The Buffalo Sabres got great news on Sunday morning when top four defenseman Brandon Montour made his long anticpated return to the practice group. Montour has been sidelined since September 17 when he suffered a hand injury in an exhibition game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Sabres has officially listed Brandon Montour as day-to-day. Montour could make his debut Monday night vs. Arizona. Perhaps it’s best to wait until Friday night in Washington.
Suffice it to say, Montour will be ready to rock and roll this week. Montour’s return will green light his inclusion on the trip to Sweden where the Sabres will play two games against the Tampa Lighting.
Blue & Gold make Green.
Ralph Krueger and Jason Botterill now have some work to do.
Which right D will play?
Which right D will sit down?
Will there be a trade?
This is the day that Sabres fans have been anxiously waiting for.
Buffalo hosts Arizona on Monday night. It is possible that Montour makes his season debut against the Coyotes.
The Sabres also recalled defenseman Will Borgen on Sunday morning. Borgen also is a right shot defensemen. Borgen is the seventh defenseman for now.
The addition of Montour and Borgen creates a seriously crowded house on the right side Ralph Krueger's blue line.
Here are the D duos from Sunday morning's practice:
McCabe-Ristolainen Gilmour-Miller Dahlin-Jokiharju Montour-Borgen
Adding Montour and Borgen creates a crowded house on the #Sabres50 blue line pic.twitter.com/0d7o5sCsUf
— SabresBuzz (@SabresBuzz) October 27, 2019
Montour and Borgen join fellow righties Rasmus Ristolainen, Colin Miller and Henri Jokiharju.
Which righty will be subtracted in order to add Montour to the top four?
Ristolainen once was thought to be the guy who woud sit once Montour returned. But not so fast. How do you sit Ristolainen now that he is munching 24:27 TOI per night through 12 games and has dramatically improved his defensive zone performances? Ristolainen is an even rating and has been playing superbly beside Jake McCabe on Buffalo's top D duo.
The counter point to the argument to keep Ristolainen is trading him now will deliver the most handsome return in the form of trade currency. Botterill still needs a bona fide second line centerman.
Were he to trade Ristolainen today, Botterill will easily get in return a 2C, "A" prospect and a draft pick. Ristolainen turns 25 years of age today.He has played seven seasons with the Sabres.
Food for thought, right?
Miller was acquired over the summer and has exceeded all expectations. He is dominant at both ends of the rink and has played well with Rasmus Dahlin. Miller is skating 18:35 TOI per game and like Ristolainen is a fixture at even strength and on the second power play unit.
Sabres fans will revolt if Krueger decides to sit the youngster Jokiharju in order to get Montour back in the lineup. Jokiharju has been a bright ray of light on the Buffalo blue line this season. He has showing consistent flashes of greatness with his passing, processing and skating. Jokiharju has been providing excellent value in his 16:29 TOI per game.
Also playing well is Lawrence Pilut, who made his season debut for the Rochester Amerks earlier this week. Pilut scored the OT GWG and added two assist for Rochester on Satutday night. Pilut had been on injured reserve as he recovered from off season shoulder surgery.
Veteran defender Marco Scandella and forward Jimmy Vesey were injured in thee Sabres' 6-2 loss to the NY Rangers earlier this week.
Scandella has been a stalwart defender this season with his +8 rating and 2G, 2A offensive production.
Lefty John Gilmour replaced Scandella in Buffalo's 2-0 blanking of Detroit on Friday night. Gilmour skates and creates like former Sabres D wizard Brian Campbell. He scored 20 goals in AHL Hartford last season. Gilmour has been Buffalo's seventh D-man this season.
@BuffaloSabres announce Brandon Montour is day to day. Great news. The bad news is Jimmy Vesey is week to week with his upper body injury. Marco Scandella is 2-3 weeks with lower body deal
— SabresBuzz (@SabresBuzz) October 27, 2019
Prior to his injury, Scandella was branded as the odd man out. He's 29, on and expiring $4M AAV contract and is in demand. That plan was flushed down the crapper once Scandella injured his ribs. Scandella is now lost for the next 2-3 weeks. NHL teams cannot trade injured players. Therefore, Botterill will have to be creative in his problem solving.
Save your "trade Montour" takes. It's not an option. Botterill targeted and traded for Montour last February. In 20 games with teh Sabres last season, Montur scored 2G,8A and averaged 21:46 TOI. Botterill shipped his top D prospect Brendan Guhle to Anaheim in exchange for Montour, who is a top four keeper that Botterill and Krueger can't wait to get back in their starting lineup. The Sabres own a 9-2-1 record without Montour in the lineup. Imagine how much more defensively determined the Sabres will be with Montour back in the lineup.
Will Zach Bogosian be back in the picture any time soon? No.
Zach Bogosian is still listed as “indefinite… with his hip
— SabresBuzz (@SabresBuzz) October 27, 2019
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Ralph Kreuger has empowered and inspired his Sabres to reach for the stars.
18 of 20 skaters have recorded at least one point thus far in 12 games played.
Of the 20 skaters #Sabres50 have dressed in first 12 games, 18 of them have earned at least one point. Only Rodrigues and Gilmore have failed to tally a point yet. Their day will come soon enough pic.twitter.com/15YsA2Joxe
— SabresBuzz (@SabresBuzz) October 26, 2019