been in the past.

Snapshots: Samuelsson, Carrier, Roos

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When the Buffalo Sabres announced a gargantuan seven-year, $30MM extension for defenseman Mattias Samuelsson earlier today, it raised some eyebrows around the league – and justifiably so. Samuelsson has yet to score an NHL goal and has played just 54 NHL games, coming over the past two seasons. But as The Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski notes in his column breaking down the deal, general manager Kevyn Adams thinks Samuelsson and his contract and both key parts of his approach to building a championship contender.

“We wanted to be really disciplined and smart with how we put our roster together and the reason for that is we can do things like this and make sure that we identify the people that we’re gonna move forward with long-term and we know there’s more coming,” said Adams today. Buffalo is banking on development here, but the organization believes in Samuelsson and that he has long-term top-pairing potential. How that bet pans out remains to be seen.

  • After sitting out last night’s season-opening win in Los Angeles, Vegas Golden Knights forward William Carrier may be healthy for tomorrow’s home opener against Chicago, according to head coach Bruce Cassidy. Carrier has been listed as week-to-week with an upper-body injury since September 26 but has obviously returned to practice. He’ll likely draw in for Michael Amadio if he does play, as Amadio was the only Golden Knights forward to receive 10 minutes or less of ice time against Los Angeles.
  • One of the more interesting names to appear on opening night rosters will be making his NHL debut tonight: Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Filip Roos. The 23-year-old Roos is a rare case: a European, undrafted free-agent on an entry-level contract playing in his NHL team’s first game of the season. Roos had six points in 50 games for Skellefteå in the SHL last season and will suit up on the third pairing alongside Alec Regula.

Buffalo Sabres Extend Mattias Samuelsson

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The Buffalo Sabres are having a busy morning. After announcing an extension for head coach Don Granto, the team has also released details of a seven-year extension for one of his prized pupils. Mattias Samuelsson has signed a $30MM extension that will kick in for the 2023-24 season, avoiding restricted free agency and giving him a $4.29MM cap hit.

CapFriendly has the full breakdown:

  • 2023-24: $2,286,716 salary + $2.0MM signing bonus
  • 2024-25: $4,285,716 salary
  • 2026-27: $4,285,716 salary
  • 2027-28: $4,285,716 salary
  • 2028-29: $4,285,716 salary
  • 2029-30: $4,285,716 salary
  • 2030-31: $4,285,716 salary

This is a full bet on potential, as the 22-year-old Samuelsson has just 54 games of NHL experience under his belt to this point. It was the end of last year, when he paired so perfectly with Rasmus Dahlin, that really made a deal like this possible. Over his final 22 games, Samuelsson averaged more than 21 minutes a night, recording eight points and a positive +/-.

If he continues his natural progression into a top-pairing, shutdown option, a cap hit like this will quickly look like a bargain, especially if the salary cap takes a sharp rise in the coming seasons.

The risk here is that he plateaus as a middle-pairing guy who doesn’t provide much offense, and the Sabres have effectively limited any surplus value they could have gotten out of his RFA years. With just 12 points in 54 games (zero goals), it isn’t like Samuelsson was setting himself up for a big arbitration case, and he’s still several years away from unrestricted free agency.

Of course, there is also the fact that the Sabres already have a good amount of cap space and this is more about locking in a player that they like than worrying about dollars and cents. The team currently projects to have more than $32MM in space for next season even after factoring in extensions for Samuelsson and Tage Thompson. That number only increases from there, meaning it’s hard to see a situation where they are truly regretting this deal.

Unless Samuelsson falls off a cliff – which certainly doesn’t appear likely after another outstanding training camp – this is more about rewarding a player they believe in than squeezing out every ounce of surplus value. Now it’s up to him to reward them for that faith with a strong full season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Snapshots: Kadri, Housley, Rochester

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There was concern earlier today out of Colorado Avalanche camp, as forward Nazem Kadri was notably missing from practice with an undisclosed illness. Those concerns were calmed a bit with the confirmation that the illness was not in fact COVID-19, says Peter Baugh of The Athletic (link). According to Kyle Fredrickson of the Denver Post, who spoke to Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar, Kadri is still expected to be ready for Game 1 on Tuesday night (link).

