2023 Fantasy Hockey Team Previews: Buffalo Sabres
The 2023 DailyFaceoff Fantasy Hockey Projections has projected stats for over 650 skaters and goalies.
The Fantasy Hockey Team Previews have all the projections for that team and mini-bios for all the Re-Draft and Dynasty relevant skaters and goalies. We will release the previews from September 5th through September 14th.
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In addition to the Fantasy Hockey Previews, Daily Faceoff is previewing all 32 NHL teams for 2022-23, with a new in-depth breakdown dropping every weekday! Click here to find every preview in one place.
Skaters
Tage Thompson
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 78.0 | 32.9 | 27.1 | 60.0 | -11.4 | 33.8 | 9.2 | 15.1 | 252.5 | 13.0% | 18.1 | 321.9 | 24.8 | 67.3 |
Fresh off a large 7-year, $50 million contract extension, Thompson will be looking to build off a terrific season, which saw him finish 19th in the NHL in goals (38), 22nd in SOG (253), and within the top 50 in league scoring (68 points). Thompson is entrenched on the top line and power-play unit and is the clear forward to own on the Sabres. A similar mid 30’s goal and a high 20’s assist season should be expected as Thompson attempts to maintain his high 15% shooting percentage from last season (10.9 career SH%).
Alex Tuch
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 71.4 | 20.9 | 30.9 | 51.8 | 4.3 | 24.7 | 3.8 | 9.9 | 198.1 | 10.6% | 18.5 | 18.9 | 56.3 | 66.9 |
Tuch started his inaugural Sabres campaign fresh off of shoulder surgery, looking like a mid-season fantasy breakout as he collected 23 points in his first 23 games in 2021-22. A key piece in the Jack Eichel deal, he humbly returned to earth as he closed out the year with a final line of 38 points in 50 games. Entering 2022-23 fully healthy and with solidified top-6 minutes, Tuch projects to return to his 2018-19 form. A season where the power-forward amassed 20 goals and 32 assists (52 points) across 74 games. Tuch is someone to keep an eye on in the later rounds, as he has a great opportunity to post the best numbers of his career.
Jeff Skinner
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 77.1 | 26.4 | 22.9 | 49.3 | -12.7 | 32.7 | 3.7 | 8.6 | 235.0 | 11.2% | 17.2 | 75.3 | 19.3 | 32.4 |
Skinner’s redemption season saw him score 30-plus goals and 30 assists for the first time since his rookie season in 2010-11. His 262 shots placed him 17th in the league, a pleasant surprise for a fantasy waiver wire addition. The five-time 30-goal scorer proved he still has that upside, but he relied on a 12.6 shooting percentage to get to that mark. He’s a career 10.9 percent shooter, suggesting he may settle back in closer to 25 goals. In the last couple of rounds, Skinner is worth a flier because he’s locked into a significant role and showcased 30-30 upside with a nearly identical surrounding cast in 2022.
Rasmus Dahlin
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 77.9 | 10.7 | 39.2 | 49.9 | -9.5 | 59.6 | 3.3 | 20.9 | 173.3 | 6.2% | 24.5 | 0.0 | 88.1 | 123.1 |
The 2018 No.1 overall pick surpassed the 40 assists and 50-point plateau for the first time in his four-year career. His 13 goals ranked him 12th among all defensemen, with his 170 shots landing him in the top-25. Entering his fifth season at just 22 years old, we likely haven’t seen the best of Dahlin just yet. The current version of the Sabres is probably the best team he’s ever played on. He’s locked into massive minutes (24:01 ATOI) and PP1 usage, so consider him a low-end No.1/high-end No.2 fantasy defenseman with top-10 upside. He’s also a dynasty building block.
Victor Olofsson
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 73.9 | 20.0 | 27.8 | 47.8 | -13.7 | 8.9 | 8.9 | 16.4 | 168.2 | 11.9% | 16.4 | 0.4 | 17.3 | 17.5 |
Olofsson scored 20 goals with 22-plus assists (29) for the second time in his career in 2021-22. A fantasy free agent pick-up who floated on and off the first line and power-play unit, you can expect a similar season as Olofsson hovers around the Sabres’ top-6. Olofsson is a streaky player, making him a solid waiver-wire addition but a difficult player to trust over an entire season. He opened last season with 20 points in 26 games but followed that up with just four points in his next 18 games. He then finished the season with 25 points (13G / 12A) in his final 28 games. If he can put that production level together for an entire season, he’s a potential breakout candidate. However, consistency seems to be an issue for the Swedish winger.
Jack Quinn
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 75.4 | 20.7 | 24.3 | 44.9 | 0.0 | 10.7 | 5.0 | 11.0 | 194.3 | 10.6% | 14.9 | 0.0 | 35.5 | 43.6 |
The No.8 overall pick in 2020 is a Calder Favourite heading into 2022-23. He’s fresh off a 61-point (26 G /35 A) AHL season and had one goal and one assist in his only two NHL games. Projected to start the season in Buffalo’s bottom-6, Quinn could quickly work himself into fantasy relevance. He’s a legit goal-scoring threat that could jump over Tuch and Olofsson on the depth chart. He’s someone to monitor on re-draft waiver wires and a terrific dynasty option.
Dylan Cozens
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 78.0 | 14.1 | 26.5 | 40.7 | -9.7 | 43.9 | 2.9 | 8.2 | 152.4 | 9.3% | 16.1 | 340.4 | 23.7 | 47.5 |
Another high draft pick with tons of potential; Cozens (21 years old) is part of the Sabres’ young core coming into their own. Unfortunately, his 13 goals and 25 assists from a year ago is nothing that jumps off the page at you, and his 7.64 Shots/60 is 192nd among NHL forwards. Unless that improves, his goal-scoring upside is capped. A breakout doesn’t seem to be in the cards in 2022-23, so he should be left for the waiver wire in re-draft leagues. Like many of his teammates, he’s a better dynasty option.
