Buffalo Sabres Recall Isak Rosen, Reassign Zac Jones
The Buffalo Sabres announced today that forward Isak Rosén has been recalled from their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. In a corresponding move, defenseman Zac Jones was reassigned.
By swapping out a defenseman for a forward on their roster, the Sabres are left with just six healthy defensemen on their active roster. There are two Sabres blueliners on injured reserve at this moment: Conor Timmins and Jacob Bryson. Timmins broke his leg in the middle of December and was originally given a six-to-eight week return timeline. While we are now squarely within that originally projected return window, there has been no indication Timmins is nearing a return to game fitness.
Bryson has missed four straight games and landed on IR with an upper-body injury. Head coach Lindy Ruff told the media on Jan. 22 that Bryson would miss “some time,” so it seems unlikely Jones has been sent down because any Bryson return is imminent.
Looking at the motivations behind this move, a few, unrelated to injuries, can be identified. First and foremost, the Sabres could simply be interested in returning Rosén to the NHL roster, and are willing to carry just six healthy defensemen in order to make that happen. It’s understandable that the Sabres would want to get a look at Rosén back at the NHL level.
The 22-year-old 2021 first-round pick is a pending RFA, and is reaching a crucial fork in the road in his development. Either he’s going to be able to carve out a spot in the Sabres’ long-term NHL plans, or the Sabres are going to build around other pieces as they pivot to focusing more on contending in the immediate future.
Rosén has been a strong scorer in Rochester for several years now, but has thus far been unable to gain significant traction at the NHL level. While he has seven points in 13 games played this season, he still hasn’t been able to maintain a firm grip on an NHL roster spot. This recall gives him another opportunity to land in the NHL lineup and try to stay there.
From Rochester’s perspective, getting Jones back is a major help to the team’s ability to win games at this point in the season. The Americans are looking to gain ground in their divisional playoff race, and currently sit in fifth place in the North Division. Jones is the team’s leading scorer with 37 points in 32 games, and is their most productive defenseman by a wide margin.
If the Sabres prefer to use Zach Metsa as their No. 6 blueliner at the NHL level, it could make more sense to keep Jones in Rochester, to put that team in the best position to win, rather than keeping him in an NHL press box.
Buffalo Sabres Make Four Roster Moves
The Buffalo Sabres announced a series of roster moves today, as they activated veteran Jason Zucker off of injured reserve and recalled defenseman Zac Jones from their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. In two corresponding moves, the Sabres placed defenseman Michael Kesselring and goaltender Alex Lyon on injured reserve.
Zucker, 33, has been out since the Sabres’ Dec. 8 contest against the Calgary Flames. Despite losing Zucker, a veteran of nearly 800 games who had 18 points in 21 games before his injury, the Sabres went on a 10-game win streak starting in their first game without Zucker, a streak that only came to an end Jan. 3 at the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Per NHL.com’s Heather Engel, Zucker will return to the lineup as the Sabres’ second-line right winger. When he last played, Zucker was the team’s third-line left wing, skating on a line with Jack Quinn and Ryan McLeod. Zach Benson is now in that spot.
The return of Zucker should help the Sabres build more momentum in their push to end their playoff drought, which stands as the league’s longest. The 33-year-old is playing out the first year of a two-year contract extension he signed in March of last year, one that carries a $4.75MM cap hit.
Shifting focus to the Sabres’ defense, the team placed Kesselring on IR after he missed the team’s Saturday loss to the Blue Jackets. The 25-year-old missed nearly a month with a lower-body injury in November and December, and also began the season with a lower-body injury that cost him nine games. The 6’5″ blueliner was acquired by the Sabres over the summer as part of the JJ Peterka trade. The Sabres also received breakout winger Josh Doan from the Utah Mammoth in the deal.
His difficulty staying healthy has cost Kesselring the chance to play a significant role on head coach Lindy Ruff’s defense. Through 16 games played this season, Kesselring doesn’t have a point and is averaging just over 15 minutes of ice time per game, including just over a minute shorthanded.
