Sabres activate star center for return

The Sabres activated center Tage Thompson on Friday after a very short stint on the non-roster list, according to a team release. With no existing room on the 23-man roster to execute the move, the team assigned rookie defenseman Ryan Johnson to AHL Rochester to accommodate Thompson’s return.

Thompson was a late scratch for Buffalo’s last contest, a 4-1 loss against the Bruins on Wednesday, for personal reasons. After exceeding the 23-player limit on the active roster over the course of the holiday freeze, the Sabres moved Thompson to the non-roster list before 11:59 p.m. that night to be compliant when the freeze lifted Thursday morning.

The transaction suggests Thompson will be available for Saturday’s game against the Blue Jackets. Buffalo GM Kevyn Adams will need to make an additional roster move to activate Sabres mainstay Zemgus Girgensons from injured reserve, as he’s expected to return from a lower-body injury that’s kept him out since late November. That will likely be assigning center Tyson Jost to Rochester this afternoon, assuming he clears waivers.

Thompson, 26, had four points in his last five games, including a three-point effort in the Sabres’ 9-3 drubbing of the Maple Leafs last week. In 10 games since returning from a wrist injury that cost him nearly three weeks, Thompson has struggled with three goals and seven points and a -5 rating.

Johnson, the Sabres’ 31st overall pick in 2019, returns to Rochester to continue his development. The University of Minnesota product had a strong training camp and has looked good in 20 games of NHL action this year. He hasn’t provided much in the way of offense with two assists, and he’s received zero usage on special teams, but he’s graded out well possession-wise in his even strength minutes with a 51.7% Corsi share and an expected plus-minus rating of +0.1. Only Rasmus Dahlin has controlled more shot attempts at even strength than Johnson.

In fact, Johnson has graded out so well defensively that there’s some warranted speculation that the Sabres will make an additional roster move in order to bring him back up to the NHL. Given his waiver-exempt status, though, assigning him to the minors is the most convenient way to make room for both Girgensons and Thompson to suit up tomorrow.

The Sabres would need to make an additional waiver placement or trade to create room to recall Johnson again. The team’s other waiver-exempt talents – Zach Benson, Devon Levi, John-Jason Peterka, Owen Power, and Jack Quinn – have solidified full-time roles, and sending any of them down would be extremely detrimental to a team that needs a major winning streak to get back into the playoff conversation.

In his first nine games with Rochester, the 22-year-old had four assists and a +2 rating. He has not played an AHL contest since being recalled to Buffalo in early November.