The Buffalo Sabres on Saturday announced the team signed forward Johan Larsson to a two-year contract with an average annual value of $1.475 million.
Larsson (age 24, 5'11", 200 pounds) posted 11 points (6 goals, 5 assists) and 20 penalty minutes in 36 games last season before suffering a wrist injury that caused him to miss the team's final 46 contests. During his five-year NHL career, Larsson has recorded 48 points (22/26) in 178 games, including seven career game-winning goals.
A native of Lau, Sweden, Larsson helped capture a gold medal at the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship after registering six assists in six games for Team Sweden.
On Sunday, the Buffalo Sabres announced the team hired Ryan Jankowski to serve as the club's director of amateur scouting. The team also announced Jeff Crisp was promoted to assistant director of amateur scouting.
Jankowski joins the Sabres after spending the past four seasons in various roles with Hockey Canada. Hired by the organization in June 2013 as head scout, Jankowski was later promoted to director of player personnel. In this role, he was responsible for overseeing all player evaluation and selection for Canada's national junior team, as well as the country's under-18 and under-17 programs. In addition to his scouting duties at all levels, Jankowski's time with Hockey Canada included managerial duties with Canada's under-18 team.
Before his stint with Hockey Canada, Jankowski compiled 10 years of experience in NHL front offices, including three seasons as an amateur scout for the Montreal Canadiens (2010-11 to 2012-13) and four as assistant general manager during a seven-year stretch with the New York Islanders (2003-04 to 2009-10). With the Islanders, the Calgary, Alberta, native was part of the staff responsible for the team's drafts, including the selection of current Sabres forward Kyle Okposo in 2006.
Crisp will transition into his new role after spending the 2016-17 season as the Sabres' head amateur scout. Prior to joining the Sabres, Crisp logged 17 seasons of experience in NHL scouting departments, including four seasons with the Calgary Flames and 13 seasons with the Anaheim Ducks.