Replacing Kesselring on the roster is Jones, a former minor league and NCAA standout. Once one of the better prospects in the New York Rangers’ system (he was ranked No. 2 in their pool by The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler in 2022), Jones failed to earn a regular role on the Rangers, serving mainly as a reserve defenseman under former head coach Peter Laviolette.
Jones was not extended a qualifying offer by the Rangers last summer, and the Sabres signed him to a one-year, $900K deal with a hefty $550K AHL salary. While he has yet to make his Sabres debut after failing to earn a spot on the team out of training camp, he has been brilliant at the AHL level. Jones has 30 points in 27 games for the Americans, leading the team in scoring.
If Jones gets the chance to play during this recall, it would be a significant opportunity for him as he is a pending restricted free agent. The Athletic’s Matthew Fairburn wrote on Jan. 3 that the Sabres “don’t have a lot of internal options Ruff trusts.” If Jones can find a way to earn the trust of Ruff to a greater extent than his rival Sabres depth blueliners have been able to (namely Zach Metsa, Jacob Bryson, and Ryan Johnson), he could secure an extended runway to show off his skills at the NHL level.
To clear sufficient room for Jones’ recall and Zucker’s activation on their regular roster, the Sabres placed Lyon, a goalie, on IR. Lyon has been dealing with a lower-body injury and will now miss at least a week due to this IR placement. The 33-year-old has a 10-6-3 record this season with a .904 save percentage, and is under contract at a $1.5MM AAV through next season. Since the Sabres have been carrying three goalies on their active roster, they are able to place Lyon on IR without recalling another netminder.
With Lyon injured, Ruff and the Sabres will turn to veteran Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and rookie waiver claim Colten Ellis in the crease to help sustain the momentum they built with their win streak.
Photos courtesy of Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images
Rasmus Dahlin Rejoins Sabres, Zac Jones Assigned To AHL
A little more than a week ago, Sabres blueliner Rasmus Dahlin took a leave of absence to return to Sweden to be with his fiancée who continues to recover from a heart transplant from the summer. He has now returned to the team as Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News relayed (Twitter link) that the captain has returned to the team and took part in today’s morning skate. The Sabres subsequently announced that blueliner Zac Jones has been sent back to AHL Rochester to make room for Dahlin on their active roster.
Dahlin had played in 14 games before briefly stepping away but had gotten off to a tough start by his high standards with the team scuffling early on. He had a goal and eight assists in those outings along with 17 blocks in a little over 24 minutes a night. However, like several of his teammates, some defensive miscues proved to be problematic.
But even with that, his return will certainly be a welcome one. He anchors Buffalo’s top pairing at even strength and runs their number one power play while also seeing some action shorthanded. Dahlin’s return will likely take Jacob Bryson out of the lineup after he got into the last three games.
As for Jones, he was brought up a little more than a week ago following a very strong start with the Americans (where he had 13 assists in 11 games) but didn’t see any action with Buffalo. Despite being up for more than a week, he still leads all AHL blueliners in points. Jones is in his first season with Buffalo after signing a one-year, $900K contract with them in free agency. He has 28 points in 115 career NHL outings, all with the Rangers.
Sabres Recall Zac Jones
The Sabres announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Zachary Jones from AHL Rochester. Jones will replace rearguard Rasmus Dahlin on the active roster as he heads to the non-roster list following today’s news of an indefinite leave of absence.
Jones, 25, has parts of five NHL seasons under his belt but hasn’t yet appeared for Buffalo this year. He was briefly rostered for a couple of days last month but didn’t get into a game. The lefty debuted with the Rangers back in 2020-21 and languished in a fringe press box/minor-league role for essentially his entire tenure. He never logged more than 46 appearances in a campaign, that career-high coming last season, and was finally non-tendered by the club last summer.
Despite looking like he could at least be a reliable No. 7 option in New York, the market for Jones wasn’t very strong. He accepted a high-paying two-way deal from Buffalo ($950K NHL/$550K AHL) and cleared waivers at the beginning of the season. Aside from that two-day call-up in October, he’s spent the season in Rochester with mixed results. Jones has always been viewed as an offensively talented rearguard who was considered enough of a defensive liability to keep him out of an everyday role. Nothing he’s done in Rochester has changed that perception. He’s off to an electric start on the scoresheet with a league-leading 13 assists but has a -4 rating, tied for second-worst on the team.
