Buffalo Sabres Recall Zach Metsa
As expected, the Buffalo Sabres have recalled defenseman Zach Metsa from the AHL’s Rochester Americans, according to a team announcement. Metsa was reassigned just a few days ago due to the activation of fellow defenseman Conor Timmins.
Simply put, the Sabres have just been better this season when Metsa is in the lineup. Throughout the year, Buffalo has a 29-5-4 record when Metsa is playing, and a 16-16-4 record when he isn’t. He’s not necessarily a game-changing defenseman like Rasmus Dahlin, but the team is clearly comfortable when Metsa is earning minutes.
Despite how Timmins has played since returning, he’ll likely be the odd man out when the Sabres get Metsa back into the lineup. Metsa isn’t relied upon to kill penalties like Timmins, but the two have held a similar role this season on the right side of the bottom pairing.
Throughout his rookie season, Metsa has put up solid production given his ice time, scoring two goals and six points in 38 games with a +20 rating, averaging 10:19 of action per game. Still, his 45.6% CorsiFor at even strength and 1.9 E+/- indicates that he’s gotten a bit of puck luck. However, that’s been true of the entire Sabres team throughout their historic run this season.
The team has hovered around a 103.0 PDO (shooting percentage + save percentage at even strength), which indicates that they are due for regression at some point. Teams will typically average a flat 100.0 throughout the season, with teams on either side of that trending toward it.
Sabres Reassign Zach Metsa
The Sabres announced Thursday that they’ve reassigned defenseman Zach Metsa to AHL Rochester.
Metsa, 27, has been on the NHL roster since early December, outside of two inconsequential minor-league assignments over the Olympic break and at the trade deadline to make him AHL-eligible for the rest of the season. He’s played in 18 of the Sabres’ last 21 games but was scratched in Wednesday’s overtime loss to the Bruins to make way for Conor Timmins, who was returning after being sidelined for three months with a broken leg.
Buffalo already has Michael Kesselring and trade-deadline pickup Luke Schenn available as extra right-shot options, so keeping Metsa up wasn’t a necessity for injury insurance. Instead, they’ll take advantage of his waiver-exempt status to make sure he keeps getting playing time in Rochester while they give the more veteran trio of Timmins, Kesselring, and Schenn more reps, keeping Metsa fresh in case they do decide to insert him into the lineup in the postseason.
Metsa returning and playing a regular role for Buffalo in the playoffs is still very much a possibility. The 5’9″ rookie righty likely takes home the award for the league’s luckiest results this season, but his impact has been impressive nonetheless. Through his first 38 NHL contests, the Quinnipiac product has managed a +20 rating, ranking second among Sabres defenders behind Mattias Samuelsson‘s +34.
That’s despite Metsa averaging just 10:19 of ice time per game. Despite only controlling 45.7% of shot attempts at 5-on-5, Metsa has only been on the ice for two goals against all season long. No defenseman in the league with at least 10 games played has been on the ice for fewer goals against per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 than Metsa at just 0.31.
Considering his xGA/60 is way up at 2.66, per Natural Stat Trick, those results were never likely to hold. The Sabres likely took a significant amount of stock in that figure in today’s decision, realizing that Kesselring’s underlying defensive impacts as a #6/7 option this season (2.44 xGA/60) are preferable.
Still, Metsa’s run this season has been a great success story for a late bloomer who earned his first NHL contract just last summer. He captained Quinnipiac to a national championship in 2023 and had spent the last two seasons in Rochester on minor-league deals before the Sabres finally decided to ink him last July. He’s still under contract through next season but will lose his waiver exemption.
Morning Notes: Edstrom, Metsa, Bentley
While the New York Rangers have had a greatly disappointing season overall, this season has nonetheless been one where a few of the team’s younger players have taken real steps forward. While the rapid growth of star prospect Gabe Perreault, and the resurgence of 2020 No. 1 overall pick Alexis Lafreniere, have drawn the headlines, the Rangers are also benefiting from the development of the team’s younger role players. One player occupying that status who has taken a real step forward this season is big Swedish forward Adam Edstrom.
Edstrom, 25, has earned enough of the trust of head coach Mike Sullivan that he was kept in the team’s lineup as a fourth-line center over Juuso Parssinen, despite the fact that Edstrom has not played center since joining the North American professional ranks. Edstrom occupied the role for the Rangers’ victory over the Minnesota Wild yesterday, and it’s worth considering what that development might mean for Parssinen’s future in New York. If the 25-year-old, who has three points in 19 games this season, is being held out of the lineup in favor of a natural winger in Edstrom, it suggests he may not be in the Rangers’ future plans. Whether or not Edstrom is able to stick at the center position could seriously impact whether Parssinen will play out the next year on his contract (through 2026-27 at a $1.25MM) with the Rangers or elsewhere.
