Mattias Samuelsson is hurt. Again. Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff announced the defenseman missed Friday's practice with an upper-body injury that's been bothering him lately. He'll be evaluated to determine the next steps.
Although no immediate timetable was given for Samuelsson's return to the ice, he's now in a race against time to get healthy in time for the Oct. 9 Opening Night game against the New York Rangers.
The 25-year-old Sabres alternate captain is no stranger to injury setbacks. He's yet to play more than 62 games in an NHL season as he enters his sixth year in Buffalo.
Potential replacements for Mattias Samuelsson if the Buffalo Sabres defenseman misses regular-season games
Jacob Bryson
Old reliable. Bryson has served as the Sabres' No. 7 defender for what feels like about two decades at this point (five years in reality). He's spent his entire career in the Buffalo organization since being selected in the fourth round of the 2017 NHL Draft.
The 27-year-old Ontario native has recorded 43 points (four goals and 39 assists) in 254 appearances for the Sabres. He's also chipped in 276 blocked shots and 153 hits.
Bryson struggles to clear out the front of his own net, in large part because of his undersized 5-foot-9 frame, but he's a decent puck-mover who could actually form a solid transition tandem with Conor Timmins on the team's third pair.
Zac Jones
Jones, 24, signed a one-year, $900,000 contract with the Sabres in July to provide defensive depth. He may get called upon far sooner than expected because of Samuelsson's injury.
Ruff complimented the former member of the New York Rangers in his season-opening press conference last week.
"I think we got a sneaky good player," the Sabres coach told reporters. "... You've got a guy that I think skates well, moves the puck well, so I think my description would be one of those guys that could surprise you."
Jones posted 28 points (four goals and 24 assists) in 115 games across five years with the Rangers. The team may simply rotate him and Bryson until Samuelsson returns.
Ryan Johnson
Although it's tempting to put Radim Mrtka, the Sabres' first-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, here as the last option, it just doesn't feel like he's NHL ready. Another season with the WHL's Seattle Thunderbirds followed by perhaps a handful of games with the AHL's Rochester Americans near the end of the campaign is the more likely outcome.
Meanwhile, Johnson hasn't lived up to expectations as a 2019 first-round selection. That's mostly because his offensive game has never developed. He's tallied a modest 22 points in 93 AHL games with the Amerks and seven points in 44 contests at the NHL level.
The University of Minnesota product is a steady defender who can make a solid first pass to jump-start a breakout opportunity. That's probably not enough for him to leapfrog Bryson and Jones on the depth chart unless they both struggle early in the season.