That dichotomy will keep him from being an NHL regular, but he remains an intriguing call-up option if a team needs a puck-mover in sheltered minutes. With Buffalo’s offensive heartbeat on the blue line in Dahlin now unavailable, bringing up an offensive-minded name from the minors is a natural choice. Jones, a 2019 third-round pick, has a 4-24–28 scoring line in 115 career appearances while averaging 15:54 of ice time per game.
Sabres Recall Zac Jones, Noah Ostlund
The Sabres have recalled defenseman Zachary Jones and center Noah Ostlund from AHL Rochester, per a team release. They already had one open roster spot, and they’ve placed winger Beck Malenstyn on injured reserve to open up the other one, according to the NHL’s media site.
Buffalo now has two options to insert into the lineup for tomorrow’s game on the blue line. It’s looking like they won’t have Jacob Bryson available after he exited yesterday’s win over the Panthers and entered concussion protocol. Zach Metsa was already on hand as a healthy extra after being summoned from Rochester earlier in the week. Whether he or Jones enters the lineup for Bryson, a lefty who was assuming third-pairing duties on his off side next to Mattias Samuelsson, remains to be seen.
It will be either player’s Sabres debut and a potential NHL debut for Metsa. As for Jones, the 25-year-old successfully cleared waivers during training camp after inking a rather rich two-way deal ($900K NHL/$550K AHL with Buffalo on July 1. He was an unrestricted free agent after not receiving a qualifying offer from the Rangers, where he’d spent the first five years of his NHL career. The 5’11” lefty was a third-round pick in 2019 and showed decent offensive promise in depth roles for New York, but was never able to elevate himself on their depth chart.
Jones is coming off something of a career year, notching a 1-10–11 scoring line in 46 appearances for the Blueshirts while averaging 17:15 of ice time per game. He was still a semi-frequent healthy scratch, though, no doubt due to a lack of physicality and poor possession impacts. He’s averaged 0.58 hits per game throughout his 115-game NHL career and has had negative relative Corsi shares at even strength in all five of his seasons at the top level. Last year’s possession numbers were particularly underwhelming at a 48.6 CF% and 44.2 xGF%, both below team averages.
That lack of two-way acumen, plus his above-league-minimum cap hit, were contributing factors to him clearing waivers. He’s off to a hot start in the minors, though, rattling off four assists through four games for Rochester – albeit with a -4 rating. Him and Metsa carry similar profiles, both in size and minor-league offensive production, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see Buffalo opt for Jones, who has more NHL experience, as they try to extend their win streak to three and get to .500 on the season.
Ostlund’s recall ensures the Sabres will continue to carry 13 healthy forwards, with Malenstyn evidently getting banged up in the win against Florida. The team hasn’t offered an announcement on Malenstyn’s status. He didn’t see a shift in the last 10 minutes of Saturday’s win. The IR placement rules him out for Buffalo’s next three games. He’ll be eligible to return a week from his initial injury, making him available for activation on Oct. 25 against the Maple Leafs for the second half of their back-to-back. Malenstyn had no points and a -2 rating through his first five games, averaging 9:52 of ice time per night.
The Sabres also have Joshua Dunne on hand to insert into the lineup after he was scratched against Florida, so Ostlund isn’t a guarantee to make his season debut tomorrow. The 2022 first-round pick made his NHL debut last year, going pointless in an eight-game run late in the year with a -6 rating. He’s had more inspiring performances in Rochester, where he ranks second on the team in scoring with a goal and four assists through four games. The 21-year-old Swede also had 36 points in 45 AHL contests last season, his first in North America.
While there’s been recent on-ice momentum for the Sabres, it’s still been a disastrous start to the campaign for them in the injury department. Malenstyn joins Justin Danforth, Jordan Greenway, Michael Kesselring, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, and Joshua Norris on IR.