Other notes from around the NHL:
- When the Buffalo Sabres traded ascending winger J.J. Peterka to the Utah Mammoth last summer, one of the key pieces the team received in return was big defenseman Michael Kesselring. While Josh Doan has since emerged as the key part of the Sabres’ return in that deal, Kesselring was nonetheless seen as an important building block for the Sabres. That’s what makes the recent rise of former Quinnipiac University Bobcat Zach Metsa so surprising. Yesterday, Metsa played next to Rasmus Dahlin, while Kesselring spent his second straight game as a healthy scratch. Head coach Lindy Ruff’s increased level of trust in Metsa is worth monitoring moving forward. The Sabres’ blueline has become increasingly crowded, and once Mattias Samuelsson returns from injury, it’s fair to wonder what Kesselring’s path to playing time might look like. The 26-year-old has two points in 32 games this season and is a pending RFA with arbitration rights.
- The Laval Rocket, AHL affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens, signed NCAA free agent Dillan Bentley to a two-year, one-way AHL contract that runs through the 2027-28 season. Bentley will join Laval on a tryout for the rest of the 2025-26 campaign. Bentley, 24, joins the pro ranks after a four-year college career at UMass-Lowell. He was an alternate captain for the team this season, scoring 14 goals and 25 points in 33 games. He formerly served as the captain of his junior team in the NAHL. The signing returns the Canadiens to some familiar territory. This isn’t the first time the team’s management group, which has deep roots in the state of Massachusetts, has signed a top player out of Lowell; the Canadiens signed Lowell captain Lucas Condotta as an NCAA free agent in 2022. Condotta now serves as the Rocket’s captain.
Buffalo Sabres Recall Zach Metsa
The Buffalo Sabres announced this morning that they have recalled defenseman Zach Metsa from their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans.
Metsa was originally reassigned at the start of the Olympic break. He’s spent a larger portion of this season on the Sabres’ NHL roster. Since Buffalo next plays on Wednesday, the same day the Americans have their next game, Metsa would not get the chance to play in any additional games by remaining on the AHL roster, hence today’s recall.
Today’s recall comes during what has been the most successful campaign of Metsa’s pro career. The 27-year-old is an undrafted player who signed with the Sabres coming out of college, where he captained Quinnipiac University to a national championship in 2022-23. Metsa has developed at a steady pace at the AHL level, going from 24 points in 54 games in his rookie season to 46 points in 69 games as a second-year pro.
This season, Metsa has 15 points in 16 games as his performances earned him a depth role at the NHL level. While he hasn’t yet earned the trust of head coach Lindy Ruff to the point where he’s trusted to play a strong diet of minutes (he averages just 9:42 time on ice per game) he has gotten into 26 NHL games.
If Metsa can continue to earn the trust of Ruff, the Sabres could end up getting real surplus value on Metsa’s contract. The two-year deal he signed in July of last year has an additional season remaining at a $775K NHL salary and $325K total guarantee.
While Metsa isn’t playing very much in the NHL right now, if he can build himself to the point where he’s relied on as a capable third-pairing or even No. 7 defenseman, his league-minimum NHL cap hit should give the Sabres solid cap savings next to what a comparable player might cost on the open market.
When Metsa was sent down on Feb. 6, he was reassigned alongside two young Sabres forwards: Konsta Helenius and Isak Rosén. Neither player has been recalled to this point, but given how well each has played at the AHL level this season, it would be a surprise to see them spend too much time in Rochester in the remaining portion of the season.
Buffalo Sabres Reassign Three Players
The Buffalo Sabres have reassigned three players to their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans: forwards Konsta Helenius and Isak Rosen, as well as defenseman Zach Metsa. The moves are part of the Sabres’ preparations for the Olympic break now that their slate of NHL games before the Olympics has concluded.
It’s no major surprise that Buffalo would want to see this trio of players become available for the Americans over the break. Getting each one back onto the AHL roster will give Rochester a significant, immediate boost in its odds of winning games, starting tonight when they take on the Springfield Thunderbirds.
Helenius and Rosen are two of Rochester’s best forwards. Helenius, 19, was Buffalo’s 2024 first-round pick and the No. 14 overall pick of his draft class. Helenius was selected after a strong 36-point rookie campaign playing against men in Finland’s Liiga, meaning his quick transition to the AHL game isn’t hugely surprising.
