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Henri Jokiharju

Snapshots: Samuelsson, Bear, Wright

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Buffalo Sabres fans held their breath last night when freshly extended defenseman Mattias Samuelsson went down with an injury in their game against Vancouver. Now, The Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski reports that Samuelsson avoided a long-term injury but is still set to miss at least “a few weeks,” joining Henri Jokiharju on the list of injured Sabres top-four defensemen.

An exact timeline won’t be had on Samuelsson until the team returns to Buffalo, head coach Don Granato said today, and the injury will force some depth defenders to shine in order for Buffalo to keep up its strong start. Lawrence Pilut will make his season debut in the team’s next game after two seasons overseas, and free-agent acquisition Ilya Lyubushkin will be tasked with replacing Samuelsson as the defensive anchor on the top pairing alongside the red-hot Rasmus Dahlin.

  • It’s no secret the Canucks are in trouble, winless so far to start the year. With injuries and general positional depth weakness hampering their defense, the team has been looking to add, and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on 32 Thoughts that the team has checked in on defenseman Ethan Bear as a potential trade acquisition. Bear, the 25-year-old right-shot defenseman, has been thrust down the depth chart in Carolina and has yet to appear in a game this season. The Hurricanes were shopping him prior to the season’s start, and the Canucks have more than enough room thanks to LTIR to accommodate his $2.2MM cap hit. He still has some upside and could provide some better matchups once Quinn Hughes returns to the lineup.
  • Sportsnet’s Jason Bukala ponders whether the Seattle Kraken may opt to send Shane Wright back to the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs after an unimpactful start to the season. Wright hasn’t received many opportunities, he has shown smooth skating and pace, but Bukala points out that Wright’s had some positional issues defensively and may need a bit more development before being able to execute his playstyle properly at the NHL level.

Lawrence Pilut Recalled By Buffalo Sabres

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After Henri Jokiharju took a puck to the face and exited last night’s game, the Buffalo Sabres have recalled Lawrence Pilut from the minor leagues. The team has not yet announced the extent of Jokiharju’s injuries.

Pilut, 26, is still waiver-exempt (amazingly), one of the biggest reasons why he wasn’t on the team to begin the year after a strong preseason. The Swedish defender is back in North America after spending the last two seasons in the KHL, and had two points in his first three games with Rochester before the recall. Undrafted, Pilut has found success at basically every level of hockey, including for a time in the NHL. In 2018-19 he played 33 games with the Sabres, recording six points and generally looking as though he could handle minutes in the big leagues.

When those minutes didn’t continue, he took an opportunity to play a bigger role in the KHL and had 28 points in 57 games during his first season in Russia. While he may never become a full-time player with the Sabres, Pilut represents some very solid depth for a club that looks like a real playoff contender this year. Buffalo is 3-1 and coming off an impressive victory over the Calgary Flames last night.

With Jokiharju exiting early, Mattias Samuelsson and Rasmus Dahlin both logged huge minutes, each nearing the 26-minute mark in the game. Jacob Bryson and Owen Power each cracked 20 themselves, while Casey Fitzgerald played just over 15. Where Pilut fits into that group remains to be seen, though with Ilya Lyubushkin nearing a return from his day-to-day injury, it’s not even a guarantee that he gets into a game at all. The Sabres continue their western trip with a stop in Vancouver tomorrow night.

Morning Notes: Barzal, Sabres, Yelesin

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After the now-infamous departure of John Tavares from the New York Islanders via free agency, all eyes on Long Island turned to promising young center Mathew Barzal to fill the void and lead the team’s offense to continued success. Needless to say, he’s succeeded, notching 311 points in 362 games so far in his young career. This season is the first time the team won’t win a playoff round since Barzal took over the no. 1 center role, and it’ll also be the first time they won’t make the playoffs at all.

As all eyes turn toward the future, though, fans will notice Barzal has one season left on his three-year, $21MM bridge deal he signed prior to 2020-21. With him once again being a restricted free agent, Barzal left the door open on a long-term extension after exit interviews, via James Nichols of The Fourth Period. While he’s yet to replicate his 85-point rookie season, he’s still chugged along at a 60+ point pace every season since then. Knowing general manager Lou Lamoriello, a long-term extension is likely something he’s interested in as well. But it’s unclear how much Barzal’s cap hit will change, considering the lack of significant offensive development during his bridge deal – does he still project to hit the 80-90 point plateau again, or is he an extremely strong no. 2 center on a Cup winner as his recent point totals suggest?

