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Zach Bogosian

Snapshots: Sabres, Gardiner, Tkachyov

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Few have criticized the Sabres’ side of the recent Henri Jokiharju–Alexander Nylander trade, but it’s a fact that Buffalo is overflowing with defenders after acquiring the young right-hander from the Chicago Blackhawks. As Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News’ points out, the Sabres still have needs to fill up front and they could use their defensive depth to do so. Lysowski writes that Buffalo has ample cap space to make an addition at forward, but there are few ideal candidates left on the free agent market and the team may as well use their surplus of blue liners to swing a deal. Jokiharju is safe, as are fellow recent additions Brandon Montour and Colin Miller and 2017 No. 1 pick Rasmus Dahlin. RFA Jake McCabe is not likely to be dealt, but a potential candidate and injury-prone Zach Bogosian and overpaid veteran Matt Hunwick might be hard to move. That would seemingly leave Rasmus Ristolainen, a fixture on the rumor mill, Marco Scandella, and Casey Nelson as the most likely names to be dealt and it would not be a surprise if more than one ends up elsewhere. The Sabres are certainly not done making moves this summer.

  • Of course, this makes Buffalo just one of a surprising number of teams not biting on Jake Gardiner this summer. PHR’s top-ranked UFA defenseman, Gardiner remains unsigned more than a week after the market opened. NBC Sports’ Scott Billeck reports that Gardiner is seeking $7MM annually in his next year, which is likely pricing himself out of the range that many D-needy teams are looking for. It’s hard to argue that Gardiner was not the best available defenseman when free agency opened, but he’s also not a top-pair defenseman by most metrics and teams aren’t willing to shell out right now simply due to a weak market. Billeck names the Winnipeg Jets as a team that could use Gardiner, but can’t afford him at his current asking price. The Montreal Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings, and his own Toronto Maple Leafs also fit that description. Billeck feels the New Jersey Devils could be the leading candidate to land Gardiner right now, but there really aren’t many clear fits for the defender at this time unless he changes his expectations.
  • Despite flirting with a jump to the NHL for several years, Vladimir Tkachyov has decided to re-sign in the KHL once again. SKA St. Petersburg has announced an extension with the young scorer. Tkachyov, 23, has been a solid offensive contributor for the past several years but the best may still be yet to come. The winger was acquired by SKA last month from Salavat Yulaev Ufa for the rights to Nikita Soshnikov, who has since signed in Ufa, and Tkachyov could be set for some career-highs with the perennial contenders in St. Petersburg. It is a two-year contract with SKA, so Tkachyov has a couple more years to further prove he is a formidable forward, and could very well drawn NHL attention once again in 2021.

Zach Bogosian Undergoes Hip Surgery

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The Buffalo Sabres may be without one of their veteran defensemen when the 2019-20 season opens. The team announced today that Zach Bogosian has undergone successful hip surgery and will be out for five to six months.

Bogosian, 28, underwent another hip surgery last year and made it all the way back to actually have one of his most productive seasons in quite some time. The big blue liner recorded 19 points in 65 games for the Sabres while averaging nearly 22 minutes a night. He was listed as “day-to-day” for the end of the season, but apparently had something that needed correcting. This surgery will almost certainly cost him all of training camp, if not the first part of next season.

Notably, the injury will also remove any consideration of a buyout for the veteran. Bogosian has one year remaining on his contract with a cap hit of $5.14MM, and had been a buyout candidate in the past given his struggles to stay healthy and effective. As you cannot buy out injured players, the team will miss the window to do so if they had any intention to.

That means Bogosian will have to work hard to get himself back to game shape in time to prove he can still compete in the NHL. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent next summer and still just 29 years old, plenty young enough to secure a multi-year deal if he can show his effectiveness. After two major hip surgeries and several other injuries though that will be a tough ask.

Zach Bogosian Activated From Injured Reserve

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The Buffalo Sabres are off to a pretty good start this season, and will now get part of their leadership group back on the ice. Zach Bogosian has been activated from injured reserve and will suit up for his season debut tonight against the Vegas Golden Knights. The team has assigned Matt Tennyson to the minor leagues to make room on the roster.

