The Buffalo Sabres weren’t entirely happy with their goaltending situation and picked up another one on waivers ahead of the roster being due tonight. They claimed Colten Ellis from the St. Louis Blues. As a reminder, this means the Sabres will have to add him to their NHL roster. He can’t be assigned to AHL without once again being placed on waivers.

Ellis is a 25-year-old with no NHL experience at this point in his career. He was one of the top goaltenders in the AHL last year with a .922 save percentage in 42 games for the Springfield Thunderbirds. The year before, he posted save percentages above 92% in the ECHL and AHL levels.

The Canadian-born goaltender was a third-round pick of the Blues in 2019. He came out of the QMJHL as one of the best goaltenders in that league for a few years before turning pro in 2021.

He would be categorized as an undersized goaltender at 6’1″ and 185 pounds. It’s worth noting that Ellis has two years remaining on his contract with a $775k cap hit.

With uncertainty around the health of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and the preseason struggles of Alexandar Georgiev, the Sabres felt they needed to solidify that position more heading into the regular season. Now, we wait to see if Georgiev finds himself on waivers or if the Sabres will carry three goaltenders to start.

Photo Credit: Jerome Miron – USA Today Sports