Owen Power
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 75.4 | 7.8 | 25.5 | 33.3 | 5.1 | 25.3 | 1.7 | 7.2 | 116.6 | 6.7% | 22.8 | 0.0 | 97.5 | 53.5 |
The 2021 No.1 overall pick had three points (2G / 1A) in his first eight NHL games after turning pro following his sophomore season at the University of Michigan. The 2021 No.1 overall pick had three points (2G / 1A) in his first eight NHL games after turning pro following his sophomore season at the University of Michigan. The 19-year-old defensemen played over 22 minutes per game right away but will likely be limited to PP2 usage behind Rasmus Dahlin. Moritz Seider became just the fifth rookie defenseman to hit 50 points in the last 20 years, so history isn’t in Power’s favour entering 2022-23. He’s a high-upside dynasty selection, but he’s best served as a reserve defenseman for re-draft leagues. Power’s early ADP is 111.1 before Thomas Chabot and Charlie McAvoy, don’t make that mistake on draft day.
Peyton Krebs
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 73.7 | 11.2 | 25.1 | 36.3 | -13.1 | 18.8 | 1.9 | 10.3 | 89.0 | 12.6% | 15 | 83.5 | 13.3 | 41.4 |
Krebs was another crucial part of the Eichel trade, and he performed well in his first season with Buffalo. The 2019 No.17 overall pick had 22 points (7G / 15A) in 48 games following the move. He’s been a point-per-game player in the AHL and doesn’t have a lot of competition for playing time at LW. He’s capable of racking up many assists but has one of the lowest Shots/60 (4.05) in the NHL, limiting his goal-scoring upside. Krebs’ fantasy value hinges on increasing his shot volume in 2022-23.
Casey Mittelstadt
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 70.3 | 13.2 | 20.8 | 34.0 | -15.9 | 11.8 | 3.3 | 11.1 | 123.3 | 10.7% | 16.1 | 352.1 | 22.1 | 30.5 |
Mittelstadt missed the start of last season and a total of 42 games. In the previous two seasons combined, he’s played 81 games and amassed 16 goals and 25 assists (41 points). That’s probably the type of production you should expect in 2022-23.
Goalies
Craig Anderson
| GS | W | L | T/O | SV% | GAA | SO |
| 43.0 | 16.1 | 20.1 | 5.1 | 0.905 | 3.08 | 1.0 |
Craig Anderson continues to dip into the fountain of youth as he returns to the Sabres on a one-year contract for his age-41 season. A year off a surprising season that saw Anderson post a winning record of 17-12-2 through 31 starts. He returns with hopes of improving on his lowly .897 Save Percentage and 3.12 GAA.
Anderson is nothing more than a veteran place filler on a roster that is not expected to succeed, as he has only posted a save percentage above .903 once in the last five seasons. Therefore, Anderson has no draft day value but proved with his .548 Winning% that he’s a worthwhile spot-starting option.
Eric Comrie
| GS | W | L | T/O | SV% | GAA | SO |
| 39.0 | 15.6 | 16.6 | 4.6 | 0.911 | 2.89 | 1.8 |
If Dustin Tokarski can be fantasy relevant in the Sabres’ crease, as he did in 2020-21, then anything is possible for the 27-year-old Comrie. He’s coming off a quietly impressive first full NHL season, where he posted a .920 SV%, which was sixth-best among goalies with at least 15 starts. Look at Comrie to split the work with Anderson on a Sabres team that was better defensively than the Jets a season ago. Unfortunately, Comrie likely isn’t as good as his .920 SV% from 2022 suggests, nor as bad as his .873 SV% from 2017-2021. The truth probably lies somewhere between, but unless he starts the lion’s share of the game, he’ll also be a spot-start option.
Remaining Sabres Projections
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| Kyle Okposo | RW | 70.0 | 14.7 | 20.3 | 35.1 | -8.3 | 31.2 | 4.5 | 7.7 | 138.1 | 10.7% | 15.6 | 76.5 | 20.5 | 59.3 |
| Rasmus Asplund | LW | 77.0 | 9.9 | 16.7 | 26.6 | -3.9 | 10.3 | 1.3 | 2.7 | 120.4 | 8.3% | 14.2 | 26.2 | 13.9 | 35.7 |
| Zemgus Girgensons | C/LW | 76.8 | 11.7 | 10.4 | 22.1 | -6.1 | 22.5 | 1.3 | 2.0 | 105.7 | 11.0% | 14 | 117.7 | 29.1 | 117.8 |
| Mattias Samuelsson | D | 74.1 | 3.3 | 17.3 | 20.6 | -10.0 | 18.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 81.6 | 4.0% | 20 | 0.0 | 101.3 | 161.5 |
| Henri Jokiharju | D | 71.3 | 3.9 | 14.3 | 18.2 | -8.9 | 22.1 | 0.3 | 2.7 | 89.9 | 4.3% | 19.6 | 0.0 | 74.6 | 81.5 |
| Anders Bjork | LW | 67.0 | 7.1 | 6.5 | 13.6 | -12.8 | 14.0 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 62.9 | 11.3% | 12.7 | 1.1 | 19.8 | 35.6 |
| Jacob Bryson | D | 72.7 | 1.5 | 10.5 | 12.0 | -5.9 | 15.5 | 0.3 | 2.1 | 46.9 | 3.3% | 18.3 | 0.0 | 76.4 | 61.1 |
| Ilya Lyubushkin | D | 71.4 | 1.7 | 8.7 | 10.3 | -4.7 | 37.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 56.3 | 3.0% | 16.9 | 0.0 | 92.5 | 174.1 |