- Buffalo signed Matt Grzelcyk to a one-year, $850,000 contract on Friday
- Mattias Samuelsson and Olen Zellweger were both hurt in Tuesday’s preseason win over Columbus
- Read below for Lindy Ruff on the addition and the latest on both injured blueliners
The Sabres went shopping for a defenseman four days out from their season opener.
Buffalo signed Matt Grzelcyk to a one-year, $850,000 contract Friday morning, patching a hole on the left side that opened up in a single preseason game.
Mattias Samuelsson blocked a shot Tuesday against the Blue Jackets and is week to week with a lower-body injury. Olen Zellweger went down in the same game and landed in concussion protocol.
Head coach Lindy Ruff was asked what the 32-year-old brings to a group that expects to contend.
“We’ve talked about the standard we’re at and the expectations, and bringing in a veteran player that has a lot of experience in every situation, the message is that we’re going to give ourselves the best possible chance to win hockey games,” Ruff said Friday at KeyBank Center.
Ruff called the left-shot puck mover “a real good competitor.”
“A guy that’s got a lot of NHL games, knows how to play the game. He’s a good pro, and I think we got some question marks with a couple of our players. It just gives us some veteran depth that right now we need.”
Neither injury looks long. Ruff said Samuelsson will be out on the shorter side of that week-to-week window, and that Zellweger skated Friday and should be good for Thursday in Columbus.
Buffalo becomes Grzelcyk’s fourth team in four seasons, following Boston, Pittsburgh and Chicago:
He put up 12 assists in 69 games with the Blackhawks last season after arriving on a tryout. His best year came in Pittsburgh in 2024-25, when he set career highs with 39 assists and 40 points in 82 games.
The Boston native has 26 goals and 187 points in 596 NHL games since the Bruins drafted him 85th overall in 2012.
Somebody had to lose a roster spot for this. Dennis Gilbert and Ryan Johnson both went on waivers Friday, and both are headed to Rochester if they clear.
Ruff plans to dress essentially his regular-season lineup Saturday afternoon, when the preseason wraps at home against the Penguins. The opener is Thursday in Columbus.
