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Buffalo Sabres Reassign Lukas Rousek

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03/26/23: The Sabres announced this morning that Rousek has been sent back down to AHL Rochester.

It’s a tough break for one of Rochester’s top scorers, as Rousek didn’t draw into the lineup for the Sabres’ win over the New York Islanders yesterday. Having spent the day a healthy scratch, he’ll now head back to the AHL where he’ll resume playing a major role in the Americans’ playoff push.

03/25/23: Lukas Rousek’s first full professional season has been a strong one and he was rewarded for his efforts on Saturday as the Sabres announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled the forward from Rochester of the AHL.

The 23-year-old was a sixth-round pick by Buffalo back in 2019 and this is his first NHL promotion.  After an ACL injury cost him the bulk of last season, Rousek has been productive this year with the Americans, notching 15 goals and 33 assists in 61 games; his assist and point totals are good for second on the team in scoring.  If Rousek suits up for the Sabres, he’ll be the third player from their 2019 draft class to see NHL action.

Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News clarifies (Twitter link) that the move has been classified as an emergency recall.  Tage Thompson was injured last night while Jordan Greenway has missed the last week with an upper-body injury.  Meanwhile, Vinnie Hinostroza is away from the team for personal reasons so Buffalo certainly needed to bring a forward up.  Rousek will get that opportunity but as soon as one of those players is able to return, he’ll need to be sent back to the minors or have his recall converted to a regular one which would then count against the post-deadline limit of four.

Latest On Devon Levi

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  • Devon Levi, one of the game’s top goalie prospects, was on the ice today for Buffalo Sabres practice according to The Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski. The former Northeastern Husky earned a three-year entry-level deal jam-packed with performance bonuses and remains on the Sabres’ active roster. While it’s not officially clear whether Buffalo plans on getting Levi some NHL action over the course of the rest of this season, his presence with the team and on their roster, rather than with the AHL’s Rochester Americans, indicates that the team could be leaning towards giving Levi a chance against NHL competition.

Eric Comrie Nearing A Return

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There should soon be a logjam between the pipes in Buffalo for the stretch run.  Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News relays that goaltender Eric Comrie has resumed skating and is expected to return soon from his lower-body injury.  The 27-year-old has had a rough first season with the Sabres, posting a 3.95 GAA with a .877 SV% in 17 starts.  When cleared, he’ll join Craig Anderson and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen as available options for Buffalo (Luukkonen wasn’t papered down at the deadline and thus is ineligible to play there again this season).  Those three will also soon be joined by top prospect Devon Levi who is still waiting for his immigration paperwork to be finalized to allow him to officially join the team.

Injury Notes: Canadiens, Greenway, Johnson

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The Montreal Canadiens have been absolutely ravaged by injuries yet again this season, missing key players for long stretches. While they have no playoff aspirations at this point in the season, there is still some promising news for the team health-wise. The Athletic’s Marc Antoine Godin reports that forwards Kirby Dach, Jake Evans, and Brendan Gallagher were all at practice today, albeit in non-contact jerseys.

All three have missed significant stretches of time this season, especially Gallagher, who’s played just 25 games with intermittent lower-body injuries. His latest absence has kept him out since January 3 and is past his original estimated return timeline of six weeks. Evans exited the lineup a few weeks later and was issued a 10-week recovery timeline from a knee injury. Dach has been out since the end of last month with a lower-body injury and has no timeline for a return.

All are important players to Montreal in their own right, but Dach has especially been impressive in his first season in Montreal. The third overall pick in 2019 has taken a significant step in his offensive development since being acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks, adding an even brighter star to an already bright future for the Canadiens.

  • Buffalo Sabres winger Jordan Greenway is out day-to-day with an upper-body injury, according to Bleacher Report contributor Joe Yerdon, adding to a bumpy season for him. The 26-year-old has just one goal in eight games since the Sabres acquired him at the trade deadline, and the team is quickly plummeting out of the Wild Card race.
  • On a positive note, The Denver Post’s Bennett Durando reports that Colorado Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson practiced in a regular jersey today, signaling he’s close to a return. Johnson has missed over a month with a foot injury but could draw back into the lineup soon ahead of the playoffs. The 34-year-old has seven assists in 51 games this season.

