Matt Ellis Matt Ellis ( born August 31 , 1981 ) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger . Not selected in an NHL Entry Draft , Ellis played in the NHL for the Detroit Red Wings , Los Angeles Kings and the Buffalo Sabres . Professional career . Minor league hockey . Ellis started play in the OHL with the Toronto St . Michael ' s Majors in 1998 . He quickly learned the speed and style of the game , as he started producing goals and assists right away . Each year with the Majors saw Ellis improving his point totals , from 18 the first year , onto 35 , 45 , and finishing with 38 goals and 51 assists for 89 total points in his final year with Toronto , helping them with the Central Division title . The Detroit Red Wings came calling and signed Ellis as a free agent on May 10 , 2002 . He was sent to play on the Wings ' farm team the Toledo Storm in the ECHL where he posted 59 points in the regular season and tacked on eight points in the Storms ' short playoff run . Reaching the AHL . In the following season , Ellis was quickly brought up to the AHL to join the Grand Rapids Griffins and tallied his first AHL point on October 24 , 2003 with an assist on the game - winning goal versus the Utah Grizzlies . Ellis again took time to adjust to the faster pace but soon found his place with the team . Each year his point totals went up and in the 2005 – 06 season , Ellis was named captain ; the youngest captain ever in Griffins ' history . This gave him the needed confidence to continue his growth as a player , which Ellis summed up when he had this to say about his captaincy : When asked about the chance to play for the Red Wings , Ellis said : " I ’ m hoping . Grand Rapids is a great place to learn and develop , but I ’ d like to get my feet wet in Detroit – for sure . " Detroit Red Wings . Ellis made his NHL debut for the Detroit Red Wings on December 18 , 2006 in a 4 – 3 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets . Los Angeles Kings . Ellis was claimed off of waivers by the Los Angeles Kings on February 21 , 2008 . He scored his first goal with the Kings , an empty - net goal , on March 13 , 2008 against the Nashville Predators at Sommet Center in Nashville , Tennessee . Buffalo Sabres . Shortly before the commencement of the 2008 - 09 season , on October 1 , 2008 , Ellis was claimed off of waivers from the Kings by the Buffalo Sabres . He played his first game with the latter on October 15 against the New York Rangers . On December 18 , after injuries to several Buffalo forwards , Ellis was recalled from Buffalo ' s then - AHL affiliate , the Portland Pirates , for the second time that season . In the subsequent off - season , on July 9 , 2009 , he resigned with the Sabres on a one - year contract . On August 31 , 2010 , Ellis was re - signed to an additional one - year contract with Buffalo . To begin the following 2010 - 11 season , the Sabres placed Ellis on waivers , which he cleared on October 4 , 2010 . On July 19 , 2011 , in the off - season , Ellis signed a multi - year contract extension with the Sabres . During the lockout - shortened 2012 - 13 season , Ellis was again waived and was sent to the AHL ' s Rochester Americans after six games played with Buffalo . After 12 points in 35 games with the Americans , Ellis opted to remain with the Sabres organization , signing a two - year , two - way contract extension on July 3 , 2013 . In the 2014 - 15 season , Ellis was recalled to the Sabres during the midpoint of the season , and on April 1 , 2015 , he scored his first goal of the campaign in a Buffalo victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs . On July 9 , 2015 , Ellis signed a one - year contract with the Rochester Americans . Ellis announced his retirement at the end of the season . He immediately joined The Academy of Hockey , which like the Sabres and Americans is owned by Terrence Pegula , as a coach .