The Buffalo Sabres announced on Saturday the team has claimed defenseman Christian Wolanin off waivers from the Los Angeles Kings. In a corresponding move, the Sabres have placed defenseman Henri Jokiharju on injured reserve.
Wolanin joins the Sabres after being waived by the Kings on Friday. The 26-year-old left-handed defenseman did not spend much time in Los Angeles after being acquired by the Kings last March. He appeared in just three games for the Kings last year, and did not play in Thursday's season opening win over the Vegas Golden Knights.
The 6-foot-2, 190-pound defenseman was originally drafted by the Ottawa Senators in the fourth round (107th overall) of the 2015 NHL Draft. Wolanin played parts of four seasons with Ottawa, playing in 58 games and scoring five goals and 13 assists for 18 points.
Wolanin joins the Sabres just a couple of days after Jokiharju suffered a lower-body injury during Thursday night's season-opening win over the Montreal Canadiens. Jokiharju managed to play the entirety of the game, but he will now be out of the lineup for, at least, a couple of weeks, if not more.
According to WGR's Paul Hamilton, Jokiharju was spotted in the press box during Saturday's game against the Arizona Coyotes with a walking boot on and using crutches.
With Jokiharju out of the lineup on Saturday, the Sabres turned to Will Butcher to take his place on the blue line on a pairing with Rasmus Dahlin.
Wolanin will be eligible to play in his first game with the Sabres on Tuesday night against the Vancouver Canucks at KeyBank Center.