Keeping Kadri in the lineup is key for the Avalanche as they head into the playoffs with eyes set on the Stanley Cup. As strong as their lineup is, Kadri plays a pivotal role as their second-line center, playing a 200-foot game and contributing plenty offensively. The forward just finished his best season to date, in which he compiled 28 goals and 59 assists in 71 games. Colorado is set to take on the Nashville Predators at home Tuesday night in Game 1 of the first round.

  • Staying out west, the Arizona Coyotes announced that they have mutually parted ways with Assistant Coach Phil Housley (link). Housley just finished the third year of a three-year contract he signed with Arizona in June of 2019. It’s unclear what the next step is for the Hall of Fame defenseman, who previously spent two seasons as the Head Coach of the Buffalo Sabres, but the 58-year-old should be able to find opportunities if he wants them, considering his lengthy resume on and off the ice. As for Arizona, it does not appear that any additional changes are coming to the coaching staff, outside of possibly replacing Housley, but first-year Head Coach Andre Tourigny has drawn very favorable reviews despite Arizona’s struggles.
  • The Buffalo Sabres announced that they have reassigned forward Peyton Krebs and defenseman Mattias Samuelsson to the Rochester Americans of the AHL ahead of Rochester’s playoff series against the Belleville Senators. Both players, who were sent to Rochester on paper on March 21st, are eligible to compete for the team in the Calder Cup playoffs. The two have each spent time in Rochester and Buffalo this season and are viewed as key pieces of Buffalo’s future. For now, they will get valuable experience competing in professional playoff games.

Sabres Notes: Eichel, Eakin, Samuelsson

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Jack Eichel’s camp plans to make one final push to Sabres management about getting his desired disk replacement surgery and has been collecting medical opinions to support their desire, reports ESPN’s Emily Kaplan.  The center’s case is well-known at this point and Kaplan suggests that the next step could be a grievance which, to this point, has been the last resort option.  A handful of teams are believed to be in the mix for Eichel in a trade with Buffalo now being amenable to at least part of the return being conditional depending on how he recovers from the surgery.  Of course, for things to get to that part, he has to have the surgery first and will be out for a significant amount of time regardless of which procedure he winds up having.

More from Buffalo:

  • Center Cody Eakin has been ruled out for the next two games (including tonight’s contest against Boston) and will be listed as day-to-day after that, notes Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald. Head coach Don Granato appears to be targeting next Thursday’s game in Anaheim as a possible return date for the 30-year-old.  Eakin’s off to a nice start this season with a goal and an assist in three games but will be sitting out the next few now.
  • Defenseman Mattias Samuelsson returned to practice for the first time since suffering a lower-body injury in a prospect game a little over a month ago, relays Jourdan LaBarber of the Sabres’ team site. The 21-year-old won’t travel with the team for Saturday’s contest against New Jersey but could be ready to play soon after.  Samuelsson played in the last 12 games for Buffalo last season, picking up two assists while averaging a little over 18 minutes a game.

Training Camp Cuts: 01/12/21

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It’s the last day before NHL hockey returns, so teams will have to finalize their rosters and get ready for action. Though most of the heavy lifting was done yesterday, there will still be some cuts made today. We’ll keep track of them right here. This page will be updated throughout the day as more releases come in.

Buffalo Sabres (via team release):

F Andrew Oglevie (to Rochester, AHL)
F Arttu Ruotsalainen (to Rochester, AHL)
D Jacob Bryson (to Rochester, AHL)
D Mattias Samuelsson (to Rochester, AHL)

Carolina Hurricanes (via team release):

F Jeremy Bracco (to Chicago, AHL)
F David Cotton (to Chicago, AHL)
F Jason Cotton (to Chicago, AHL)
F Seth Jarvis (to Chicago, AHL)
F Stelio Mattheos (to Chicago, AHL)
F Jamieson Rees (to Chicago, AHL)
F Sheldon Rempal (to Chicago, AHL)
F Drew Shore (to Chicago, AHL)
F Spencer Smallman (to Chicago, AHL)
F Ryan Suzuki (to Chicago, AHL)
D Joey Keane (to Chicago, AHL)
D Maxime Lajoie (to Chicago, AHL)
G Antoine Bibeau (to Chicago, AHL)

