Sabres suspend Zach Bogosian indefinitely after failing to report to AHL

After clearing waivers recently, Zach Bogosian was assigned to the Rochester Americans of the AHL. After failing to report to the minor league team, the Buffalo Sabres have suspended Bogosian indefinitely. While he remains under suspension, Bogosian will forfeit his salary, and his entire cap hit will come off the Sabres’ books.

The 29-year-old Bogosian is in the final season of the seven-year, $36M contract he signed with the Winnipeg Jets in 2013 and carries a cap hit of $5.14M this season. After being a healthy scratch earlier in the year, he requested a trade, but due to this hefty contract any deal would be difficult for the Sabres to accomplish. Now after several more scratches and an assignment to the minor leagues, it appears that his time with the organization may be over.

The two sides could still come to an agreement of some sort. A mutual contract termination would see Bogosian give up what remains on his deal, but at this point a suspension amounts to the same thing, without an opportunity for him to sign elsewhere. A termination would make Bogosian an unrestricted free agent, though to be eligible for playoff hockey with a new team he would have to sign a contract before the trade deadline.

There is also still a trade option, if the Sabres can find a team willing to take on his contract. That seems unlikely at this point, however, given his availability on waivers and the new cap flexibility that this suspension creates for Buffalo.

Bogosian has five points in 19 games this season for the Sabres.