
Buffalo Sabres News


Byram was the No.4 overall pick in 2019 and is coming off of a terrific showing as a member of Team Canada at the World Juniors. The 19-year-old defenseman had 52 points (14G / 38A) in 50 AHL games a season ago and could make his NHL debut at some point during the 2021 season.

Igor Shesterkin started the season opener but they will turn to Georgiev in the rematch vs. the Islanders. The 24-year-old netminder was 17-14-2 with a 3.04 GAA and .910 SV% in 34 appearances a year ago. If he doesn't improve on those numbers in 2020, Shesterkin will get a very large portion of the starts. Georgiev faced the Islanders four times last year, going 3-1-0 with a 2.81 GAA and .920 SV%.

Schenn had to sit out the Lightning's season opener due to salary cap reasons but will play Friday vs. the Blackhawks. The Lightning did not announce who he will replace but it will most likely be rookie Cal Foote.


Greenway set a new career-high with 28 points (8G / 20A) in 67 games in 2019-20. With Kirill Kaprizov coming over from the KHL, Greenway gets pushed down the depth chart, likely limiting him to a third-line role for most of 2021. The big, physical power-forward ranked third on the Wild with 95 hits last year.

Bayreuther spent all of the 2020 season with Texas (AHL), where he led all of their defensemen with 29 points (6G / 23A) in 59 games. He had a 19-game stint with Stars in 2019, picking up two goals and three assists. He's a solid puck-moving defenseman with decent offensive upside who will be somewhere around the No.8 D-man in the Blue Jackets' system.

Schenn served as a No.7 defenseman in Tampa Bay for most of the year but appeared in 25 regular season and 11 postseason games to get his name on the Stanley Cup. With both Jan Rutta and Kevin Shattenkirk likely moving on, there's a chance that Schenn could be a third-pairing defenseman in 2021.

Thompson missed most of the 2020 season with a shoulder issue, which required surgery in mid-January. He had six goals and six assists (12 points) in 16 games with Rochester (AHL) and only appeared in one game with the Sabres. Since being selected No.26 overall in 2016, Thompson has just 10 goals and 11 assists (21 points) in 107 career NHL games.

Lyon spent most of 2020 in the AHL going 11-14-5 with a 2.69 GAA and .913 SV%. With Brian Elliott set to become a UFA, it looks like the Flyers plan to have Lyon as Carter Hart's backup in 2021. The 27-year-old is 5-4-1 with a 3.15 GAA and .893 SV% in 16 career NHL games.





After spending the first seven years of his career in the Maple Leafs organization, Carrick has been with the Ducks since 2016-17. In that time, he has appeared in just 15 NHL games, amassing one goal and two assists. However, he has been prolific at the AHL-level, leading the team in points (61) last year and was leading San Diego in goals (23) and points (43) in 46 games before this year was paused.

Samuelsson was selected No.32 overall in 2018 and the 20-year-old defenseman tallied 14 points (2G / 12A) in 30 games at Western Michigan University in 2020. Samuelsson also represented the USA at the World Juniors for the second straight year but has failed to record a point in those 12 international games.


Tuch was nearing a return to the Golden Knights lineup before suffering a setback at the start of the week. Not travelling suggests that Tuch will miss at least two more games but could be back for next Tuesday's home game vs. the Stars.

Tuch was nearing a return to the Golden Knights lineup but will miss additional games after suffering a setback. With Tuch still sidelined, Nicolas Roy will stay in a prominent role.
