It’s Blue Monday inside the National Hockey League today.
All thirty one NHL general managers and their lieutenants are tasked with having to whittle their rosters down to meet league mandate.
Thirty nine bubble-players have learned their fate and have been waived, four of which play for the Buffalo Sabres.
Sabres GM Jason Botterill has waived forwards Curtis Lazar, Scott Wilson and Remi Elie, along with defenseman Casey Nelson.
The Sabres also assigned three players to the Amerks: forwards Rasmus Asplund and Tage Thompson, and defenseman Lawrence Pilut.
The Sabres are off today and will return to practice on Tuesday in preparation for their 2019-20 season opener against the Pittsburgh Penguins this Thursday night.
Botterill now has 26 players on his Sabres roster, including defensemen Zach Bogosian (hip), Brandon Montour (hand) and Matt Hunwick (neck), and goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (hip), who are recovering from injuries.
Assuming Botterill places Bogosian and Montour on injured reserve, here’s what the Sabres roster should look like on opening night:
Trios:
L1: Olofsson-Eichel-Reinhart
L2: Skinner-Johansson-Sheary
L3: Vesey-Mittelstadt-Rodrigues
L4: Girgensons-Sobotka-Okposo
*13F: Larsson
Duos:
P1: Dahlin-Miller
P2: McCabe-Ristolainen
P3: Scandella-Jokiharju
*7D: Gilmour extra
Bartenders:
Hutton
Ullmark
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I’m shocked, however, not surprised that
Jason Botterill and Ralph Krueger decided to keep veteran bottom six forwards Zemgus Girgensons and Johan Larsson rather than plug and play the promising youngsters Tage Thompson and Curtis Lazar.
Keeping the older Girgensons and Larsson is the .org of least resistance. I get it. Botterill and Krueger have decided to go with what they know rather than give the kids an opportunity. Girgensons and Larsson are fourth liners who grind at even strength and excel on the PK. I am ready to move on from Zemgus and Larsson in lieu of adding more speed and skill to the fourth line. Thompson and Lazar each played exceptionally well in the exhibition games that they participated in.
My guess is that Krueger sent Thompson and Lazar to the Amerks with a promise in their hip pocket:
“Go to Rochester, do it with a positive attitude, dominate the top six forward group and enjoy the expanded role and increased ice time. Be leaders, light the lamp, okay stifling D and you will be our first call ups when injuries arise with the Sabres.”
I legit see an opportunity for Thompson and Lazar in Buffalo in the near future.
Botterill and Krueger are men of their word.
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Congratulations to John Gilmour who will break camp as Buffalo’s seventh defenseman. Gilmour passed his audition by playing fast, passing meticulously, skating furiously and responsible defensively in his exhibition performances.
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I’m all in on Botterill claiming forward Daniel Sprong off waivers from Anaheim.
Sprong played for Botterill at AHL Wilkes Barre Scranton.
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