Isn't Kuntar leading the team in goals? Actually believe that calling him up to the big team for a cup of coffee is a good thing. They were barred from returning Östlund to the parent club until he'd played in a game and the braintrust decided that Kuntar was the most deserving of the F's that remained.
The message of "work hard, get results, and when an opportunity arises, you'll get rewarded" gets reinforced a heck of a lot more by sending him up than by sending up somebody like Wahlberg who isn't having as good of a season. (Haven't been watching much of the Amerks; if Wahlberg's picked his play up recently, then, well, nevermind, but you still get the point.)
And, Östlund has played well in Buffalo and is who Ruff wants in the lineup. He's pencilled into the top 6 for tomorrow night. So, once he became available again, they made the roster move to play him in the top 6 rather than Kuntar or even worse Greenway or Quinn.