Sheet Player News (Feb. 1)

The Buffalo Sabres started their stretch run with a healthy scratch to Box 30 defenseman Marc-Andre Gragnani, who hasn't been quite as potent as one may have hoped at the beginning of the year.  This isn't the first time that Gragnani has been scratched this season, as the team struggles to find some consistency and find some wins, despite their victory last night.  Injuries have been a big part of that for the club, but other players are not stepping up and helping to guide the team into a winning situation.  I would expect Gragnani to sit, until the Sabres find a place to put him right now.

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced on Wednesday morning that they assigned both Box 25 forward Nazem Kadri and Box 30 defenseman Keith Aulie to the Toronto Marlies of the AHL.  Kadri has seen some reasonable amounts of ice-time in his last recall, but that must have been dwindling a little, which would force a demotion, while Aulie has been a healthy scratch for quite some time now and his development does not need to be stunted by staying up in the press box.  This is a development move, more than anything else.