Metropolitan Notes: Jones, Soucy, Poulin
The Rangers have had contract discussions with pending RFA defenseman Zac Jones, reports Mollie Walker of the New York Post (subscription link). The 24-year-old expressed frustration with his usage earlier in the season; while he set a new career-high in games played, he still only suited up 46 times, recording 11 points in a little over 17 minutes per night of playing time. His camp had permission to explore trade options during the season but nothing materialized in terms of a move. He’s owed a qualifying offer of just over $866K but also has arbitration eligibility which is something New York would likely prefer to avoid. That might explain the early discussions as if the two sides can’t find a suitable deal, Jones could be a non-tender candidate at the end of the month to avoid the risk of a possible arbitration award that’s higher than they want to pay.
More from the Metropolitan:
- While the future of K’Andre Miller with the Rangers remains murky, Arthur Staple of The Athletic suggests (subscription link) that clearing out the final year of Carson Soucy’s contract is something else New York will be looking to do on the left side of their back end. The 30-year-old was acquired from Vancouver near the trade deadline as a buy-low addition with the hopes that a change of scenery could give him a boost. Instead, that didn’t happen and Soucy was even briefly scratched. He had 13 points, 106 hits, and 113 blocks in 75 games this season but with a year and $3.25MM left on his contract, GM Chris Drury likely feels that money could be better spent elsewhere. Soucy has a full no-trade clause until July 1st when that protection drops to a 12-team no-trade list.
- This season wasn’t a great one for Penguins winger Samuel Poulin. He cleared waivers during training camp and outside of a seven-game stint with Pittsburgh (six of which came in November), playing time at the top level was hard to come by. Even so, Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review feels that the 24-year-old still has a chance to be in Pittsburgh’s plans. With the team planning to get younger, the fact that he had a career-best 41 points with AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season, and his size as the heaviest player in the organization, Poulin could very well find himself in the mix with the big club next season. If not, he’ll have to pass through waivers again and could be a candidate to be claimed with his stronger showing in the minors this year.
Rangers Recall Zac Jones, Brennan Othmann
The Rangers announced they’ve reinstated defenseman Zachary Jones after sending him to AHL Hartford on a conditioning stint last week. They’ve also recalled high-end wing prospect Brennan Othmann from Hartford and sent defenseman Matthew Robertson there in a corresponding transaction, keeping their active roster at the maximum of 23 players since Jones still counted against the tally.
Jones’ conditioning stint followed 21 healthy scratches in 24 games leading into the 4 Nations break. The 24-year-old entered the season hoping to land a more significant role on the New York blue line after Erik Gustafsson left for the Red Wings in free agency, but it hasn’t panned out. The career No. 7 has only logged 28 appearances despite remaining mostly healthy, notching eight points with a plus-two rating while averaging a career-high 16:31 per game. He’s failed to land regular minutes amid significant turnover on the Rangers’ blue line throughout the year, namely shipping out captain Jacob Trouba and Victor Mancini while bringing in William Borgen and Urho Vaakanainen.
The 2019 third-round pick managed a goal and a minus-one rating in a pair of games for Hartford on Friday and Saturday. It was his first AHL action since the 2022-23 campaign when he recorded 8-23–31 and a +16 rating in 54 games for the Wolf Pack.
While a decent puck-mover in a bottom-pairing role, the Rangers’ general distrust of the 5’11” lefty’s skillset (and some poor possession numbers to back that up) have limited his ability to gain chances higher up in the lineup. He’s posted a negative relative CF% at even strength in all five of his NHL seasons, including a 47.2% outright (-3.9% relative) this year. Simply put, the Rangers control play more often when Jones isn’t on the ice.
He must reverse that perception down the stretch to avoid hitting unrestricted free agency. He’s at risk of being non-tendered as he nears the expiry of the two-year, $1.625MM extension he signed in 2023.
