After last night’s game against the Minnesota Wild, the Buffalo Sabres found themselves in need of some fresh bodies once Drew Stafford went down with an injury in the first period. With many of their usual suspects unavailable due to injury or family issues, the Sabres turned to the waiver wire to fill the hole left in their lineup.
Zenon Konopka has been claimed off waivers by the #sabres, I hear #mnwild
— Michael Russo (@Russostrib) January 3, 2014
Konopka come to the Sabres by way of Minnesota, though Sabres fans might remember him from his short stint with Ottawa during the 2011-12 season. For those who don’t remember, he’s a fourth line center who has won an incredible 65.7% of his 200+ faceoffs taken this season – that would easily rank him first on the Sabres in the faceoff category for any player who’s taken more than one draw this year.
The 6’0” center is also a rough-and-tumble customer – his 55 PIM are second on Buffalo only to John Scott and Marcus Foligno, and he has seven fighting majors already on the season. He previously left the NHL in PIM from 2009-2011.
For those who care, Konopka does have a softer side – he owns a wine business, and more importantly, has a pet rabbit. I’m sure he’ll fit right in on the power play between John Scott and fellow waiver-claim Matt D’Agostini.