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Riley Sheahan

Riley Sheahan Signs In Switzerland

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After terminating his contract with the Buffalo Sabres, Riley Sheahan is headed to Europe. The 30-year-old forward has signed a contract with EHC Biel-Bienne for the rest of the season. He is expected to join the club next week.

It’s an interesting move for the NHL veteran, who has decided to take his game overseas instead of playing in the minor leagues. A first-round pick of the Detroit Red Wings in 2010, it’s been nearly a decade since he played regular games in the AHL. That came back in 2013-14 and was followed by nine seasons of full-time NHL action, with Sheahan suiting up for the Red Wings, Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins, Florida Panthers, Edmonton Oilers, and Seattle Kraken.

Over a 637-game NHL career, the checking center has 74 goals and 194 points. This season, he saw two games of action with the Sabres and six with the Rochester Americans but wasn’t able to score a goal at either level. He has never played in any leagues outside of North America, and it remains to be seen if he uses this opportunity in Switzerland as a springboard for an NHL return next year, or is finished with the grind on this side of the ocean.

Riley Sheahan Clears Unconditional Waivers

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Nov 28: Sheahan has cleared waivers, meaning his contract will be terminated.

Nov 27: The Buffalo Sabres announced this afternoon that they have placed forward Riley Sheahan on unconditional waivers, meaning that the veteran’s contract is set to be terminated. Sheahan, who signed a one-year deal with Buffalo this summer, had already been placed on standard waivers, and cleared, back in October and bounced between the NHL and AHL several times.

It’s unclear what the next step for Sheahan will be, assuming he clears waivers and is granted his release, however an immediate NHL opportunity seems unlikely, especially considering he’s already cleared waivers just under a month ago. Buffalo signed Sheahan, 30, back in August to a one-year, two-way deal in the hopes he could provide a veteran presence in their bottom-six as their young team took it’s next step. That hasn’t necessarily gone as planned.

This season, Sheahan has played in just eight games total while shuffling between Buffalo and Rochester, where the Sabres’ AHL affiliate is located. With Buffalo, Sheahan skated in two games, not making much of an impact. With Rochester, the forward played in six games and tallied three assists.

A first-round pick in 2010, Sheahan has made a career as a respectable depth forward, providing a solid defensive game while chipping in modestly on offense. His best season came in 2014-15 as a member of the Detroit Red Wings, who drafted him, recording 36 points on 13 goals and 23 assists.

Buffalo Sabres Re-Assign Riley Sheahan

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The Buffalo Sabres have announced that veteran center Riley Sheahan has been re-assigned to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans.

The move comes after the team announced yesterday that defenseman Mattias Samuelsson would be returning to the lineup for tonight’s contest against the Montreal Canadiens.

For the Sabres to be able to activate Samuelsson, they needed to clear a roster spot, so the team has chosen to send Sheahan down.

Sheahan, 30, has been a priority call-up for the Sabres this season, functioning as a depth center on their NHL roster and a veteran presence in Rochester. In six AHL games this year Sheahan has three points, and in two NHL games, Sheahan has yet to make his mark on the score sheet.

Sheahan is a veteran of over 600 NHL games and should be expected to occupy this role as the Sabres’ top veteran depth center for the rest of this season. Playing on a $950k cap hit, Sheahan will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Buffalo Sabres Recall Riley Sheahan, Anders Bjork

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With Jack Quinn sidelined, the Buffalo Sabres needed to make at least one recall. They’ve made two, bringing up Riley Sheahan and Anders Bjork from the minor leagues. That doesn’t bode well for Kyle Okposo who was also listed as day-to-day with general soreness and missed the last game.

Sheahan, 30, has been playing regularly in the minor leagues for the first time in nearly a decade this season, registering three points in six games for the Rochester Americans. Other than the four games he spent in the AHL last year, he hadn’t played at that level since the 2013-14 season. A veteran of more than 600 NHL games, Sheahan is a nice depth piece to be able to insert into the fourth line and feel confident in.