  • A report out of Sweden via HockeyNews.se today says that Buffalo Sabres forward Rasmus Asplund plans to join the team for the upcoming 2022 IIHF World Championship. Asplund played in 80 out of 82 games this season in Buffalo, setting new career highs with eight goals, 19 assists, and 27 points. He also took leaps and bounds defensively this season, showing signs he can develop into a true shutdown forward for the Sabres. Defenseman Henri Jokiharju also announced he’ll be joining Finland at the same tournament.
  • A former Calgary Flames prospect is staying in Russia for two more seasons. Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the KHL announced today they’ve reached a two-year extension with defenseman Alexander Yelesin, who appeared in four games with the Flames during 2019-20, recording no points. An undrafted free agent, the defensive defenseman played just two seasons in North America before the Flames opted to leave him unsigned. The team still retains his rights if he ever decides to return to the NHL, but that won’t come until 2024-25 at the soonest when he’ll be 28 years old.

Henri Jokiharju Out Week-To-Week

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The Buffalo Sabres released an updated injury report today, one that still includes Drake Caggiula and Malcolm Subban listed simply as “out” as they deal with long-term issues. Will Butcher, Vinnie Hinostroza, and Jack Quinn are all now day-to-day, suggesting they’ll be back in the near future, while Henri Jokiharju has joined Colin Miller and Zemgus Girgensons in the week-to-week category.

Jokiharju is the big news, as the young defenseman left a game last week but had not yet received an official timeline. The 22-year-old has really taken a step forward this season into the legitimate top-four option that many had projected when he was selected 29th overall in 2017, a role that he will now have to vacate while he works on his recovery.

In 36 games, Jokiharju has 12 points and is averaging more than 21 minutes a game. Most of that–in fact almost all of it–has come beside Rasmus Dahlin, giving the first-overall pick a stable defensive partner to help even out his development after some up-and-down years.

Both Jokiharju and the Sabres don’t have to worry about an injury affecting contract negotiations this time around, as the young defenseman signed a three-year, $7.5MM deal in September.

Injury Updates: White, Sundqvist, Jokiharju, De Haan

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Senators center Colin White will return to the lineup tonight against Montreal, relays Ian Mendes of The Athletic (Twitter link).  The 25-year-old suffered a dislocated shoulder at the end of training camp and has yet to play this season as a result.  Now three seasons removed from his 41-point campaign in 2018-19, White will likely spend time at both center and the wing as Ottawa looks to find what his ideal role for next season and beyond will be.

More injury news from around the NHL:

  • Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist suffered a lower-body injury in last night’s game against Buffalo, Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes. The good news for St. Louis is that head coach Craig Berube indicated that the injury isn’t related to the hip or knee that he had recent surgery done on.  Sundqvist has 15 points in 35 games this season – the highest point per game average of his career – and is set to be re-evaluated later today.
  • After missing last night’s game against St. Louis, Sabres defenseman Henri Jokiharju is listed as doubtful for Sunday’s contest in Colorado, reports Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News (Twitter link). The 22-year-old suffered a lower-body injury in Wednesday’s loss in Montreal.  The good news for Buffalo is that Jokiharju – who is logging more than 21 minutes a night – should be able to return early next week.
  • Blackhawks defenseman Calvin de Haan missed last night’s game due to a right groin strain, the team announced (Twitter link). The veteran is in the final year of his contract and is a strong candidate to be moved between now and next month’s trade deadline as someone that can provide some shot blocking and physicality.