At one point in time, Bogosian was seen as a top two-way defenseman in the NHL and one of the league’s up and coming stars. That point what quite some time ago though, and the 28-year old has struggled to stay healthy over the last several years. Playing in just 18 games last season with the Sabres, he registered a single point and was a complete question mark coming into training camp. Bogosian even responded directly to some of his doubters, indicating that he was working hard to get back to full strength and ready for the season. Now he’ll get a chance to show the entire world that he can still be a top-four defenseman in the NHL and log the big minutes that the Sabres desperately need him to.

Though Rasmus Dahlin has been as advertised and is already averaging nearly 19 minutes a night, the team could really use another option to use on the penalty kill and at even strength. Nathan Beaulieu is currently averaging fewer than 14 minutes of even-strength action, while Casey Nelson isn’t too far ahead of that. It’s Nelson that’s coming out of the lineup tonight, and who could eventually lose his spot completely if Bogosian can prove his health. That’s still certainly a question, but it’s one that the Sabres will eagerly await the answer to later tonight.

Jack Eichel Named Captain Of Buffalo Sabres

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The Buffalo Sabres are no longer without a captain. The team announced today that star forward Jack Eichel will wear the “C” this season, while Kyle Okposo and Zach Bogosian will be the alternates.

Eichel, 21, is now the undisputed leader among the forward group of the Sabres after Ryan O’Reilly was moved out of town this offseason. With a deeper lineup behind him and on his wings, the second overall pick from 2015 should finally be able to realize some of his immense potential and compete with the best players in the league for a scoring title. Eichel did record 64 points last season in just 67 games, and will have to prove he can stay healthy and productive as he heads into his fourth NHL campaign. That already brings some pressure, but now with the “C” firmly sewn onto his sweater all eyes in Buffalo will be on him as they try to climb the standings and compete for the playoffs.

There’s little doubt that Eichel is an elite talent in the NHL, but his demeanor and leadership skills have been questioned if not critiqued at times. Signed to a huge eight-year $80MM contract extension that kicks in this season, the Sabres obviously don’t feel the same way and are willing to hand the keys to the franchise over to him. If there was any doubt that his teammates had faith in him, the Sabres taped and released the moment he was announced at practice. That team also has Rasmus Dahlin on the roster for opening night, who many believe will quickly ascend the ranks among NHL defensemen, but he’ll be asked to take a backseat—or at least sidecar—to Eichel’s leadership for the next several years.

Sabres fans have a lot to look forward to with the direction the franchise has taken since Jason Botterill took over as General Manager, and now they have a young dynamic captain to cheer for. It’s exciting times in Buffalo, and it all gets started tomorrow night when the Boston Bruins come to town.

Injury Notes: Red Wings, Bogosian, Beleskey, Peca

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The Detroit Red Wings’ defense could look much different to begin the season than many expected. With top pair defenseman Mike Green already shut down and confirmed to be out for at least the team’s opener due to a viral infection, coach Jeff Blashill revealed today that banged-up blue liners Danny DeKeyser, Jonathan Ericsson, and Trevor Daley are all considered questionable to begin the season. As Ansar Khan of MLive.com points out, it could be a very young, inexperienced defensive corps to start the year in Detroit. Niklas Kronwall and Nick Jensen could be the only regulars healthy enough to play, joined perhaps by a veteran like Brian Lashoff or Dylan McIlrath. Outside of those options, rookies will likely make up the rest of the top six. 5’8″ Joe Hicketts, who got a brief look last season, leads the way, with 2016 first-rounder Dennis Cholowski, second-rounder the same year Filip Hronek, and Czech import Libor Sulak in the mix as well.

  • Injury news about Zach Bogosian usually isn’t good and unfortunately, this could be trending in that direction as well. Bogosian has been taking it easy in training camp, working his way back from major hip surgery, but the Athletic’s Joe Yerndon reports that he has still managed to get injured. According to head coach Phil Housley, Bogosian is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Even worse, Yerndon notes that it is a new injury, unrelated to his hip issues. Bogosian’s career has been marred by frequent injuries and an inability to bounce back quickly. The Sabres have to hope that this case is different, as Bogosian and Marco Scandella will be needed to lead a young defensive unit and groom top overall pick Rasmus Dahlin.
  • It didn’t take long for the New York Rangers to get clarification on Matt Beleskey’s status. After head coach David Quinn said yesterday that it was “too early to tell” the extent of Beleskey’s injury, suffered during a fight on Monday night, the Rangers released an update today. Beleskey will be out two to four weeks with a separated shoulder, the team determined. Since Beleskey was a likely training camp casualty anyway, the only change for the Rangers is that he cannot be placed on waiver while injured. Instead, he will be placed on the injured reserve with only a minor salary cap charge.
  • Montreal Canadiens’ free agent addition Matthew Peca is currently sidelined. The team revealed that he is dealing with a minor groin injury. No timeline has been established for his return. Peca’s NHL ability and role for the Habs is still unclear, so missing preseason action and potentially the start of the season is unfortunate. The former Tampa Bay Lightning prospect will have to hit the ground running upon his return.

