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Kulikov hasn't worked out for Sabres

Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports

Tough words for Dmitry Kulikov.

Traded to the Buffalo Sabres as part of a draft-day deal, the veteran blue-liner was expected to stabilize the team's defensive core. But Kulikov hasn't been a fit in Western New York, and a season riddled by injuries hasn't helped matters.

On June 25, the Sabres sent rearguard Mark Pysyk and two draft picks to the Florida Panthers to bring Kulikov to Buffalo, with the belief he'd round out a blue-line core of Rasmus Ristolainen, Jake McCabe, and Zach Bogosian.

But following a fluke play where he was checked into an open bench door during preseason play, sustaining a back injury, Kulikov missed the season opener and has continued to fight the injury bug all season.

Kulikov has appeared in 39 games but has missed 35 others with a host of ailments. He's currently sidelined with an upper-body concern and hasn't dressed since March 4.

"Right now we can all sit here and say it didn't work out," Sabres general manager Tim Murray told WGR550 on Tuesday.

The Sabres believed they were bringing in the defenseman who was a mainstay in Sunrise for seven seasons, as Kulikov posted 138 points over 460 games with the Panthers. He's scored just two points through 39 games with the Sabres.

A pending unrestricted free agent, Kulikov is unlikely to return to Buffalo. That fact was no more evident than when the Sabres entertained trade talk surrounding Kulikov at the deadline but evidently couldn't complete a deal. A clean slate is surely in the cards for both sides this summer.

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