Atlantic Notes: Senators, Jokiharju, Allen

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Although the Senators will be able to return to the ice on Saturday to practice, they still won’t have their full squad available.  Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that while eight of the players that were in COVID protocol will have cleared (along with associate coach Jack Capuano) winger Drake Batherson and defenseman Nikita Zaitsev (who exited protocol last Saturday only to be re-added later in the day) will remain unavailable for the time being.  If all goes according to plan, Ottawa should be able to get back to action on Monday in Colorado with Batherson and Zaitsev being available to rejoin the team partway during their West Coast road trip.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic:

  • Sabres defenseman Henri Jokiharju should be ready to return next week after missing more than a month due to a lower-body injury sustained in the season-opener, notes Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News (Twitter link). The 22-year-old logged over 18 minutes a game last season with Buffalo, earning himself a three-year, $7.5MM contract as a first-time restricted free agent back in September that solidifies him as part of their longer-term rebuilding plans.  Jokiharju skated at practice today but head coach Don Granato indicated that the blueliner needs more practice time.
  • While the Canadiens were hoping that Jake Allen would be able to return from his concussion on Saturday against Nashville, that isn’t expected to happen, relays TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie (Twitter link). The netminder was injured last Saturday against Detroit and Montreal has lost all three games since then, allowing 14 goals in that stretch.

Casey Mittelstadt And Henri Jokiharju Out A Couple Of Weeks

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Buffalo Sabres head coach Don Granato announced Friday morning that center Casey Mittelstadt and defenseman Henri Jokiharju will both be sidelined for “a couple of weeks” with different injuries.

Mittelstadt left Thursday night’s 5-1 win against the Montreal Canadiens with an upper-body injury. It’s unclear as to when or on what play Mittelstadt sustained the injury. Jokiharju played the entirety of last night’s contest, logging 16:39 of ice time. He’s sidelined with a lower-body ailment.

Granato notes that Arttu Ruotsalainen and Will Butcher will likely draw into the lineup Saturday against Arizona in the place of Mittelstadt and Jokiharju. He also says the team wants “to get everybody in,” making it seem like additional call-ups from the AHL’s Rochester Americans are likely coming to bolster the roster.

It’s an extremely tough break for a Sabres team that got off to an unexpectedly strong start, albeit through just one game. They’ll now have to move forward without their number one center in addition to a top-pairing defenseman for multiple weeks.

If Granato’s “couple of weeks” prognosis holds true, Mittelstadt and Jokiharju could miss six games over the course of the next two weeks. The Sabres have a rather light schedule to begin the season but have a pair of tough matchups against the Boston Bruins on October 22 and the defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning on October 25.

 

Buffalo Sabres Sign Henri Jokiharju

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The Buffalo Sabres have locked up a second restricted free agent after inking Casey Mittelstadt to a three-year, $7.5MM deal earlier today. Henri Jokiharju has agreed to a deal with the same terms, signing through the 2023-24 season at a $2.5MM average annual value. PuckPedia reports the full breakdown:

  • 2021-22: $2.4MM
  • 2022-23: $2.5MM
  • 2023-24: $2.6MM

Jokiharju, 22, was the player acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Alexander Nylander in 2019 and has played 115 games for the Sabres over the last two seasons. His performance in those games has been passable, though the young defenseman has still not taken the step forward some expected after making the NHL as a teenager in Chicago.

Selected 29th overall in 2017, Jokiharju was in the NHL by 2018, playing big minutes for the Blackhawks at the age of 19. In fact, he averaged 21:30 in his first 20 games in the league and racked up nine points. Unfortunately, the high ceiling he flashed during that stretch as a top-end two-way defenseman hasn’t been matched in the years since, with Jokiharju registering just eight points in 46 games this season in Buffalo.

Still, with the current situation of the Sabres, young talent that can hold their own at the NHL level will be given plenty of opportunities to show what they can do. With this contract Jokiharju becomes the only defenseman in the entire organization signed to a one-way contract for 2022-23, as Colin Miller, Will Butcher, Robert Hagg and Mark Pysyk are all scheduled for unrestricted free agency next summer. Rasmus Dahlin will join Jokiharju whenever his contract is finalized, as the two pillars to build around on the Buffalo blueline. Owen Power will likely join them before long, though he won’t be around to help when the season gets underway next month.

With Rasmus Ristolainen out of the picture, the path is clear for Jokiharju to log big minutes once again this year and prove that he is a legitimate top-four option at the NHL level. If he does, this contract will suddenly look like a steal; if he struggles, there’s not a ton of risk for the Sabres who won’t be anywhere near the cap ceiling as they continue a scorched earth rebuild.

Trade Deadline Primer: Buffalo Sabres

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Although we’re not even two months into the season, the trade deadline is just over a month away.  Where does each team stand and what moves should they be looking to make?  We continue our look around the league with the Buffalo Sabres.