Arttu Ruotsalainen Won't Return To Swiss Team Next Year

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  • Forward Arttu Ruotsalainen’s time with EHC Kloten of the Swiss National League has ended, according to a team announcement. Ruotsalainen, 25, did not accept his qualifying offer from the Buffalo Sabres last offseason, instead opting for more opportunity in Europe, where he scored 42 points in 52 games with Kloten. If a return to the NHL is in the cards for Ruotsalainen this summer, it will be with Buffalo barring a trade, as the Sabres still hold the undrafted forward’s NHL rights.

Devon Levi To Begin Career With Buffalo Sabres

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  • Fresh off signing Devon Levi to an entry level contract, Buffalo Sabres GM Kevyn Adams appears to have decided to keep the young netminder in Buffalo for the time being. The Buffalo News reporter Lance Lysowski quotes Adams as saying “We’ll kind of take it day by day, but we just thought for his development, where we are right now, this was a critical time for him to learn and grow with us and that’s why he’s coming right in.” For the Sabres it makes sense to have the young netminder shadow a veteran like Craig Anderson. Levi has had a rocket like trajectory as he has come from out of nowhere after being drafted in the seventh round and playing CCHL Tier 1 hockey in Ontario for the 2019-20 season. Should he continue on this path he could be the Sabres goaltender of the future.

Buffalo Sabres Sign Devon Levi

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1:42 p.m.: PuckPedia confirms that Levi’s entry-level contract starts immediately, which will make him a restricted free agent in 2025. The contract has a cap hit of $925K and a breakdown as follows:

2022-23: $832.5K salary, $92.5K signing bonus, $80K minors salary
2023-24: $832.5K salary, $92.5K signing bonus, $80K minors salary, $925K Schedule A performance bonus
2024-25: $832.5K salary, $92.5K signing bonus, $80K minors salary, $1MM Schedule A performance bonus

Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News also reports that Levi will not be assigned to Rochester and will immediately be added to the Sabres roster.

1:04 p.m.: Buffalo Sabres fans could get to see their potential goalie of the future in a Sabres uniform relatively soon. The team has signed goalie prospect Devon Levi to a three-year entry-level contract, with financial terms undisclosed.

A 2020 seventh-round pick of the Florida Panthers, Levi was the key prospect sent to Buffalo in return for forward Sam Reinhart. Since the trade, Levi’s numbers have been nothing short of spectacular playing for Northeastern University. In 66 games over two seasons with the school, Levi’s posted a 38-22-6 record, a whopping 16 shutouts, a 1.90 goals-against average, and a .942 save percentage.

It was Levi’s performance for Team Canada at the 2021 World Juniors that first earned him accreditation as a top goalie prospect, though. In seven games, the surprise starter notched three shutouts and a .964 save percentage en route to a gold medal.

At this time, Buffalo has not announced whether Levi will report to Buffalo or the AHL’s Rochester Americans. Given the team is already carrying three goalies at the NHL level, though, Rochester is the likely destination for Levi.

Levi, 21, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, 24, now form a capable tandem of young netminders to take over for the admirable but aging Craig Anderson. While it’s rare for a goalie to make the jump directly to the NHL from the college ranks, Levi’s numbers are even rarer. As Buffalo gets closer to playoff contention, Levi is a name to watch as a pivotal piece for the franchise over the next number of years.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported things were “in motion” between Levi and the Sabres soon before the news dropped.

Mattias Samuelsson Listed As Week-To-Week

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The Buffalo Sabres reported on Sunday morning that defenseman Mattias Samuelsson will be listed as week-to-week with an upper-body injury after the team’s overtime loss to the New York Rangers last night. Already without top defenseman Rasmus Dahlin in the lineup, the Sabres will once again be looking for different players to step up on their back end in the team’s pursuit of a playoff spot.

Unlike Dahlin, Samuelsson is not known for his offensive prowess coming from the blue line. Drafted 32nd overall by the Sabres in the 2018 NHL draft, Samuelsson has become a very serviceable defenseman for Buffalo. With only eight points so far this season, before the injury, Samuelsson was well on his way to recording over 100 blocks and 100 hits this season. Becoming one of the more physical players on the Sabres’ back end, the team rewarded his work ethic with a 7-year, $30MM contract extension which will kick in next year.

