Buffalo Sabres: Biggest surprises of the first major roster cutdown
By Sion Fawkes
The Buffalo Sabres first major cutdown involved shedding the roster of 22 players, many of whom have ended up in Rochester.
Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is playing like a man on a mission, hoping to stick around the main roster by the time the regular season arrives. So far, Luukkonen has been outstanding, logging a 0.933 save percentage and a 2.00 GAA in his first two preseason appearances.
As a result, the Sabres have not yet allocated him to the Rochester Americans and he remains one of four goaltenders on the main roster to go with Malcolm Subban, Craig Anderson, and Eric Comrie. No surprise there.
However, there were plenty of surprises regarding the first major roster cutdown. Here are the three biggest.
Most surprising moves from the Buffalo Sabres – Linus Weissbach
While I fully believed Weissbach would end up in Rochester, his outstanding preseason could have warranted him a longer look. Yes, the Amerks camp begins in just 24 hours, but it would have been interesting to see Weissbach play at least a preseason game against more NHL-caliber talent.
Given his stellar performance in the Prospects Challenge, camp, and the preseason, we may not have seen the end of Weissbach just yet. He played well enough to earn a few games in the blue and gold if injuries hit this team like they did last season.
Most surprising move #2 – Keeping Anders Bjork
I have no clue why the Buffalo Sabres still have Bjork on the roster. He is like that type of employee neither co-workers nor customers care for, yet for some strange reason, management fails to see through their flaws.
Bjork has been outright horrendous in every aspect of his appearances in the preseason. His game has featured subpar passing and puck control. And to be honest, he doesn’t even look like he’s trying; simply going through the motions. It will be ultra-shocking to see Bjork make the final roster.
Most surprising move #3 – Keeping so many defensemen
The Buffalo Sabres only sent Oskari Laaksonen to Rochester, meaning the back half of their defensive rotation remains on the main roster. Some still deserve to be here, like Chase Priskie and Lawrence Pilut.
The rest of them are rather fringe. And while it doesn’t surprise me that Casey Fitzgerald and Jacob Bryson remain, I was 100% sure the Sabres would have reassigned Jeremy Davies and Kale Clague.
light. Must Read. Adams’ belief in Luukkonen is paying off
Clague looked good at times, but he doesn’t have the same status in the organization as Bryson or Fitzgerald, and both Pilut and Priskie have played better. Davies struggled in yesterday’s win against Pittsburgh and seems destined for Rochester.