No team has received more media scrutiny this season than the Buffalo Sabres. The team is floundering yet again despite adding the top free agent forward in Taylor Hall and acquiring veteran center Eric Staal. Not only have Hall and Staal disappointed, but very few members of the team have exceeded or even met expectations this season. With failing veterans, stalled youngsters, and a number of expiring contracts, the Sabres are stuck and appear primed for a fire sale and resumed focus on rebuilding.

According to a number of sources, almost anyone on the Sabres could be made available. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that Buffalo is “wide open” for business and The Athletic included four Sabres on their Trade Deadline Big Board. It all sounds very exciting to the other 30 teams and their fans, doesn’t it? Well, don’t get your hopes too high for major moves by Buffalo. Given the constraints of an NHL trade market impacted by a flat salary cap as well as real-life financial struggles, not to mention the restrictions on Canadian teams due to COVID-19 border policies, making trades this year is no easy feat. Trading a player like Jack Eichel in-season seems nearly impossible, even if the Sabres wanted to move him which is unlikely. Add in that rookie GM Kevyn Adams is new to the job and trying to build connections in a quiet market while trying to avoid being taken advantage of, and the Sabres suddenly look like a team that might end up playing it safe. Does Adams really want to move the likes of Sam Reinhart and Victor Olofsson, both of whom are among the productive minority in Buffalo, when the odds of winning such a move seem slim? Does he want to potentially overreact to the frustrations of Jeff Skinner and give away major assets to move his contract? Adams has a number of contracts expiring after this year and next that he can move without much risk of it coming back to bite him. Expect that “wide open” means he’s willing to move any amount of those players, but won’t be too keen to touch anyone else who the team may still be able to build around.

Record

6-14-3, .326, 8th in East Division

Deadline Status

Seller

Deadline Cap Space

$410,962 in full-season cap space, 0/3 retention slots used, 44/50 contracts used per CapFriendly.

Upcoming Draft Picks

2021: BUF 1st, BUF 2nd, BUF 4th, BUF 6th, BUF 7th
2022: BUF 1st, BUF 2nd, BUF 3rd, BUF 4th, BUF 6th, BUF 7th

Trade Chips

Hall of course stands out as the top trade chip for the Sabres if you assume that the likes of Eichel, Reinhart, Olofsson, and Rasmus Dahlin are not going anywhere (a safe assumption despite the whispers). The former Hart Trophy winner may not be enjoying a strong season, but he is a known commodity who can play a top-six role for any team in the league. Hall has expressed some interest in re-signing with Buffalo, but without any evidence that he is a fit and with a ways to go in their rebuild, retaining the 29-year-old Hall on a heavy price tag makes little sense. The trouble with trading him though is a potential lack of suitors who can actually afford his $8MM cap hit. A lack of demand could impact what Buffalo is able to receive in a deal, but they should still end up with a nice package. Anything is better than letting him walk for free this summer.

Staal too could see his time in Buffalo come to a quick end. The veteran center is well-respected across the league and brings solid two-way play and postseason experience. While he has lost a step, that won’t stop contenders from seeing him as a worthwhile depth addition.

On defense, Brandon Montour is absolutely on the block. The puck-moving defenseman is headed for free agency and the Sabres have made it known that they are open to renting him out. Montour has not produced as they had hoped and is no longer in their long-term plans, so Buffalo has no reason not to trade the 26-year-old defenseman. Given his offensive upside, his ability to play either side of the blue line, and his palatable $3.85MM cap hit, Montour should be easy to move. Sadly, Jake McCabe also would have been easy to move and would have returned a prime package as arguably the best left-handed defenseman on a trade deadline seller. However, his season is over due to injury and the Sabres will lose out on his trade value.

Even with Montour and McCabe out of the way this off-season, the Sabres still face a potential expansion conundrum on defense. Should Buffalo choose to protect seven forwards and three defensemen, Dahlin is a lock but it leaves only two spots to split between top-four blue liners Rasmus Ristolainen and Colin Miller and young Henri Jokiharju. The Sabres could choose to move one of the three rather than lose them for nothing to the Seattle Kraken. Ristolainen had long been a fixture on the rumor mill, but those talks have cooled significantly since last season. Do the Sabres finally move the talented defenseman, especially as his stock has risen this season? Ristolainen only has one season remaining on his contract and could be tempted to pursue a more talented team in free agency after playing exclusively for Buffalo thus far in his pro career. Miller also has just one year remaining on his deal and comes with a lesser price tag than Ristolainen, albeit with a less complete game as well. Jokijarju, 21, is not necessarily safe either; the young rearguard has not met expectations thus far in his time with the Sabres but he does have impressive upside.