Matt Hunwick Out Indefinitely With Neck Injury

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The Buffalo Sabres released an injury update today, and it wasn’t good news for veteran defenseman Matt Hunwick. The team listed his timetable as “indefinite” while also including Conor Sheary (week-to-week with an upper-body injury) and Sean Malone (six weeks with a knee injury) on the report. John Vogl of The Athletic reports that Zach Bogosian also did not skate with the team for the third consecutive day, though his name does not appear on the Sabres update.

Hunwick and Sheary came over to the Sabres earlier this offseason in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins, but were ticketed to play much different roles for the club. While Sheary is likely headed for a top-six role and powerplay time this season, Hunwick’s ice time on the blue line was anything but guaranteed. The veteran defenseman played just 42 games for the Penguins last season and never seemed to find his footing after signing a three-year contract in the 2017 offseason.

Now 33, there is reason to believe that Hunwick is nearing the end of his career as a full-time option in the NHL. Though the Sabres needed all the help they could get to rebuild a defense corps that was underwhelming last season, the emergence of first-overall pick Rasmus Dahlin and other young options like Brendan Guhle and Lawrence Pilut could push Hunwick to the sidelines. An injury of this nature doesn’t help at all, and only will give an opportunity to other players to cement themselves as roster options for the Sabres this season.

Sabres Notes: O’Reilly, Ristolainen, Bogosian, Grubauer

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With the Stanley Cup champions crowned and the offseason getting underway, the trade season is about to get started. In Buffalo, many expect general manager Jason Botterill to make some changes after a dysfunctional season. The most popular name on the trade rumor circuit is Buffalo’s Ryan O’Reilly, who helped out the rumors after his season ended when he remarked he hated losing and lost his passion for the game around a locker room full of players who don’t care.

However, the Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington believes that trading O’Reilly would be a mistake and advises Botterill to hold onto the center. One key reason is the team has now added two key players in Casey Mittelstadt and Rasmus Dahlin, both who should take the talent level up a notch in Buffalo. Trading a quality center in his prime doesn’t make a lot of sense if the goal is to be more competitive. How would the team replace O’Reilly’s minutes if the team traded him away? And that doesn’t even mention his value for his ability to win faceoffs.

Harrington said his comments made after the season makes sense. He wants to win. He is desperate for a winning situation. O’Reilly has already said at the World Championships last month that he was stoked about the Sabres winning the draft lottery and wants to stay in Buffalo. Another argument is that while he has a large contract, O’Reilly’s $52MM contract was heavily frontloaded with Buffalo already having paid $20MM in the first two years. Starting in 2019-20, he will cost just $6MM per year ($5MM signing bonus, $1MM salary), making it a very affordable contract in the coming years.

  • Harrington does say that the team probably should look to move on from defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen. With Dahlin coming in, the team doesn’t need him as bad and the scribe believes that the constant losing has gotten to Ristolainen more than anyone and had trouble seeing eye-to-eye with Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart, suggesting that the defenseman might need a change of scenery. Ristolainen’s numbers declined slightly in his fifth year with the team as he had six goals and 41 points in 73 games. He notes a trade rumor of Ristolainen for Edmonton’s Oscar Klefbom as a smart way to give two players change of sceneries without disrupting the team’s overall defense.
  • In the same article, Harrington questions the intelligence of buying out defenseman Zach Bogosian this offseason. With two more years on his seven-year, $36MM deal he signed back in 2013 with the Winnipeg Jets at $5.14MM AAV, the team might be better off sticking with his contract. A buyout would reduce their cap hit to $1.14MM over the next two years, but the Sabres would then have to shell out $2MM for the next two years following that when he wouldn’t be on the books anymore. Considering the team isn’t dealing with major cap implications at the moment, a buyout wouldn’t make much sense.
  • Harrington adds that the Sabres need to be taking a serious look at Washington Capitals goaltender Philipp Grubauer. With a major need in goal and the New York Islanders already showing interest, it would make a lot of sense for the Sabres to trade for the backup goaltender. After taking the starting job from Brayden Holtby for a time near the end of the season, many believe Grubauer is ready for a starters’ role next year.

