On Sunday, the Buffalo Sabres announced they were sending Noah Ostlund back down to the AHL and the Rochester Americans. They made the move to create a roster spot for Zach Metsa, who joined the team on Monday to likely finish out the remainder of their road trip.
Prior to the move, the Sabres had only six defensemen on the roster. If they suffered an injury on the blueline, it would have been challenging to get someone ready, as they have three games over the next four days.
There was clearly a need for depth on the blueline, but the move to send Ostlund back to Rochester was surprising and disappointing. Ostlund had been a key part of the offense to begin the season and appeared in 20 games with six points.
He was making big plays for the team and even had the game-winning goal in the shootout win over the Minnesota Wild. After the game, Lindy Ruff praised Ostlund for his performance and put him out there because of his 'sick moves.'
Lindy Ruff said Noah Ostlund was one of the Buffalo Sabres 'top guys'
Unfortunately, when a team continues to carry three goalies on its roster, it has to make these types of moves that are going to hurt the production on the ice. After practice on Monday, Rachel Lenzi with The Buffalo News quoted Lindy Ruff saying:
"I thought his playmaking inside the game, he's been one of our top guys that has been in on really good plays, he set other guys up, and defensively played well, so there was no negative. The only negative was him going back down."
The Buffalo Sabres have struggled to score and make plays in the offensive zone as of late with only three goals over the past two games and one goals scored in 5v5 situations during that stretch.
Noah Ostlund is certainly someone who could help with that, and he should not only be on the roster for Buffalo but also get more ice time than he has. Before this road trip, Ostlund had 15 or more shifts in eight of his previous nine games, but has had exactly 15 the past two games, with just over 10:30 of ice time each game.
This decision, coupled with the Sabres decision to send Isak Rosen back to Rochester two weeks ago, is just the latest example of why fans regularly question roster moves made by the franchise. Both of these players were highly productive for the Sabres, and the offense will not be as effective without them.
Instead of making tough decisions and moves that could realistically help the team, such as trading a goalie, the Sabres take the path of least resistance by sending Ostlund back to Rochester. He didn't have to go through waivers, so it isn't a tough move, but it is hard to say the team is better going into the game against Calgary with the roster moves.