Over the past few days, the Buffalo Sabres have made a number of moves to bolster their minor league affiliate Rochester Americans by signing some new faces and bringing back some old friends.
What began with yesterday’s signing of Kevin Porter continued today as the Sabres announced that they re-signed Amerks goalie David Leggio, and also brought back former Amerk star Mark Mancari, both on one year deals.
Mancari has a long history with the Sabres; he was drafted by Buffalo in the seventh round of the 2004 entry draft, and played for Rochester and Portland over the next six years. Despite putting up big numbers in the AHL, Mancari never could crack the Sabres roster for any significant amount of time, never eclipsing 20 games at the NHL level.
The big winger is coming off of another high scoring season for the Chicago Wolves of the AHL, posting 30-28-68 in 69 games, his second straight season with over 20 goals. He should start the year on the top line for Ron Rolston, and will likely see his usual 5-10 games up in Buffalo when injuries require.
The re-signing of David Leggio was an interesting one as well, because it will bring on a training camp battle between him, Connor Knapp, and Nathan Lieuwen for two roster spots. Leggio is coming off a season where he claimed the starting job after performing well as he filled in for the injured Drew McIntyre. The Williamsville native posted a 2.63 GAA and .917 save percentage this season, and heads into camp as the frontrunner for the starting gig in Rochester.