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Rostislav Klesla refuses to report to Amerks

When the Buffalo Sabres brought over Rostislav Klesla and Michal Neuvirth in the trade that sent Jaroslav Halak and a third round pick to Washington, Klesla figured to be at best a solid injury call-up defenseman and at worst someone who could contribute to the Amerks playoff push.

Today, TSN’s Darren Dreger reported that Klesla will not report to the Amerks, and says he is taking the rest of the year off from playing hockey, and will continue his playing career in Europe.

Klesla becomes the third player to refuse an assignment from Buffalo, following Linus Omark, who was subsequently released and is playing in Europe, and Mikhail Grigorenko, who decided to report to Quebec after a few days.

The man they call Rusty cited injuries as one reason why he’s taking a break, but some have speculated that his banishment to the AHL may have also contributed. If you want to dig deeper, WGR’s Matthew Coller points out that Klesla was put onto a stretcher during a preseason game this year by Kings forward Jordan Nolan, son of Sabres coach Ted Nolan.

Whatever the reason, this doesn’t make the dismal state of the Sabres organization shine any brighter these days, especially on the heels of the Pat LaFontaine dismissal mutually agreed upon parting of ways. Earning a reputation of having players that don’t follow assignment orders isn’t the type of thing a team in the throes of rebuilding needs. Hopefully, things will settle down a bit now that the deadline, and for all intents and purposes the season, is over.

At this time there’s no indication of what, if anything, the Sabres will receive in compensation.