Buffalo Sabres center Jiri Kulich will miss “significant time” with a blood clot, coach Lindy Ruff said Monday.
The 21-year-old, who is entering his second full season, was anchoring the Sabres’ top line, but Kulich has missed his team’s past three games. His most recent appearance came Nov. 1 against the Washington Capitals when he had only 11:19 of ice time.
Kulich has scored three goals and has five points in 12 games while averaging 16:21 in ice time this season.
“It’s related to a blood clot that was found,” Ruff told reporters after practice. “I’m not going to go any further into detail, but pretty serious.”
Ruff said that he does expect Kulich to play again this season while noting that a timeline “depends on how things go here in the next three or four weeks.”
Losing Kulich has implications for both the Sabres and Czechia’s men’s national team with the Winter Olympics set to start Feb. 11 in Milan-Cortina.
The Sabres were already without forwards Zach Benson, Justin Danforth, Josh Norris and Jason Zucker this season. On Nov. 7, they announced that captain and No. 1 defenseman Rasmus Dahlin was taking a leave of absence to join his fiancée in Sweden while she continues to recover from a heart transplant. There was no timetable for Dahlin’s return.
Ruff said after practice Monday that Benson is making progress while he recovers from a lower-body injury but is not ready to practice. Zucker, who has had a flu-like illness, will not join the Sabres for their three-game trip starting Wednesday against the Utah Mammoth.
Kulich’s absence means the Sabres could continue to use Ryan McLeod as their first-line center with Noah Ostlund, Tyson Kozak and Peyton Krebs filling out the rest of the lineup down the middle.
Then there’s the impact it has on Czechia’s Olympic roster.
Having proven veteran centers such as Pavel Zacha of the Boston Bruins and Tomas Hertl of the Vegas Golden Knights likely means that Kulich would have been used as a top-six left winger on the second line alongside Hertl and Colorado Avalanche winger Martin Necas.
If Kulich does miss the Olympics, it would prompt Czechia’s selection staff to find a replacement forward for a national team that is already expected to have several players from outside the NHL on its roster.
The 2024-25 campaign saw Kulich, a first-round pick in 2022 by the Sabres, score 15 goals and 24 points in 65 games. He tied for seventh in goals on a Sabres team that finished seventh in the eight-team Atlantic Division.
Entering Monday, the Sabres (5-6-4) were last in the Atlantic Division and were tied with the Columbus Blue Jackets for the fewest points in the Eastern Conference. The Sabres, who haven’t reached the playoffs since 2011, are four points clear of the Calgary Flames for the fewest in the NHL this season.