He scored 14 goals and 36 points last season as an AHL rookie, and has nine goals and 30 points across 34 AHL games this season. Despite spending some time on the Sabres NHL roster, Helenius remains ranked No. 2 in scoring among forwards on the Americans roster in 2025-26.
The Americans’ leading forward scorer is Rosen, one of the club’s 2021 first-round picks. It’s a big year for the pending RFA, as he’s looking to finally seize a more permanent role on the Sabres’ NHL roster. That will have to wait until after the break, but during the break, he is expected to be one of Rochester’s key forwards. He scored 28 goals and 55 points in the AHL last season, and has 20 goals and 32 points in 30 games this year.
Unlike both forwards that were reassigned, Metsa is not a first-round pick and top prospect. Instead, the blueliner is a 27-year-old undrafted player who has carved out a real NHL role for himself after putting together a steep, positive development trajectory in Rochester. The right-shot blueliner scored 24 points in 54 games as an AHL rookie in 2023-24 before jumping up to 46 points in 69 games last season.
This year, Metsa has spent more time in the NHL than the AHL. He has 13 points in 14 AHL games, and has played in 26 NHL games, scoring two points. He’s largely been a sheltered third-pairing blueliner in the NHL, averaging just 9:42 time on ice per game.
While he’s yet to fully earn the trust of head coach Lindy Ruff, the fact that he’s been able to play in so many NHL games over other depth blueliners indicates just how much his standing has grown in the Sabres organization over the last year.
He’ll be one of the Americans’ top defensemen during the break and could very well land back with the team if the Sabres elect to add defensive reinforcements from outside the organization via a trade at some point after the roster freeze, but before the trade deadline.
Sabres Recall Zach Metsa, Reassign Noah Ostlund
The Buffalo Sabres have recalled defenseman Zach Metsa from the AHL’s Rochester Americans. Metsa was reassigned last Monday. He played in three games with Rochester last week and recorded two points, one penalty, and a plus-two.
Metsa played in the first four NHL games of his career earlier this season. He hasn’t found a scoresheet yet, other than one penalty, but has recorded a plus-three. Metsa has been a much more electric piece for Rochester. He has 13 points in 14 games with the Americans, good for second on the blue-line in scoring behind Zac Jones’ 20 points in 20 games.
Metsa, 27, is emerging as a potential NHL option after two strong AHL seasons to start his career. He joined Rochester as an undrafted free agent in 2022-23, after five years at Quinnipiac University, where he won one NCAA National Championship. Metsa had a quiet first year – with just 28 points in his first 72 AHL games. That preluded a true breakout last season. He recorded 49 points in 77 games, including playoffs, last season. That led Rochester’s defense in scoring and ranked third on the team overall. He has kept up the hot scoring through this season, helping to cement his spot on top of Buffalo’s call-up sheet over the more experienced Jones.
To make room for Metsa’s recall, Buffalo has also loaned center Noah Ostlund back to the AHL. The second-year pro has been Metsa’s counterpart on offense, bouncing between the NHL and AHL lineup for much of the year. He has seven points in six AHL games and six poinst in 20 NHL games. It’s the first scoring of his NHL career, after he failed to produce in the first eight games of his career last season. Ostlund will look to rediscover his offensive production with a return to the Americans, after only posting one assist in his last nine games with Buffalo.
Sabres Activate Josh Norris From Injured Reserve
4:05 p.m.: The Sabres have activated Norris. Defenseman Zach Metsa is headed down to AHL Rochester in the corresponding move, per Heather Engel of NHL.com. Metsa was recalled from Rochester on Nov. 17 to serve as an extra defenseman with Michael Kesselring on injured reserve, but he’s been a healthy scratch in seven straight and hasn’t played an NHL game since a previous recall in October. The 27-year-old is without a point in four appearances this season but has a +3 rating in his first taste of the big leagues.
11:01 a.m.: Sabres center Joshua Norris will make his return to the lineup Monday against the Jets, head coach Lindy Ruff confirmed to reporters (including Rachel Lenzi of The Buffalo News). The team will need to open a roster spot to activate him from injured reserve.
The injury-plagued Norris is wrapping up yet another multi-week absence. The 26-year-old sustained an upper-body injury while taking a faceoff late in Buffalo’s season opener and has spent nearly two months on the shelf as a result. He also suffered a season-ending mid-body injury last year, just a week after the Sabres acquired him from the Senators in the Dylan Cozens swap. Dating back to his pickup, he’s only played in four of 46 possible games for Buffalo.
