'I'm wanted here' | Anderson looks ahead following trade deadline

Craig Anderson spoke with general manager Kevyn Adams early Monday morning about what he would like to have happen before the NHL Trade Deadline, then spent most of the day sleeping off the team's red-eye flight from Vancouver the night prior.
The goaltender was still a member of the Sabres when the 3 p.m. deadline passed.
"I think at the end of the day, the Buffalo Sabres want me as their goaltender right now," Anderson said after practice at KeyBank Center on Tuesday. "I think that, emotionally, is reassuring."

Video: PRACTICE REPORT
Adams made it a point to consider Anderson's wishes in the days and hours leading up to the deadline, out of respect for both what the 40-year-old has accomplished in his career and for the significant impact he has made in seven months with the Sabres.
Anderson said he was open to a playoff run if one presented itself, specifically mentioning a return to South Florida where his wife and children currently reside. He also said he was happy in Buffalo.
"I think if something made sense, it would've been done," Anderson said. "But at the same time, I'm 50-50 on it, right? I would've been able to go home and potentially do something deep into the playoffs and be a part of something.
"But also, I'm glad to be here as well, to be a part of this growth we have right now. So, I think the big thing is stay in the moment. We're here right now, we're here in the moment. This is the job."
His presence is significant for a young team looking to carry momentum into the summer. The Sabres have won four of their last five games, three of which were against teams that currently occupy playoff spots. The other was against the Canucks, who are fighting to stay in the race.
Anderson has been a stabilizing force since returning from an upper-body injury on Jan. 29, both for his ability to stop pucks and his calm demeanor in tight situations. Don Granato described the goaltender as an extra coach of sorts when he speaks to the team between whistles.
"To have lost Craig at this point … the potential of disrupting what he brought was strong," Granato said. "He's been a solid guy for us and a stabilizing guy. We've had ups and downs, like every team. He's walked the walk. So, when he talks it, there's a presence there."
Video: AFTER PRACTICE: Granato
Anderson said upon signing with the Sabres during the summer that he hoped to use the lessons of his 21-year pro career to leave an imprint on an overwhelmingly young roster. He spoke about helping players avoid the pitfalls he experienced in his early 20s, when it took multiple years of bouncing between organizations before he developed the habits he needed to be an NHL regular.
He also had a personal goal in mind, having fallen just short of 300 career wins when the 2019-20 season ended abruptly with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. He remained shy of the milestone last year, when he played four regular-season games as a depth option for the Washington Capitals.
Granato used the milestone as a rallying point for the Sabres. Anderson finally earned win No. 300 with a 30-save outing against Vegas on March 10. He earned No. 302 in Vancouver, surpassing Mike Richter for fifth all-time amongst U.S.-born goaltenders.
"The guys really rallied around something," Anderson said. "They rallied around it, because Donny brought it up quite often, so the guys, I felt, put that team-first mentality and said, 'Hey, let's do this for him.' And the next guy does something for the next guy.
"That's team-first or do it for your friend, teammate kind of mentality is something that's kind of being, it's spilling over on everybody, and that's a good thing to have."
Video: AFTER PRACTICE: Anderson
Anderson plans to continue to reciprocate that mentality moving forward.
"You go where you're wanted, and I'm wanted here," he said. "This is [where] I'm going to make the most of it and make the best of it and continue to do what I do, is love the game and share that love with the other players and try to get them to the point where they can be the best player they can possibly be."
Anderson, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, said he will have a discussion with his family before making a decision on whether to continue playing next season.
"My family has to come first and I've put them on the back burner for several years now," he said. "So that's going to be a family decision where we have to really sit down and have a long conversation and figure out what makes the most sense as far as from a group.
"Selfishly, I would love to continue to play and continue to love and play the game. I go out there every day and enjoy it. As long as I'm enjoying it, I feel like I want to keep doing it. And right now, I'm playing at a level where I'm still feeling I'm competitive and I can still contribute.
"The day that I can't contribute is probably the day I realize that, selfishly, I can't play anymore. I don't know when that day is. That day might be in 30 days, it might be in 300 days. We don't know. But again, selfishly, I have to step aside and look at family first here and make a decision with the whole group in mind and go from there."
Casey Fitzgerald resumed practicing for the first time since he sustained an upper-body injury during his fight with Vegas forward Keegan Kolesar on March 10. He will not play Wednesday against the Penguins, Granato said.
Here's how the group lined up:
| March 22 | | --- | | | C | RW | | 53 Jeff Skinner | 72 Tage Thompson | 89 Alex Tuch | | 74 Rasmus Asplund | 37 Casey Mittelstadt | 71 Victor Olofsson | | 19 Peyton Krebs | 24 Dylan Cozens | 29 Vinnie Hinostroza | | 28 Zemgus Girgensons | 20 Cody Eakin | 21 Kyle Okposo | | 96 Anders Bjork | | | | LD | RD | G | | 26 Rasmus Dahlin | 10 Henri Jokiharju | 41 Craig Anderson | | 23 Mattias Samuelsson | 78 Jacob Bryson | 31 Dustin Tokarski | | 33 Colin Miller | 13 Mark Pysyk | | | 4 Will Butcher | 45 Casey Fitzgerald | |