Chicago Blackhawks (via team release):

F John Quenneville (to Rockford, AHL)
D Anton Lindholm (to Rockford, AHL)
D Nick Seeler (to Rockford, AHL)
G Matt Tomkins (to Rockford, AHL)

Detroit Red Wings (via team release):

F Riley Barber (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Kyle Criscuolo (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Turner Elson (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Taro Hirose (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Chase Pearson (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Evgeny Svechnikov (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Dominic Turgeon (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Joe Hicketts (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Brian Lashoff (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Dylan McIlrath (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
G Kaden Fulcher (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
G Pat Nagle (released)

Montreal Canadiens (via team release):

F Brandon Baddock (to Laval, AHL)
F Alex Belzile (to Laval, AHL)
F Joseph Blandisi (to Laval, AHL)
F Laurent Dauphin (to Laval, AHL)
F Jacob Lucchini (to Laval, AHL)
F Joel Teasdale (to Laval, AHL)
F Lukas Vejdemo (to Laval, AHL)
F Jordan Weal (to Laval, AHL)
D Otto Leskinen (to Laval, AHL)
D Gustav Olofsson (to Laval, AHL)
D Xavier Ouellet (to Laval, AHL)
G Vasili Demchenko (to Laval, AHL)
G Michael McNiven (to Laval, AHL)
G Cayden Primeau (to Laval, AHL)
F Kevin Lynch (to Laval, AHL)

 

Philadelphia Flyers (via team release):

F Pascal Laberge (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Zayde Wisdom (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Linus Sandin (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Tyson Foerster (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Matthew Strome (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Tyler Wotherspoon (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Mason Millman (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Chris Bigras (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Derrick Pouliot (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Egor Zamula (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Wyatte Wylie (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
G Felix Sandstrom (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Max Willman (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
G Roddy Ross (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)

San Jose Sharks (via team release):

F Kurtis Gabriel (to San Jose, AHL)
F Antti Suomela (to San Jose, AHL)
D Trevor Carrick (to San Jose, AHL)
D Nick DeSimone (to San Jose, AHL)
D Fredrik Claesson (to San Jose, AHL)

St. Louis Blues (via team release):

F Sam Anas (to Utica, AHL)
F Dakota Joshua (to Utica, AHL)
F Tanner Kaspick (to Utica, AHL)
F Hugh McGing (to Utica, AHL)
F Curtis McKenzie (to Utica, AHL)
F Jake Neighbours (to Utica, AHL)
F Evan Polei (to Utica, AHL)
F Nolan Stevens (to Utica, AHL)
F Nathan Walker (to Utica, AHL)
D Scott Perunovich (to Utica, AHL)
D Mitch Reinke (to Utica, AHL)
D Steven Santini (to Utica, AHL)
D Tyler Tucker (to Utica, AHL)
D Jake Walman (to Utica, AHL)
G Evan Fitzpatrick (to Utica, AHL)
G Jon Gillies (to Utica, AHL)
F Matthias Laferriere (to Blainville-Boisbriand, QMJHL)

Vancouver Canucks (via team release):

F Jonah Gadjovich (to Utica, AHL)
F Lukas Jasek (to Utica, AHL)
F Kole Lind (to Utica, AHL)
F Will Lockwood (to Utica, AHL)
D Josh Teves (to Utica, AHL)
D Jett Woo (to Utica, AHL)
G Jake Kielly (to Utica, AHL)

Washington Capitals (via team release):

F Shane Gersich (to Hershey, AHL)
F Michael Sgarbossa (to Hershey, AHL)
F Phillippe Maillet (to Hershey, AHL)
D Lucas Johansen (to Hershey, AHL)
D Paul Ladue (to Hershey, AHL)
D Cameron Schilling (to Hershey, AHL)

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