He’ll be getting his feet wet in a significant role, centering the Sabres’ top line between Zach Benson and Tage Thompson. That’s where the Sabres planned to use him to start the year, but Benson was unavailable for the first three games of the season after taking a puck to the face in practice. Tonight marks the season debut for that line as a result.
If Norris plays every game the rest of the way for a total of 58 appearances, that would still mark one of the most durable seasons he’s had in his NHL career. He’s only ever topped the 60-game mark once during his 35-goal breakout with Ottawa back in 2021-22. Since then, shoulder issues have decimated his availability. He only managed eight appearances in 2022-23 and played 50-some games for the Sens in each of the following two seasons before they cut bait and sent him to Buffalo for Cozens.
When healthy, though, Norris has displayed the upside the Sharks saw in him when they selected him No. 19 overall in the 2019 draft. He’s spent nearly all of his time in the league as a top-six piece and has averaged 17:49 of ice time per game across 240 career appearances. Per 82 games, he scores at a 31-goal, 54-point pace. If he can finally stay healthy for an extended stretch, he’d fill a significant hole Buffalo has down the middle and could go a long way toward elevating the Sabres’ offense out of the bottom half of the league.
Sabres Recall Zach Metsa, Place Michael Kesselring On IR
The Sabres announced they’ve recalled defenseman Zach Metsa from AHL Rochester. They didn’t have an open roster spot but placed fellow rearguard Michael Kesselring on injured reserve to make one, according to Rachel Lenzi of The Buffalo News. Kesselring is still being evaluated after sustaining an apparent ankle injury Saturday against the Red Wings, but is expected to be out long-term, head coach Lindy Ruff told reporters (including Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550).
Metsa has already been recalled once this season. He was summoned for 11 days last month, resulting in the first four appearances of the 27-year-old’s NHL career. He didn’t record a point and averaged a minuscule 8:49 of ice time per game, but managed to record a +3 rating and four shot attempts. The 5’9″ righty added two blocks and a hit but didn’t have great possession metrics, controlling 42% of shot attempts at 5-on-5 despite starting nearly 80% of shifts in the offensive zone.
The Wisconsin native went undrafted out of the BCHL in 2017 but eventually landed at Quinnipiac University, where he spent five seasons and captained the team to a national championship in 2023. He recorded a 9-28–37 scoring line in 40 games during his graduate season, earning NCAA All-Tournament Team honors, but he didn’t initially secure an NHL contract. He spent the last two seasons on minor-league deals with Rochester before finally landing his first big-league deal, a two-year, two-way pact, from the Sabres in July.
Metsa has rewarded Buffalo’s commitment with his best play yet in the minors. The talented playmaker at the blue line has two goals and nine assists for 11 points through 11 games with a +2 rating. Ten of those points have come in his last six games down in Rochester, including a three-assist night against the Bridgeport Islanders on Saturday.
His right-shot attribute made him the natural replacement for a fellow righty in Kesselring instead of more experienced names like Zachary Jones or Ryan Johnson. He’ll serve as the Sabres’ extra defenseman for the foreseeable future, but with Conor Timmins serving as the only other right-shot rearguard on the active roster, he might have the inside track toward a No. 6 job over lefty Jacob Bryson.
Kesselring, 25, was viewed as the principal piece of the return the Sabres received from the Mammoth for winger JJ Peterka during the offseason. So far, though, it’s been winger Josh Doan who’s proved the more invaluable part of the deal with 12 points in 18 games. That’s not entirely Kesselring’s fault, though. He sustained an undisclosed injury in training camp that, together with his now-injured ankle, has limited him to nine games. However, he’s been a non-factor when healthy, averaging just 15:37 of ice time per game and posting a -3 rating with no points.
Sabres Activate Michael Kesselring From Injured Reserve
Oct. 28: Kesselring will make his Sabres debut tonight and come off injured reserve, Ruff confirmed to Rachel Lenzi of The Buffalo News.
Oct. 27: The Buffalo Sabres have assigned defenseman Zach Metsa to the AHL’s Rochester Americans. The move will open the roster space to activate defenseman Michael Kesselring off of injured reserve. Head coach Lindy Ruff said he expects the team to make that roster move before Tuesday’s game against Columbus, as long as all goes well in the morning.
Kesselring has missed the first nine games of the season with a lower-body injury sustained in an October 1st preseason game. The injury delayed his debut with the Buffalo Sabres after joining the team alongside Josh Doan in the June trade that sent JJ Peterka to the Utah Mammoth.
