The Buffalo Sabres recently placed Mark Jankowski on waivers before reassigning him to the Rochester Americans.
Mark Jankowski’s recent reassignment comes as the Buffalo Sabres look to make room for the returning Zemgus Girgensons. While Jankowski has never been the NHL’s most relevant player, he has carved out a niche over six seasons in the league.
For one, he boasts a career shooting percentage of 13.8%. Not a bad number for a low-tier player. He’s also fair with winning face-offs, having won 48.9% throughout his career. And until this season, he held a positive takeaway/giveaway ratio since 2016-17.
Jankowski has shown he’s far better of a player than the Sabres have given him credit for. Especially on the lower lines.
Does Mark Jankowski have a future with the Buffalo Sabres?
Despite Jankowski’s serviceable returns over his three NHL stops that included stints with the Calgary Flames and Pittsburgh Penguins, the Sabres are also looking to get younger. Jankowski will be 28 come October, and therefore he will see the team pass on him in favor of guys like Jack Quinn, Brandon Biro, and J.J. Peterka to name a few.
And rightfully so. The Sabres need to see what they have in their younger talent. But if Jankowski is willing to commit to time in the AHL, the Sabres can at least keep him in the organization. He also won’t cost a ransom to keep around, with a cap hit of just $750,000.
However, Jankowski is also serviceable enough to go elsewhere in the NHL and continue his career at hockey’s top level. He’s shown such ability in limited ice time since he debuted in 2016-17.
So the answer is: Does he have a future with the Buffalo Sabres? He could, but it’s tough to count on it. However, he probably has a future in the NHL. So expect Jankowski to continue his NHL career, even if it might not be in Buffalo.
(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)