Othmann, 22, lands his first recall of the season. The 2021 16th overall pick made his NHL debut last year, going without a point in three games during a January callup. He did manage six shots on nine attempts, though, and laid the body six times while averaging under 10 minutes per game. While he was reasonably effective in a fourth-line role in his initial NHL showing, his point totals didn’t quite pop as he’d hoped in his first AHL go-around in 2023-24.
The Ontario native has missed significant time due to injury this season, but his point pace has improved slightly when healthy. The 6’0″, 181-lb left-winger has 12-8–20 in 27 games, adding 35 PIMs and a minus-one rating. He totaled 21-28–49 in 67 appearances for Hartford last year with a -24 rating, pointing to slight improvements across the board. He should get a look in the lineup while Chris Kreider is sidelined day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
Robertson, 23, was only recalled to serve as an extra while Jones was in Hartford and did not draw into the lineup for either of the Blueshirts’ games this weekend. He’s now been recalled six times over the last two years but has not made his NHL debut. The 6’4″ lefty was a second-rounder back in 2019 and is now in his fourth season in Hartford, where he has 1-17–18 in 47 appearances this year with a career-high plus-two rating.
Igor Shesterkin Expected To Return, Rangers Assign Two To AHL
The New York Rangers will be returning from the 4-Nations Face-Off break with good news. Starter Igor Shesterkin has shared he expects to be healthy before Saturday’s game against Buffalo per Peter Baugh of The Athletic. The Rangers made the move to back his claim by reassigning temporary backup goaltender Dylan Garand. New York has also assigned defenseman Zachary Jones to the minors on a conditioning loan. Matthew Robertson has been recalled in his place.
Shesterkin will return from an upper-body injury sustained in New York’s February 7th loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. He played through the entirety of that matchup but received a designation of out one-to-two weeks before the Rangers visited Columbus the next day – in what was their last game before the break. Shesterkin was in the midst of a cold spell leading up to his injury, posting a 1-4 record and .835 save percentage in his last five games. The performance spurred what was otherwise a great January for the 2022 Vezina Trophy winner. He recorded a 6-0-1 record and .948 save percentage in his first seven games of the month, helping the Rangers find solid footing in the Eastern Conference Wild Card race. The Rangers are still three points outside of playoff standing, putting the pressure on Shesterkin to bounce back to form after an extended break.
Garand filled in as the backup in Shesterkin’s lone absence. The 22-year-old has been one of the AHL’s best young netminders this year – ranked second in save percentage (.914) and third in wins (13) among U23 goalies with at least 20 games. It’s been a big step up for Garand – who claimed the AHL starting role two seasons ago but hasn’t yet posted a year-long save percentage above .900.
Jones will join Garand in the move to the AHL looking to get back to match shape. He spent 18 games out of the lineup through December and January, with a pair of scoreless spot starts in February marking his first games since the holiday break. Jones has served as New York’s seventh defenseman for the entire season – a role that’s led him to eight points, 10 penalty minutes, and a plus-two in 28 games. New York will turn towards Robertson to fill that during Jones’ temporary assignment. Robertson has 18 points and 47 penalty minutes in 47 AHL games this season and would make his NHL debut should he find a way into the Rangers lineup.
Rangers Rumors: Zibanejad, Trocheck, Jones
In the written edition of his “32 Thoughts” blog Tuesday night, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet expanded on a report yesterday from Josh Yohe of The Athletic that the Canucks turned down a one-for-one trade proposal from the Rangers that would have seen the clubs swap struggling top-six fixtures J.T. Miller and Mika Zibanejad.
Friedman “believe[s] he’s correct — with some semantics.” Those Miller-for-Zibanejad rumors, which started when the former took a brief leave of absence from Vancouver for personal reasons, were vehemently shut down by New York. At the same time, Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford quickly said that his team wasn’t interested in trading Miller, at least not while he was still on leave.
Fast forward to today, and all indications point to Miller and star pivot Elias Pettersson at least entering trade conversations amid speculative reports of a locker-room clash between the pair. But, as Friedman wrote, the Rangers didn’t quite come as close to landing their desired swap as it may have seemed at first glance.