That trade will be top of mind as Kesselring prepares for his first regular-season game in the blue and gold. Doan has already wowed fans with his early-year performance, netting six points and already rivaling a top-line role. But at the time of the move, many expected Kesselring to have a bigger impact in Buffalo after he proved to be a capable top-four defender in Utah.
Kesselring played in all 82 games of Utah’s inaugural season. He received the lowest average ice time (17:41) among a heavily-rotated Hockey Club defense, but routinely faced challenging roles alongside top defenseman Mikhail Sergachev and against top competition. He was strong on both sides of the puck, showing off a strong stick, lightning-quick speed, and heads-up passing. Those talents led Kesselring to 29 points on the year, the second-most on Utah’s blue line behind Sergachev (53).
Kesselring looked similarly capable in his rookie season of 2023-24. He finished that year with 21 points in 65 games, while operating from a third-pair role with the Arizona Coyotes. With two years of improvement to start his career, he now seems well-poised to bear some more responsibility with the Buffalo Sabres. Buffalo has relied on Conor Timmins and Metsa to fill the right side behind captain Rasmus Dahlin. Timmins has faired pretty well in the second-pair role, recording three assists and 24 blocked shots in nine games. Metsa has been less productive, with no scoring and just two blocks in four games. Kesselring should step ahead of Timmins on the depth chart, placing him next to former first-overall pick Owen Power. Power’s sturdy defense could be a great match for the typically aggressive Kesselring.
Meanwhile, Metsa’s brief appearance in the NHL will come to an end. He played the first NHL games of his career this season, after starting the year with two pointless games with the Americans. Metsa led Rochester’s blue line with 46 points in 69 games last season. It was his second pro season. He posted 24 points in 54 games as an AHL rookie. The 27-year-old will look to return to his top role on the Rochester blue line, and could remain a call-up option should Buffalo face any more injuries.
Sabres Reassign Ryan Johnson, Recall Zach Metsa
4:55 p.m.: The team later announced that defenseman Zach Metsa, not a forward, is the corresponding recall. It’s now clear that Johnson’s demotion was made purely with the intent of getting him more ice time in Rochester. If Metsa plays, it’ll be his NHL debut. The 5’9″ righty has worked his way up Buffalo’s depth chart since signing there as a free agent in 2023, fresh off captaining Quinnipiac to a national championship. The Wisconsin native broke out to lead Rochester’s defense in scoring last season, finishing third on the team overall with a 7-39–46 line in 69 games.
3:55 p.m.: The Sabres have assigned defenseman Ryan Johnson to AHL Rochester, according to the league’s transactions log. They haven’t made a corresponding transaction yet, but they could be sending the waiver-exempt rearguard down to open space for a forward recall after Justin Danforth left last night’s win over the Senators with a lower-body injury.
Johnson, a first-round pick in 2019, cracked the Sabres out of camp this year for the first time since signing out of college in 2023. He’s been used sparingly, though. He’s suited up in three of Buffalo’s four contests but has averaged just nine minutes of ice time per game, including a career-low 5:12 against Ottawa yesterday. In those minutes, he’s yet to record a point, has an even rating, and has registered four shot attempts with three blocks and two hits. He’s been on the ice for one goal against at even strength and only controlled 40.7% of shot attempts.
The 24-year-old’s development has hit the back burner after what was initially a smooth transition to pro hockey. He made 41 appearances for the Sabres as a rookie in 2023-24, managing a +3 rating with promising possession metrics (52.7 CF%, 52.9 xGF%) in bottom-pairing duties. He only registered eight hits, but the 6’1″ lefty looked on track to be the defensively responsible piece Buffalo drafted him to be and a potential long-term No. 3 on their left side behind Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power.
It’s been tough sledding for the California native since then, though. This summer, he signed a three-year deal as a restricted free agent that will only pay him the league minimum NHL salary each season. It starts as a two-way deal this year, paying him $350K in the minors, before becoming a one-way pact for 2026-27 and 2027-28. He had a fine showing in Rochester last year, only recording a 2-11–13 scoring line in 66 games but finishing sixth on the team with a +13 rating.
He’ll now look to get more wide-open minutes in Rochester before getting his next look with the Sabres on the NHL roster. Buffalo is now only carrying six defensemen, including Mattias Samuelsson, who’s missed the last two games with an undisclosed injury but never landed on IR. Johnson’s demotion implies Samuelsson should be good to go for Saturday against the Panthers but the Sabres also have enforcer Mason Geertsen available, who’s mainly a forward but has dressed on defense in the past.