BUFFALO – The Sabres waived four players today and sent three others – most notably winger Tage Thompson – to the AHL, moves that give them 21 healthy players.
The players waived – forwards Remi Elie, Curtis Lazar and Scott Wilson and defenseman Casey Nelson – all have at least 93 games of NHL experience.
In addition to Thompson, they assigned center Rasmus Asplund and defenseman Lawrence Pilut to the Rochester Americans. Pilut is still recovering from offseason shoulder surgery.
For now, defenseman John Gilmour, the biggest surprise of training camp, has earned a spot with the Sabres.
The Sabres must finalize their 23-man regular-season roster by 5 p.m. Tuesday.
Right now, the Sabres have 12 healthy forwards, seven defensemen and two goalies.
They also have five injured players: winger Conor Sheary (lower body), goalie prospect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (hip) and defensemen Zach Bogosian (hip), Matt Hunwick (neck) and Brandon Montour (hand).
Sheary is day-to-day. Meanwhile, Bogosian, who underwent offseason surgery, and Montour, will miss regular-season games.
The Sabres are expected to place Bogosian and Hunwick, who’s out for the season, on LTIR.
Luukkonen, who also underwent offseason hip surgery, is expected to begin his season in the AHL.
Sabres general manager Jason Botterill said earlier this month Luukkonen could start playing games by early November. Pilut, meanwhile, might return to action by the middle of October.
The Sabres have today off.