Sabres Place Olen Zellweger On IR, Recall Dennis Gilbert

The Buffalo Sabres announced today that defenseman Olen Zellweger has been placed on injured reserve as he deals with a concussion. In a corresponding move, the Sabres recalled defenseman Dennis Gilbert from their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. According to the team, Gilbert “will be either the sixth defenseman or a healthy scratch” during today’s season opener against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Sabres entered today with a full 23-man roster, so placing Zellweger on IR was a necessary move in order to create the space to recall Gilbert. The Sabres’ defense is currently dealing with a number of absences related to injuries, injuries that have already forced the team to rely on its defensive depth to be able to fill out an NHL lineup.

Two-way force Mattias Samuelsson is dealing with a lower-body injury and the last update offered on his status suggests he is questionable to play against Columbus tonight. Conor Timmins, who has long struggled to stay consistently healthy in his pro career, is on IR with a lower-body injury. And Zellweger, of course, is now on IR as he works his way back from concussion protocol.

Today’s recall is not the first move the Sabres have made to add additional blueline cover in the face of these injuries. Last week, Buffalo signed veteran defenseman Matt Grzelcyk to a one-year contract. They also retained AHL standout Zach Metsa on their NHL roster. Metsa and Grzelcyk were already slated to occupy spots in the Sabres’ defense left vacant by Samuelsson and Timmins’ injuries, but the team did not have a defenseman to take Zellweger’s spot.

Now, by recalling Gilbert, they have an additional defenseman on their roster to be able to take Zellweger’s place in the lineup. Of course, if Samuelsson ends up being ready to play, then Gilbert will spend tonight in the press box, as the team’s announcement indicated.

In any event, today’s moves are a positive development for Gilbert, even if it comes in unfortunate circumstances. The 29-year-old left-shot defenseman has long been an organizational No. 7 or No. 8 defenseman in the NHL, including in a previous stint with the Sabres.

His recall today suggests he remains a priority call-up option for the team, although it does appear he still sits behind Metsa and Grzelcyk on Buffalo’s depth chart. Gilbert’s hope will be that he can impress during any NHL call-ups he receives so that he can prove to Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff that he is the team’s most reliable depth defensive option.