In net, Buffalo will see both members of their NHL tandem hit the open market this summer barring an extension. The Sabres may be well-served to extend 27-year-old Linus Ullmark, but if the feeling isn’t mutual then they should move the net minder while he can still return value. If Ullmark is healthy, he could be a major trade chip for the Sabres. Veteran Carter Hutton is less likely to move given his struggles and his $2.75MM cap hit, but Buffalo will certainly make him available.

Others to Watch For: F Curtis Lazar ($800K, one year remaining), F Tobias Rieder ($700K, UFA), F Riley Sheahan ($700K, UFA), D Matt Irwin ($700K, UFA)

Team Needs

1) Draft Picks – Sabres fans rightfully want their team to be better and they want them to be better sooner rather than later. However, that isn’t easy to do. A rookie GM with few impact players and little cap space doesn’t have the means to immediately upgrade his roster. This team is headed toward a long, arduous rebuild. What makes accepting that reality even more difficult is that the Sabres do not even have their full complement of draft picks to build upon. Missing a third and a fifth this year and a fifth next year, Buffalo is in the unfortunate position of needing to add talent to their pipeline and don’t even have the complete means to do so. The goal for Adams and company at the deadline should be not only to recoup their missing picks but to add other high-value picks as well.

2) Prospects – If the Sabres are unable to add valuable future prospects in the form of high draft picks, they need to target current top prospects instead. The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler recently ranked Buffalo’s pipeline as 15th-best in the NHL, an unacceptable position for a team that is supposed to be rebuilding. The Sabres need to move from middle-of-the-pack toward the top of the NHL’s prospect rankings if they want to speed up their rebuild. A projected top-four defenseman and center depth should be the specific targets of their aim to add youth.

Hurricanes, Sabres Shopping Defensemen

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The Carolina Hurricanes were seeking a top-nine forward when they traded away long-time defenseman Justin Faulk this summer. However, the best return they could find was a prospect forward, Dominik Bokk, and another established defenseman in Joel Edmundson from the St. Louis Blues. Now, the Hurricanes are more or less back in the same situation, trying to deal from their blue line depth for help up front. Even after moving Faulk and Calvin de Haan in the off-season, the additions of Edmundson, Jake Gardiner, and Gustav Forsling has created yet another logjam on defense. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that Carolina is calling around to other teams and shopping veteran Trevor van Riemsdyk, as well as 23-year-old Haydn Fleury, who is no longer waiver-exempt, in hopes of landing a scoring forward in return.

However, they aren’t alone. LeBrun’s colleague Darren Dreger reports that the Buffalo Sabres are also making calls to dangle defenders in anticipation of their team getting healthy. Dreger states that Zach Bogosian and Marco Scandella will make their returns “right around the corner”, but first Buffalo will need to clear space. The red-hot Sabres likely want to avoid a major shake-up, such as moving the now-content Rasmus Ristolainen, but also likely aren’t keen to move recent additions like Brandon Montour and Colin Miller. The team can demote Lawrence Pilut and even Henri Jokiharju, but will still need to make room on the blue line. Dreger states that Buffalo is hoping to land both a top-six and bottom-six forward, so trading away a John Gilmour won’t get the job done. Bogosian, Scandella, and Jake McCabe seem like the most likely to be dealt at this point.

So who could take advantage of a market flush with capable defenders? Top contenders like the Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning, and San Jose Sharks are all struggling defensively this season and have the depth of forwards to swing a deal. The Minnesota Wild are known to be open to moving several forward and could pursue a defenseman that they see as a long-term fit. The same could be said for other struggling teams, especially those with intriguing impending free agents, such as the Los Angeles Kings (Tyler Toffoli) and New York Rangers (Chris Kreider). The Hurricanes’ and Sabres’ competition to make a deal may even lower the acquisition costs for any interested teams. The trade market appears to be heating up early this season and the odds of a deal – or several – before the holiday trade freeze are high.

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