From that Twitter thread, a few suggestions: A) VO has nudies of Mrs. Meatball, B) VO is on the PP, and C) VO is being given a chance to pad stats so they get the best return over the summer.
I think all are likely to be true.
You could...well, I could feel the ire in the Sabres' game during the second. I hope this is one of those growth things where they finally flip the switch and adopt a little nasty in the way they play.