Friedman doesn’t believe that Zibanejad, who has a no-move clause, “was ever approached” by Rangers management about accepting a move to Vancouver. There were likely other moving parts in the framework of the deal being discussed, namely up-and-coming Blueshirts defender Braden Schneider, that New York wasn’t willing to move to make happen. Friedman adds this is the second time the Rangers have rejected an attempt from the Canucks to acquire Schneider, now in his fourth NHL season after being selected 19th overall in 2020.
There’s more from Friedman on the Rangers’ trade plans leading up to the deadline:
- Should they enter an aggressive sell-off mode, New York’s highest-value trade asset would be center Vincent Trocheck. He’s having a more productive season offensively than Zibanejad, albeit slightly, with a still-disappointing 27 points in 40 games. Like Zibanejad, he carries a no-movement clause but costs a far more affordable $5.625MM against the cap through 2029 than Zibanejad’s $8.5MM cap hit through 2030. Nonetheless, Rangers general manager Chris Drury won’t entertain the idea of trading him, Friedman reports, going so far as to suggest he could be Jacob Trouba‘s successor to the captaincy after the latter was traded to the Ducks last month.
- One player definitely on the block for the Rangers is defenseman Zac Jones, who Friedman reports the Rangers have permitted to speak to other teams about a longer-term fit. The pending restricted free agent was expected to land a more prominent role this season with Erik Gustafsson out the door in free agency, but he’s still been a healthy scratch for a good portion of the campaign – suiting up in 26 of the Blueshirts’ 40 games. Jones, 24, has a goal and seven assists for eight points with a plus-two rating, ranking second among Rangers defenders behind Schneider’s plus-six. He’s averaging a career-high 16:42 per game when dressed, seeing expanded power-play usage but posting mediocre possession numbers.
Metro Notes: Jones, Fehervary, Ersson, Puljujarvi
New York Rangers defenseman Zac Jones voiced his frustration when discussing his recent stretch of healthy scratches amid the Rangers losing skid (as per Sean O’Leary of The Score). Jones, who will sit for the fifth time in six games tomorrow, said that he feels as though he is rotting away. The 24-year-old was a regular for the Rangers prior to the team bringing in Will Borgen and Urho Vaakanainen.
Jones added that it is tough for him to improve when he isn’t playing, and he feels as though he has done some good things, but his playing time isn’t reflecting that. In 26 games this season, Jones has posted a goal and seven assists while averaging 16:42 of ice time per game. Jones has been with New York since the team took him in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. He has played in 95 games over the past five seasons, posting four goals and 21 assists.
In other Metropolitan Division notes:
- Washington Capitals defenseman Martin Fehervary did not skate today during the team’s optional skate and is officially listed as day-to-day after taking a stick to the face from teammate Tom Wilson in yesterday’s win over Boston (as per Tarik El-Bashir of the Monumental Sports Network). He will be reevaluated tomorrow morning before the team takes on the Minnesota Wild in the evening. Fehervary has played every game this season after having injuries limit him to just 66 games last year. The 25-year-old is averaging the third most minutes of any Capitals skaters and has become a big piece of their defense core.
- The Philadelphia Flyers have announced that goaltender Samuel Ersson is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. The netminder left last night’s game after two periods with an undisclosed injury and did not return. The Flyers have said it is likely a short-term injury and he will be evaluated daily. The 25-year-old missed time earlier this season with a groin issue, meaning that he could have reaggravated that injury yesterday. Ersson is 9-6-2 on the season with an .884 save percentage and a 3.02 goals-against average.
- Matt Vensel of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes that Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jesse Puljujarvi hinted that he may have asked the Penguins for a trade prior to him being put on waivers earlier in the week. The former fourth-overall pick cleared waivers and remains with the Penguins, but he has been a healthy scratch in ten straight games. Puljujarvi had a long road back to good health, and it’s hard to fault him for wanting to play. He was at Penguins practice again today, and once again he was the odd man out during their line rushes. The 26-year-old has three goals and five assists in 21 games this season but hasn’t been able to get into the lineup after Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said that he needed to play better defense and have more attention to detail.