2022-23 NHL team preview: Buffalo Sabres

LAST SEASON

The Buffalo Sabres made history in 2021-22 as they missed the playoffs for the 11th consecutive season, tying them for the longest stretch of futility in NHL history with the Florida Panthers, who missed out from 2001 to 2012.

Though they ultimately added another notch to a very long list of losing seasons, the Sabres’ performance last year was a step in the right direction and there’s some earnest optimism that they might finally be getting things right.

Last summer, the Sabres traded Rasmus Ristolainen and Sam Reinhart away for draft picks and prospects and their tear-down was completed when they shipped disgruntled captain Jack Eichel to the Vegas Golden Knights. The expectation for the Sabres with Eichel, Ristolainen, and Reinhart out of the picture was that they’d be a shoo-in for last place, but the team seemed to gain momentum as the season went along.

When Alex Tuch, who came over in the Eichel deal, made his Sabres debut at the end of December, the Sabres had a 10-15-5 record. They immediately went on a five-game losing streak and appeared to be spiraling to the basement of the league’s standings. But rather than tanking, the Sabres found their groove and put up a respectable 22-20-5 record the rest of the way, highlighted by a 3-1 victory against the Golden Knights in Eichel’s return to Buffalo in March.

All told, the Sabres went 32-39-11 in 2021-22, good for 24th in the league standings and a significant improvement from the dismal showing they had the previous season.

KEY ADDITIONS & DEPARTURES

Additions

Ilya Lyubushkin, D
Eric Comrie, G
Riley Sheahan, C
Kale Clague, D
Chase Priskie, D

Departures

Mark Pysyk, D (Det)
Colin Miller, D (Dal)
Will Butcher, D (Dal)
Cody Eakin, C (UFA)
Aaron Dell, G (SJ)
Mark Jankowski, C (Nsh)
John Hayden, RW (Sea)
Dustin Tokarski, G (Pit)
Drake Caggiula, LW (Pit)

OFFENSE

Buffalo’s offense was well below average last season, as it ranked 22nd out of 32 teams in goals scored, but, as will be the theme in the post, it was a solid improvement over its results from the previous season.

The Sabres enjoyed a combination of breakout seasons from young players while getting rebound performances from some of their veterans who had struggled the year before.

Tage Thompson popped off with 38 goals and 68 points, a shocking performance given he had scored 35 points in 145 career NHL games coming into last season. Dylan Cozens scored 13 goals and 28 points in his second full season in the league and a healthy Rasmus Dahlin notched a career-high 53 points.

In terms of bounceback showings from veterans, Jeff Skinner more than quadrupled his goal total from 2021 by scoring 33 goals while Kyle Okposo reached the 20-goal plateau for the first time since signing with the Sabres in 2016.

While they had a handful of quality contributors, the Sabres ultimately lacked the depth in 2021-22 to have much of an offense.

DEFENSE

Team defense has been a weakness of the Sabres for quite some time, which adds up given the playoff drought, but there’s reason to believe they have a group trending in the right direction.

Led by 2018 No. 1 overall pick Dahlin, who played a career-high 24:01 per game in 2021-22, the Sabres finished in the middle of the pack in terms of expected goals against at even-strength, according to Natural Stat Trick. Buffalo was better in 2021-22 than it was the previous season in shots against and high-danger chances against per 60 minutes.

The Sabres let veteran defensemen Mark Pysyk, Will Butcher and Colin Miller walk over the summer but also brought in defensive stalwart Ilya Lyubushkyn to compensate. The departures of Pysyk, Butcher and Miller ultimately open up room on the depth chart for Buffalo’s young defensemen to take on larger roles on the team.

The big name here to watch, of course, is 2021 No. 1 overall pick, Owen Power, who showed well during his eight-game cup of coffee with the Sabres. It’s a small sample, but Buffalo went 6-2-0 with Power in the lineup to finish last season.

GOALTENDING

The Sabres went through a revolving door of goaltenders last season. Their main guy was 40-year-old Craig Anderson, who started 31 games, but the Sabres also had Dustin Tokarski, Aaron Dell, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Malcolm Subban, and Michael Houser make starts.

This season, it’ll be veteran Anderson playing in tandem with Eric Comrie, whom the Sabres inked in free agency. Comrie, who was selected in the second round of the 2013 NHL Draft, had a strong season as the Winnipeg Jets’ backup, posting a .920 save percentage across 19 games.

Comrie is signed to a two-year deal while Anderson is signed for one more season. The plan for Buffalo is likely for Anderson to play one more year alongside Comrie while prospects Luukkonen, Erik Portillo, and Devon Levi continue to develop.

COACHING

The Sabres are in desperate need of some consistency behind the bench and Don Granato’s first season as a head coach in the NHL was encouraging.

Since letting go of long-time coach Lindy Ruff back in 2013, the Sabres have gone through Ron Rolston, Dan Bylsma, Phil Housley, Ralph Krueger, and now Granato, and he’s the first one to last into a third season behind the bench.

Given the way the Sabres rallied after watching a difficult situation play out with Eichel demanding a trade, Granato deserves credit for his leadership in helping create a positive environment.

ROOKIES

As I mentioned earlier, all eyes are on Power as he goes into his first full season in the NHL. Power had two very good NCAA seasons with the University of Michigan, fared well for Team Canada at the 2022 Olympics, and didn’t at all look out of place during his eight-game debut at the end of last season.

After seeing how Moritz Seider impacted the Detroit Red Wings’ blueline as a rookie in 2021-22, the hope for the Sabres is that Power can do the same.

Jack Quinn, the No. 8 overall pick from the 2020 NHL Draft, is set to play his first NHL season after a very impressive 26-goal and 61-point showing in the AHL last year. JJ Peterka, Buffalo’s leading scorer in the AHL last season, could also earn a role on the NHL club.

BURNING QUESTIONS

1. Is Tage Thompson actually legit? Thompson came out of nowhere and scored 38 goals and 68 points in 2021-22, a stunning performance given his career-high for points in a single season in the NHL previously had been 14. Thompson was a first-round pick so the upside has always been there, but the question is whether he can ever repeat coming near the 40-goal plateau. He’s a restricted free agent with arbitration rights next summer.

2. Will Rasmus Dahlin command a long-term contract? It’s been a bit of an up-and-down ride for Dahlin since getting selected No. 1 overall by the Sabres in 2018. Beyond playing on some terrible teams during Buffalo’s dark days, Dahlin has also had his development slowed due to a concussion he suffered back in 2019. Dahlin was inked to a three-year bridge contract following his entry-level deal expiring last summer and he played very well in the first year of that contract. If Dahlin takes another step forward this season, there’ll be talk about the Sabres locking him up long-term in the offseason.

3. Can Eric Comrie finally reach his potential? Comrie was once viewed as the future in net for the Winnipeg Jets. The No. 59 overall pick from the 2013 draft put up amazing WHL numbers and played well in the AHL but was never able to catch on at the NHL level. Last season, Comrie finally put it together and posted a .920 save percentage in 19 games as Connor Hellebuyck’s backup. Comrie inked a two-year deal with the Sabres last summer and has an opportunity to finally get an extended look in the NHL.

PREDICTION

The Sabres had no expectations last season and fared well as a rag-tag group with nothing to prove. It’ll again be a similar situation in Buffalo as a handful of young players continue to acclimatize themselves to the NHL level.

Expecting this team to be in the mix for a playoff spot is obviously a big stretch, but the Sabres will be a pesky opponent in the Atlantic Division, one that is far from the pushover they’ve been in previous years.