Bjork, on the other hand, has just 211 NHL games under his belt but had much higher expectations when he arrived in Buffalo. Part of the return for Taylor Hall, he. has just 14 points in 73 games since being acquired by the Sabres. This year he’s seen game action in the AHL, where he has six points in 11 games. The 26-year-old made a solid impression in 2017-18 after an outstanding college career but has struggled to establish himself ever since.

The Sabres take on the Vancouver Canucks this evening, looking to finally end their five-game losing streak and start climbing back up the Atlantic Division standings.

Riley Sheahan Clears Waivers

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Oct 31: Sheahan has cleared waivers and was assigned to the Rochester Americans. In his place, the team has recalled Jeremy Davies to give them another defenseman while they continue to deal with injuries on the back end.

Oct 30: The Buffalo Sabres have made a roster move today, placing veteran center Riley Sheahan on waivers, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Sheahan was activated off of injured reserve by Buffalo on October 18 and has not yet skated in a game this season.

Sheahan, 30, signed in Buffalo this summer, receiving a one-year, two-way $950k/375k deal to serve as a depth center for the Sabres. A 2010 first-round pick, Sheahan spent 2021-22 as a member of the inaugural Seattle Kraken team, getting into 69 games and scoring 17 points.

A veteran of over 600 NHL games, Sheahan’s placement on waivers is somewhat surprising, as he’s played in just four AHL games since 2013-14. That being said, though, at this stage of his career Sheahan is likely more of a team’s fifth center than a regular bottom-sixer. As Bleacher Report’s Joe Yerdon notes, it’s possible that this waiver placement could be in order to add extra flexibility to move Sheahan at a later date.

In any case, the Sabres will hope that Sheahan clears waivers and that they can stash their useful veteran center with the AHL’s Rochester Americans.

Buffalo Sabres Activate Riley Sheahan

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The Buffalo Sabres have activated F Riley Sheahan off injured reserve, according to CapFriendly.

Sheahan suffered a muscular injury during training camp and was originally classified as day-to-day, but the injury was severe enough to warrant placing him on injured reserve to begin the season. It did open up a roster spot for both Jack Quinn and John-Jason Peterka to make the opening night roster, though.

Interestingly enough, the Sabres opted not to send either of them down to make room for Sheahan on the active roster. Quinn and Peterka do not require waivers, and Quinn is a healthy scratch for tonight’s game after a somewhat rough start to the year. Instead, the team opted to waive Anders Bjork, who had not played yet this season. He passed through today unclaimed.

Sheahan returns to the Sabres organization after spending the 2020-21 season there, where he recorded 13 points in 53 games. Signed to a two-way contract in August, it’s unclear how long Sheahan will be on the team’s NHL roster before he too gets exposed to the waiver wire.

Buffalo Sabres Sign Riley Sheahan

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Aug 11: Sheahan’s contract includes a $375K AHL salary, according to CapFriendly.

Aug 10: The Buffalo Sabres have brought Riley Sheahan back to the organization, signing him to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal has a $950K NHL salary.

Sheahan, 30, spent last season with the Seattle Kraken, registering 17 points in 69 games. He also cleared waivers in November though, leading to four games in the minor leagues, his first time in the AHL since 2013-14.

It perhaps is that fact that makes this contract structure so interesting. It’s not often a two-way contract has an NHL salary as high as $950K. Sheahan will be nicely rewarded if he can make the roster but that isn’t guaranteed, given how many other players will be in camp.

The Sabres already had ten forwards signed to one-way deals, with a large group of entry-level prospects pushing for playing time. Dylan Cozens, Peyton Krebs, and Jack Quinn are all likely to make the opening day group, which doesn’t necessarily leave a lot of room for Sheahan.

Still, with more than 600 games of NHL experience and a strong defensive pedigree at center ice, he represents nice depth for the Sabres to add this late in the summer.

