Sabres send 3 players to minors ahead of Olympics

Although the Buffalo Sabres stumbled slightly ahead of the Olympic pause, losing three of four games, the team is still in excellent shape ahead of a nearly three week break.

The Sabres are 32-19-6 and currently occupying the top wildcard berth in the Eastern Conference. They’re right on the heels of the Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens in a competitive Atlantic Division with 25 games left.

But with no hockey in Western New York until Feb. 25, the club reassigned three players to their AHL affiliate Rochester Americans on Friday.

“We have loaned forwards Konsta Helenius and Isak Rosen and defenseman Zach Metsa to [Rochester],” the Sabres announced on social media.

It’s not at all surprising that the trio of players have been sent down, as Helenius and Rosen are two of the Americans’ best forwards. The former, Buffalo’s first-round pick in 2024, has managed nine goals and 30 points over 34 AHL games this season. The latter is Rochester’s leading forward scorer, with 20 goals and 32 points in 30 games in 2025-26.

Metsa is much older than Helenius and Rosen; the 27-year-old has seen significant time with the Americans after going undrafted. The defenseman scored 24 points in 54 games as a rookie in the AHL in 2023-24 and was even better, to the tune of 46 points in 69 games, last year.

He’s split his time between Buffalo and Rochester in 2025-26, playing in 26 NHL games and 14 AHL contests. He’s averaged just under 10 minutes of ice time in the National, and should see those numbers increase exponentially in the minors. He’s earned the trust of Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he was recalled shortly after the roster freeze.

Helenius, Rosen and Metsa will each give the Americans an immediate boost, beginning on Friday night when they take on the Springfield Thunderbirds at Blue Cross Arena.

Sabres getting well-deserved break before stretch run

For the Sabres, the majority of the roster that isn’t going to the Winter Olympics in Milan will get a well-earned break after a busy four months.

After being 11-14-4 on Dec. 8, Buffalo won 10 games in a row to return to playoff relevance in the East. They’ve continued to be potent since, opening up another five-game winning streak at the end of January and concluding this portion of the NHL schedule with six wins in nine games.

With 25 games left after the conclusion of the Winter Olympics, every single one of them is going to be critical in the Sabres’ quest to return to the dance for the first time since 2010-11.

The pace they’re playing at should be good enough, but the Atlantic Division has turned into the league’s best in 2025-26. The Tampa Bay Lightning, Canadiens, Red Wings, Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators are all hanging around, while the back-to-back defending champion Florida Panthers are less than 10 points back. Not one of the eight teams in the division is an impossibility to make the playoffs come April.

The Sabres will return to action on Feb. 25 against the visiting New Jersey Devils, the first of a three-game homestand at KeyBank Center.

The post Sabres send 3 players to minors ahead of Olympics appeared first on ClutchPoints.