The Buffalo Sabres have recalled defenseman Casey Nelson from his conditioning stint with the AHL’s Rochester Americans, the team announced Sunday afternoon. The Sabres play in New Jersey against the Devils on Sunday evening.
Nelson appeared in five games with the Amerks. He registered one assist and eight shots on goal. He’s been on injured reserve since December 8 with an upper-body injury.
Prior to the injury, Nelson had five points (1-4) in 22 games for the Sabres.
His return creates a bit of a logjam at the blue line for the Sabres, who now have nine defensemen on their roster. Along with Nelson, there’s Lawrence Pilut, Matt Hunwick, Zach Bogosian, Rasmus Ristolainen, Rasmus Dahlin, Marco Scandella, Nathan Beaulieu and Jake McCabe.
It’s unclear at this point if the Sabres will make another move – perhaps even prior to Sunday night’s game – to clear up some of this space. At this point, it seems like the most likely move would be to send Pilut back to Rochester – especially given that he’s been a healthy scratch on and off recently.
Scandella is being evaluated for injury and didn’t join the team on their road trip to New Jersey, but even with him out of the lineup, the Sabres still have a logjam and will likely make some moves in the next day or so.