BUFFALO – Sabres forward Justin Danforth listened to the question and let out a deep sigh.
“Oh God,” he responded when asked about the most difficult part of the long rehab he endured after breaking his kneecap when he blocked a shot early last season. “It was a tough rehab.”
Danforth, 33, experienced an arduous and frustrating recovery after getting injured just four games into his first season with the Sabres.
“It just didn’t seem to improve,” he said Monday prior to playing in the Sabres’ preseason opener in Pittsburgh, his first game since Oct. 15.
After undergoing surgery, Danforth, who signed a two-year, $3.6 million contract as a free agent in 2025, figured he would be back playing in about three months.
But when he skated around that three-month mark, he said “there was just so much pain involved with it.” He needed to find out what the heck was going on.
“So we went back in for another surgery,” he said.
The second surgery cleaned up some loose cartilage. Eventually, Danforth felt well enough to start off- and on-ice training. By then, however, he no chance to return.
As the Sabres caught fire and morphed into the NHL’s hottest team, he was a bystander, sitting out the final 91 games, including the postseason.
Danforth said a season that started with so much promise ended up being “probably my toughest year of hockey.”
“I’ve had adversity through my career, but this last year, you come into a new team, you want to show the guys what you’re all about and show the coaching staff, and I just wasn’t able to do it,” he said.
Naturally, he acknowledged a marathon recovery featuring stops and starts took a mental toll on him.
“But I got a great support system, the staff here, the teammates, my fiancée, (McKailey),” he said. “They were able to pick me up and I needed it.”
Danforth said he believed he would recover and regain his old form. Still, when nothing had changed by sixth- or seven-month mark, thoughts lingered in the back of his head.
“You’re like, ‘When am I gonna turn the corner?’” he said. “So that’s when you just had to ask the right questions and put the work in to get back.”
About halfway through the summer, Danforth, whose speed is perhaps his greatest asset, said he “was about full fledged on the ice, four days a week.”
In the first days of training camp, said he has regained his skating and power.
On Monday morning, the 5-foot-8, 193-pound Danforth took reps at right wing alongside center Matthew Peca and Thomas Bordeleau before the Sabres flew to Pittsburgh to face the Penguins.
“Talking to him on the ice, he’s like, ‘I’ve never been so excited for an exhibition game,’” Sabres assistant coach Seth Appert said.
Players mostly bound for the Rochester Americans dressed against the Penguins. Danforth was one of a few veterans who played. Tonight’s lineup at home against the Columbus Blue Jackets will likely feature more NHL regulars.
The undrafted Danforth, who also plays center, has established himself in the big leagues as a fourth-liner and penalty killer after grinding in the low minors and overseas.
While he has scored just 31 goals in 187 career games, his skating ability and tenacity helps him fit in well on a talent-laden team that prides itself on its work ethic.
“I watched a lot of hockey last year, and what a special team, just the amount of skill and speed you have on this team, it’s incredible to watch,” Danforth said. “… But my game doesn’t change. I’m an energy guy. I play the game fast. I forecheck hard, and I try and chip in offensively when I can, and provide that energy boost.”