Zach Bogosian To Undergo Hip Surgery, Out Four To Six Months

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The Buffalo Sabres have decided that its time to shut Zach Bogosian down for the year, as the defenseman will undergo hip surgery to correct an issue that he’s been dealing with all season. The expected recovery timeline is four to six months, meaning Bogosian will not play again this season.

Bogosian, 27, hasn’t made quite the impact many were hoping for since he came over from the Winnipeg Jets as part of the Evander Kane–Tyler Myers deal in 2015. The big, bruising defenseman that broke into the NHL as an 18-year old after being selected third overall in 2008, has seen his role on the Sabres continually diminished as he struggles to contribute offensively. This season, playing in just 18 games, Bogosian recorded the lowest average ice time since his rookie year, and registered just a single point.

Injury isn’t a new experience for Bogosian, who hasn’t played more than 65 games in a season in now seven years, and only once cracked 80 games played. It has seemed like every time he starts to get in a groove he faces another setback, and this time it will be another long-term stint on the sideline.

With two more seasons under contract with the Sabres at $5.14MM, Buffalo will need Bogosian to find some modicum of health and reclaim his place as a minute-munching defender. For a team that has struggled defensively for years, a healthy 2018-19 is paramount to their success. As the team now decides which assets to sell off, you can bet Bogosian won’t be one of them.

Zach Bogosian Out Four-To-Six Weeks

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The 2017-18 season just went from bad to worse for Sabres defenseman Zach Bogosian.  After suffering a lower-body injury in practice earlier today, TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports (Twitter link) that the injury (which is believed to be an ankle issue) will keep him out of the Buffalo lineup for the next four-to-six weeks.

This is the second major injury that Bogosian has suffered this year.  He also missed the opening 25 games of the season with a lower-body issue sustained during the preseason.  As a result, he has played in just 18 games so far, where he has struggled.  He’s averaging his lowest ice time since his rookie campaign back in 2008-09 with Atlanta while being a non-factor at the offensive end with just a single assist.

The 27-year-old has two years remaining on his contract after this one with a cap hit just over $5.14MM.  This injury all but kills the already-remote possibility of the Sabres finding a taker for him before the February 26th trade deadline.

At this point, it’s fair to wonder if Buffalo may consider the possibility of buying Bogosian out at the end of the season, assuming he doesn’t have a resurgent final two months once he returns.  The cost of doing so would result in a cap hit of just over $1.14MM for two years and then $2MM in both 2020-21 and 2021-22.

Morning Notes: Buffalo, Prospects, Offside

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After another disappointing loss at the hands of the Winnipeg Jets last night, the Buffalo Sabres were back on the ice today trying to right the ship. Unfortunately, things didn’t go so smoothly. According to Amy Moritz of the Buffalo News, Zach Bogosian was helped off the ice unable to put weight on his left leg.

Not only that, but tempers appear to be flaring as according to Bill Hoppe of Buffalo Hockey Beat, Evander Kane and Justin Falk got into a shoving match with the latter calling the former “selfish.” Things haven’t gone according to plan for the Sabres this year, who are now in the midst of a five-game losing streak and just three points ahead of the Arizona Coyotes for last place in the NHL.

  • ISS Hockey and Jeff Marek of Sportsnet each released their new draft rankings today, with both agreeing that Rasmus Dahlin has solidified his position as the no-doubt first-overall pick in June’s draft. After that though, the lists diverge with Marek leaving Andrei Svechnikov in the second spot while ISS has moved Brady Tkachuk into that position. The remaining top 10 is a mixed bag, and should make for an incredibly interesting draft day with teams having very different boards.
  • While the entire league is wondering whether the current offside review process will stay the same after another “skate blade incident” for the Edmonton Oilers last night, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that NHL Director of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell will bring up the issue once again at the GM meetings in March. There is a growing belief that the rule should be changed to that of a endzone-type plane that extends straight up, so that a player’s skate doesn’t necessarily need to be touching the ice to be onside.

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