Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – After spending time with three teams at the NHL and AHL level during the 2020-21 season, Aaron Dell elected to sign a free agent contract with the Buffalo Sabres. He and Craig Anderson both inked one-year deals for the veteran league minimum.
The signing of both goaltender will help the Sabres get Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen ready, if he’s not already.
When exploring his options this offseason in free agency, Dell thought Buffalo would be a good place for him.
“It was a good opportunity for me to come in and have a chance to show what I can do,” Dell said following practice earlier this week.
Most people don’t realize that Dell is a veteran of the NHL at 32-years-old. While the 40-year-old Anderson will serve as a mentor for Luukkonen, Dell can serve a similar role too.
“It’s a young team, and goaltending is a position where they have to grow into a little bit," Dell said. "That’s probably part of the reason with me and Craig - We can mold the young guys.”
Last season, everything was thrown off by the COVID-19 pandemic. Not many players around the league had to go through as much as Dell did.
“It was pretty wild," Dell explained. "I went straight from San Jose [Sharks] to Toronto, and they called to get me there as soon as I could to get through the two-week quarantine. I was there for a few months (he never played), and they put me on waivers and I got picked up by [New] Jersey. I had another week waiting for my [work] visa coming back across the border, and right after I was finishing my quarantine for that, that’s when all the Jersey guys caught COVID. So I had another quarantine quickly after that, so it was a lot of sitting around last year.”
Dell’s whole season last year consisted of seven games played with the Devils and one game played with the AHL's Binghamton Devils.
“It was tough with the whole long break from COVID from the beginning," Dell said. "It was probably a year since I had played games. It was tough to get into a grove at all.”
Dell has played in the Central Hockey League (44 games), ECHL (41 games), AHL (73 games) and NHL (114 games). It's been quite the road for Dell to get to Buffalo, but it's one he's happy to have taken.
“I hit every rung on the ladder, and I just stuck with it," Dell said. "I was prepared for the chances that I got, and I got rewarded with the next step.”
After signing with the Sabres, Dell asked for the No. 30 and got it from the team. After all, Ryan Miller has now been gone since February of 2014, which is plenty of time to now re-issue his number. However, Dell felt the backlash from the fans and had no idea what he had stepped into.
“I wore 30 when I was in San Jose, and it wasn’t a big deal for me. With the significance of it [for Sabres fans], I just wanted to switch to something that could be my own,” Dell said.
“There were a lot of DM’s on social media, but I really didn’t realize the significance of it here. But I was more than happy to change it.”
He has since switched his jersey number to No. 80.
Dell saw his first action with the Sabres in Tuesday night’s 5-4 shootout win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. He played 30:25, making 12 saves on 15 shots faced.
The second goal scored against him he never saw, as he was totally screened. The third goal came from distance and he just missed it. I’m sure he would want that one back.
Granato said after practice that forward Andrew Oglieve hasn't been at practice because he failed his physical. It's as a result from an injury he suffered last year.
The Sabres have preseason Game No. 2 on Thursday in Detroit against the Red Wings. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen will handle the goaltending chores for Buffalo. Here’s a look at the projected lineup:
Forwards:
Olofsson – Cozens – Thompson
Peterka – Ruotsalainen – Weissbach
Murray – Malone – Quinn
Warren – Eakin – Hayden
Defense:
Hägg – Pysyk
Butcher – Bryson
Davidson – Fitzgerald
Goalie:
Luukkonen
Join me, Brian Koziol and "Sneaky Joe" DiBiase for pregame coverage starting at 7 p.m. ET on WGR Sports Radio 550.
