Illness-Riddled Sabres Recall Rosen, Dunne From AHL
According to Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News, Norris flew down from New York where the Senators were set to face the Rangers and took the morning skate with his new club, but Bernard-Docker has been held up due to visa issues. Brannstrom -- who was traded from Vancouver in the J.T. Miller deal in late January – is headed to Rochester to join the Amerks, but the club recalled two players because of illness making it's way through the Sabres locker room.
ISAK ROSÉN. TIE GAME. pic.twitter.com/qooBWlHztU
— Rochester Americans (@AmerksHockey) February 16, 2025
Buffalo recalled winger Isak Rosen and center Josh Dunne from AHL Rochester, with center Jiri Kulich ruled out for the game and wingers Jack Quinn and Jordan Greenway game-time decisions. Rosen leads the Amerks with 50 points (26 goals, 24 assists) in 51 games and played two games for the Sabres earlier this season. Dunne, who saw brief stints with Columbus in 2021 and 2023, has 24 points (8 goals, 16 assists) in 54 games.
The Sabres have lost five straight and blew a two-goal lead in Tampa Bay, losing 6-5 to the Lightning on Thursday. Buffalo is expected to start Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in spite of allowing 11 goals in his past two starts against San Jose and Tampa.
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Sabres thoughts: The Bowen Byram situation could define Kevyn Adams' summer
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That might mean getting multiple players like in the Peterka trade. It might mean packaging a pick or prospect with Byram to get a better player than Byram. Either way, it's an acknowledgement that there are clearly ways to still improve this team. At the moment, the plan looks like it will be to replace Peterka's goals by committee. Doan could chip in some offense. Zach Benson, Jiri Kulich and Jack Quinn could all take steps forward. But that feels like asking for a lot to go right. The real objective of the offseason, though, was to allow fewer goals. Only the Blackhawks and Sharks allowed more goals than the Sabres did last season. Buffalo's additions on defense should help, and so should the forwards they added. This team will be tougher and more defensively responsible. But subtracting Byram from that picture would make things murkier depending on what comes back in that trade. That's what makes judging this offseason tricky. The Byram situation will help define the summer. If he's back, is this roster good enough to make the playoffs? And if he's not, do the pieces coming back change that equation? If the answer to either of those questions is no, this offseason will again be defined by the players who wanted to leave Buffalo. 'We have to win hockey games,' Adams said when asked about the idea that players don't want to come to Buffalo because of the persistent losing. 'I could stand up here and I can lay out our plan. I can tell you exactly why we've made the decisions we've made. I can tell you why I think we've done a good job in terms of putting ourselves in a strategic position when it comes to the Byram situation. But ultimately we have to win games starting in October. If we win hockey games, we earn the respect around the league.' Here's what else we gathered from Adams' media availability. 1. As of July 1, Alex Tuch is eligible to sign a contract extension. He was the best two-way forward the Sabres had last season. He had 36 goals and 31 assists but also led the NHL in short-handed goals and set a new NHL record for blocked shots in a season for a forward with 113. Add in what he brings as a leader in the locker room and the community, and Tuch is one of Buffalo's most important players. His next contract should be a big one, likely exceeding $8 million per season. Adams met with Tuch's agents this week. The two sides had previously met at the NHL Scouting Combine. Adams said before the draft he's assured Tuch that he's a priority. 'Obviously there's not a pressure point like there is in other situations,' Adams said. 'I did sit down with his agents yesterday or whatever the day was recently and just explained exactly how we feel about Alex. That will be ongoing. There's not the pressure point with other decisions at this point.' Advertisement That pressure point will soon present itself, though. Tuch has one year left on a contract that pays him $4.75 million per year. He'd be sought after on the trade market and would also be a commodity if he were to hit unrestricted free agency next season. The longer Tuch goes unsigned, the more pressure Adams should feel to get it done. 2. The decision to not extend a qualifying offer to Jacob Bernard-Docker was a surprising one for reasons we covered earlier this week. Adams said the team viewed him as an eighth defenseman on their depth chart. Had the Sabres qualified Bernard-Docker, he would have had a chance to go to arbitration and get a reward that would have been higher than the $875,000 salary the Red Wings gave him. Of course, the Sabres could have walked away from the ruling if it was higher than they wanted to pay. If they held on to him, maybe they could have gotten a draft pick for him. But what this comes down to is the Sabres viewed Bernard-Docker as their eighth defenseman, which is to say, they didn't have a lot of faith in him. That surprised me considering Adams spoke at the end of the season about Bernard-Docker playing well with Owen Power. The depth chart now has a lot more lefties on defense than righties, but Adams said he was comfortable with the balance. 3. The Sabres traded away Sam Lafferty for a sixth-round pick and replaced his role with Justin Danforth, a 32-year old forward who can play center and wing. His two-year contract that pays $1.8 million per year suggests he will have a semi-permanent place in Buffalo's lineup to start. Danforth can play center and wing and was one of the top forecheckers in the league last season when it comes to recovering dump-ins. Adams deferred the decision on where Danforth would play to Lindy Ruff, but said he's a valuable 'glue guy' in the locker room. 4. Mason Geertsen has not played in the NHL since 2021-22 when he was with the New Jersey Devils. He's been stuck in the AHL since that season. But he might have a chance to occasionally crack Buffalo's lineup. Geertsen is a known tough guy, willing and able to fight. Adams didn't mince words about that particular role. 'We needed it,' he said. 'I just think that it's a unique skill set and he brings it and he's proven it.' Both Buffalo and Rochester have been lacking that type of presence, so wherever Geertsen plays, he'll be welcome. Advertisement 5. Because people are always curious this time of year, let's touch on some of the free agents still available. Nikolaj Ehlers is the biggest name out there, but that doesn't seem like a realistic target for Buffalo. Jack Roslovic is an intriguing name coming off a 22-goal season in Carolina. He's a bit of a one-dimensional player, but he would help replace some of Peterka's offense at a smaller cost. The defenseman to watch is Dmitry Orlov. He took a step back last season, but if the Sabres move Byram, he's one of the few players left on the free-agent market who might be able to replace him. But the market is pretty picked over at this point. (Top photo of Bowen Byram: Timothy T. Ludwig / Imagn Images)
