BUFFALO – Sabres forward Sam Carrick joked that he took the scenic route to reaching the 400-game milestone in the NHL.
Carrick, 34, began his pro career 14 years ago in Boise, Idaho, playing 50 games for the ECHL’s Steelheads before graduating to the AHL, where he spent most of the next eight seasons.
While he occasionally earned recalls to the big leagues – he amassed 47 appearances in his first nine seasons – he figured he would essentially be a career minor leaguer.
“A lot of time in the minors, and a lot of time thinking that it probably wasn’t gonna happen for me,” Carrick said prior to what is expected to be his 400th game, Wednesday’s contest against the Ottawa Senators in KeyBank Center.
Carrick finally broke through with the Anaheim Ducks in 2021-22, playing 64 games. He he has said the COVID-19 pandemic allowed him to stick in the NHL longer than usual, and he seized his opportunity.
Over the last six seasons, he has often enjoyed regular duty as a versatile fourth-liner.
Someday, Carrick said, he will look back and be proud of having played most of his NHL games in his 30s, a rare accomplishment.
“It tells you (he has) a never-quit attitude, for sure,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “A guy that has just kept working and found a way to get in the game and now stay in the game and be a piece that can help you win hockey games.”
Carrick made an instant impact last season following his arrival from the New York Rangers before the trade deadline. His ability to score goals, win critical faceoffs, kill penalties and fight kept the Sabres rolling.
But on March 31, he fell on his left arm as he scrapped with Anders Lee, knocking him out of the lineup for six weeks with an undisclosed injury.
Carrick played one game in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs before departing the lineup again.
“That was a substantial injury, for sure,” Ruff said. “I’ve asked him. I don’t know if it’s ever going to be like it was before when you suffer something like that.”
Ruff said Carrick’s recent four-game absence wasn’t related to last season’s fall. Still, he’s dealing with that injury more than seven months later.
“I’m taking the right steps at this point and starting to feel better and better each day,” Carrick said.
He said his injury has healed to “the point where I’m worried about it.”
“So that’s good,” Carrick said. “That’s kind of the main goal is just not being worried.”