Sabres make four roster moves as season opener approaches

As the opening week of the 2021-2022 NHL season is officially upon us, teams must have their final roster set and ready for the regular season by 5 pm this afternoon. The Buffalo Sabres now sit at the 23 player max as they made three moves yesterday and one today to get to that number.

Buffalo cut three players yesterday to cut their roster size down to 24 players. Axel Jonsson-Fjallby, Casey Fitzgerald, and Brandon Biro were all waived by the Sabres yesterday. Don Granato announced today that preseason and camp standout JJ Peterka was assigned to the Rochester Americans. So the Sabres now sit at 23 players.

Peterka being sent to Rochester may come as a bit of a surprise to many, as he was having a great camp and really making a push to be part of the Sabres opening night roster on Thursday night. He tallied three goals in five preseason appearances.

But from a developmental standpoint, having Peterka play in Rochester for the Americans makes plenty of sense. He will learn a lot more being one of the top guys in Rochester than he would have if he was being a rotational player who did not get much ice time in Buffalo. But it seems like a safe bet that we will see Peterka play for the Sabres at some point before the season’s end.

Casey Fitzgerald is another skater we could see in Buffalo at some point this season. The 24-year-old defenseman has played the last three seasons in the AHL for the Americans. He must clear waivers to return to the Americans. But if he ends up in Rochester, he would be a prime candidate for a mid-season call-up to Buffalo.

Now focus shifts to lines in practice to get a preview of what we might be seeing on opening night. With a handful of new faces and young guys in Buffalo, it will be interesting to see what the lines will look like to start the season.