Thankfully for Sabres fans, Scott Harrington of TBN Sports reports that head coach Don Granato clarified it is not a season-ending injury for Samuelsson. As the Sabres continue their hunt towards making the playoffs for the first time since the 2010-11 season, they will be without one of their most physical players for the foreseeable future.

East Notes: Sabres Injuries, Stamkos, Steeves

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The Buffalo Sabres issued updates on several key injuries this morning. Defenseman Rasmus Dahlin is still day-to-day with an upper-body injury and did not practice with the team this morning. A few moments later, the team announced that goaltender Eric Comrie is listed as week-to-week with a lower-body injury. Fortunately, Mike Harrington of TBN Sports shared a video of Alex Tuch practicing in a regular jersey this morning; he has been out of the lineup since their February 24th game against the Florida Panthers.

Going 4-5-1 in their last ten games, the Sabres are beginning to falter in the Eastern Conference playoff race. After their loss last night, they are now seven points behind the New York Islanders, the current holder of the final wild-card spot. With three games in hand, the Sabres are not out of it yet, but the injuries to the back end will not help their playoff aspirations. On the bright side of things, the potential return of Tuch gives Buffalo the ability to put another point-per-game player back into their lineup. In 57 games this year, Tuch has scored 28 goals and 34 assists, helping create a solid trio with Tage Thompson and Jeff Skinner.

Other notes:

  • In an awkward collision into the boards with new Chicago Blackhawks forward Joey Anderson, Steven Stamkos left yesterday’s game with an apparent leg injury. After getting up, Stamkos appeared to be unable to put any pressure on his left leg, hobbling back to the bench. The Tampa Bay Lightning have given no official update as to the status of Stamkos, but the team did report that head coach Jon Cooper believes he will be “OK”, and they kept him out last night’s game as a precaution. With 16 games remaining in the regular season, the Lightning are battling with the Toronto Maple Leafs for home territory in the first round.
  • In a press release this morning, the Maple Leafs announced that forward Alex Steeves has been recalled from their AHL affiliate Toronto Marlies, a day after he was demoted to the minors. In 55 games this season with the Marlies, Steeves has scored 17 goals and 28 assists. The Maple Leafs have employed him more sparingly throughout the year, playing in only three games with the NHL club, and averaging just under eight minutes of ice time.

 

Poll: Who Will Be The Wild Card Teams In The Eastern Conference?

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Now that the NHL and AHL trade deadlines have passed, the league is full speed ahead toward the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. With between 15-18  games left in the regular season, there are only nine points separating the seventh-place and 13th-place teams in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

If the season ended today, the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins would cross the finish line as the wild-card winners in the East. In their last ten games, respectively, the Islanders are 7-2-1, while the Penguins are 5-4-1. Whether or not they have the rosters to get it done, both teams made moves at the deadline in hopes of making the playoffs this year.

Following behind them, the Florida Panthers and Ottawa Senators are making the strongest case to move past the Islanders and Penguins. In their last ten, the Panthers are 6-4-0, while the Senators are 7-3-0. The Panthers are not the same dominant team that they were last year, but they still have an extremely talented roster led by Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk.

The Senators are following a much different course. After a few seasons of rebuilding, the Senators are finally a fun hockey team to watch again. After signing Claude Giroux and making a trade for Alex DeBrincat, the Senators had hope for meaningful games in April at the beginning of the season. Starting slow out of the gate, it seems this team has put it all together as the season has progressed. By acquiring top trade candidate Jakob Chychrun at the deadline, the Senators have the team to bring the Eastern wild-card race down to the wire.

Rounding out the last of the group that could theoretically reach the playoffs, the Washington Capitals, Buffalo Sabres, and Detroit Red Wings are still within striking distance. The Capitals and Red Wings both chose to sell at the deadline, while the Sabres’ biggest move was acquiring Jordan Greenway from the Minnesota Wild. The Sabres have a similar aura around them as the Senators, after they too have an exciting team after years of rebuilding. However, all three of these teams have a losing record in their last ten games, with the Sabres’ last game being a 10-4 blowout loss to the Dallas Stars.

So who will it be PHR readers? Cast your vote and let us know which two teams will win the wild-card race in the East.

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