Yanni Gourde And Riley Sheahan Placed In COVID Protocol

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The Kraken will be without the services of one of their top centers for the next little bit as the team announced (Twitter link) that Yanni Gourde has been placed in COVID protocol.  His spot on the roster is being taken by Alexander True who was recalled from AHL Charlotte.

Gourde has had a nice start to his first season with Seattle.  After recovering quicker than expected from offseason shoulder surgery, he quickly jumped into a permanent spot in the top six.  The 29-year-old has six goals and 16 assists in 22 games so far this season, good for third on the team in scoring behind Jaden Schwartz and Jordan Eberle while averaging 18:51 per game, a career-high.

Gourde had become the second Kraken center to enter COVID protocol, joining Colin Blackwell who entered it earlier this week.  If subsequent testing reveals a confirmed positive, he’ll have to miss at least the next ten days.  However, head coach Dave Hakstol told reporters including Ryan S. Clark of The Athletic (Twitter link) that center Riley Sheahan has also entered the protocol alongside assistant coach Jay Leach.  Sheahan has four points in 19 games this season and also cleared waivers last month.

As for True, he was claimed from San Jose in expansion but has yet to see any action with Seattle this season.  He has 18 points in 22 games with AHL Charlotte, a split affiliate with Florida and leads the Checkers in scoring.

Riley Sheahan And Leo Komarov Placed On Waivers

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November 14: Komarov made his move to the KHL’s SKA St. Petersburg today, announcing it via an Instagram post. Komarov expects to join SKA “soon.”

November 13: A pair of veterans are on the waiver wire today as James Mirtle of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the Kraken have placed center Riley Sheahan on waivers while the Islanders have done the same with Leo Komarov.

Sheahan signed with Seattle at the beginning of September to give them some extra depth down the middle, inking a one-year, $850K contract.  However, he has had a limited role this season, logging just 11:28 per game, the lowest average of his career, while tallying just a goal and two assists in 14 games this season.  With Colin Blackwell set to make his Kraken debut tonight – per The Athletic’s Ryan S. Clark (Twitter link) – it will be Sheahan that loses his roster spot.  With center depth typically being something that teams covet, there is a reasonable chance that the 29-year-old could be claimed.

The same can’t be said for Komarov, who has cleared waivers several times including last month.  A report surfaced earlier this week that Komarov was expected to head back overseas and join SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL and today’s placement on unconditional waivers paves the way for that move to be made official on Saturday.  Assuming this is indeed the end of Komarov’s time in North America, he’ll leave with 170 points in 491 career NHL contests to go along with a whopping 1,572 hits.  Once his deal is terminated, the Islanders will free up $1.875MM in cap room.

Seattle Kraken Sign Riley Sheahan

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The Seattle Kraken have added some depth to the lineup, signing Riley Sheahan to a one-year contract. The deal will carry a salary of $850K. Kraken GM Ron Francis released a short statement on the signing:

We’re excited to add an experienced veteran like Riley to our organization. His versatility, strong penalty-killing ability and skill in the faceoff circle make him a valuable addition to our forward group.

Sheahan, 29, has been around the league for a long time, filling out a bottom-six role on several teams. He made his NHL debut in 2011-12 with the Detroit Red Wings after being selected in the first round and has 566 games under his belt. In 2020-21 he played with the Buffalo Sabres, recording just four goals and 13 points in 53 games, but is an effective enough penalty killer to still be worth the one-way deal near the league minimum.

The fact that Sheahan can play both center and wing is probably the most important factor for Seattle, who don’t have a lot of depth down the middle. There are players with a bit of experience at center, but several of them will likely be asked to play a top-six wing position thanks to a lack of real scoring options. With that in mind, perhaps Sheahan slides in as the full-time fourth-line center, giving them an experienced veteran to surround by the less experienced players they selected in the expansion draft.

Still, this is certainly not a needle-pusher for the Kraken, who are still facing a potential roster crunch on defense as the season approaches.

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