With his league worst -12 rating, many Buffalo Sabres fans have been wishing that the team would take Mike Weber out of the lineup. Thanks to an errant Florida Panther shot, those fans will see their wish granted.
Last night, Weber suffered an injured thumb blocking a shot and was seen in a cast today at the morning skate. Head coach Ron Rolston said that Weber will be out “long term”, but didn’t specify just how long that might be.
Weber has struggled mightily this season after signing a three year extension in the offseason, and we wrote about just how bad things have been a few days ago. His struggles contrast the solid play shown by Buffalo’s young blueliners: Mark Pysyk, Rasmus Ristolainen, and Nikita Zadorov.
Weber’s injury opens the door for Zadorov to possibly stay up in Buffalo past his nine game trial period. He’s played well enough in his first three that the Sabres might not mind burning a year of his ELC rather than send him back to London. Of course, they could also send him back down, bring in Henrik Tallinder and call up Alex Sulzer or Brayden McNabb to fill in while Weber recovers.
Hopefully, Weber can take this opportunity in the press box to reevaluate his own game, and try to recapture some of the magic he showed last season that had us all excited to see him blossom on the Sabres’ third pairing.