The NHL’s regular season in North America begins tomorrow, with the Buffalo Sabres opening their season on Thursday night. Here’s what you may have missed over the last day or so!
The biggest news was the Sabres’ announcement of their captaincy. To no surprise, Kyle Okposo is the team’s captain this year. Zemgus Girgensons and Rasmus Dahlin will wear the As. These are great choices all around.
The Sabres also made some roster moves to get ready for opening night. Kale Clague, Jeremy Davies and Chase Priskie all cleared waivers and have been assigned to the AHL’s Rochester Americans. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Lawrence Pilut can also still be assigned to the Amerks before Monday’s 5 p.m. roster deadline, as they do not require waivers.
The Amerks skated in two preseason games this weekend, falling 4-2 to Syracuse and 5-1 to Utica. The biggest thing to watch for, however, is that Malcolm Subban left the game with a minute remaining in the second period with an apparent injury. He did skate off on his own, but for a guy who spent most of last season injured, it’s not something you want to see.
Per head coach Seth Appert after the game, the team doesn’t think it’s “dramatically serious” but hadn’t gotten the full report from the medical staff. He did note that it was a lower-body injury.
Buffalo Sabres Links
- Okposo named Sabres captain [Sabres.com]
- How the cost of a beer, hot dogs and an Airbnb stack up for Bills and Sabres games [The Buffalo News]
- Finding hope for NHL’s 10 most hopeless teams [The Athletic] ($)/
NHL/Hockey Links
- 2008 NHL Draft Take Two: Twelfth Overall Pick {and more} [Pro Hockey Rumors]
- Westgarth helps strength hockey’s ties as part of NHL strategic team [NHL.com]
- Ian Cole accused of sexual abuse, grooming a minor (TW) [Detroit Free Press]/