The Buffalo Sabres had a fantastic draft class this year as they used each of their picks to restock their prospect pool. They selected Zach Benson with the 13th-overall pick, and then proceeded to take some great additional prospects that dropped to the later rounds. Overall, they addressed their future needs while adding even more scoring options for the near future. After the draft, they went on to have a very successful free agency by signing some key depth players, but they should not stop there. This roster is close to being complete, but there are still a few things the Sabres need to address before the season starts.
So far, Kevyn Adams has not made any player trades despite needing some goaltending help, and having more NHL caliber players than there is allowed on a team’s roster. Luckily for him, there are a handful of players that can be moved before the season starts, and there are still teams that need to finalize their rosters as well. The Sabres have plenty of players to move in order to address what needs they still have, and their free agency choices, so far, have been exactly what the doctor ordered.
Sabres Can Address Goaltending Depth
The Sabres ran through a number of goalies in the 2022-23 season, and they finished on a high note by allowing star prospect Devon Levi to carry them on their final playoff push. His playing time called into question the status of their other young goalie prospect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, and whether or not he would remain with the team. If Adams does not explore goalie options, they still have those two, along with journeyman goalie Eric Comrie as the third string if any injuries happen. The Sabres definitely do not NEED to spend assets to acquire a new goaltender, but bringing in a more established name does make sense for both the short- and long-term success of the team.
A name that comes to mind is John Gibson of the Anaheim Ducks. He still has some substantial term left on his contract ($6.4 million for the next four seasons) and he could likely be acquired for a price the Sabres could pay. If a move is made for the 29-year-old veteran goalie, the Sabres would need to offer up Luukkonen as a key piece of the return, as well as a roster player (or two) along with a prospect to seal the deal. The Sabres have plenty of roster players that they could move to make the deal worth the Ducks’ while, and they have a deep enough prospect pool that they could add in another piece if needed. Gibson may have had a down season last year playing for the Ducks, but he has some incredible bounce-back potential and the Sabres could run him in tandem with Devon Levi to keep both goalies fresh for a playoff run.
Sabres Absolutely Need to Shed Some Defensemen
As things currently sit, Buffalo’s defensive core is Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, Mattias Samuelsson, Henri Jokijarju, Ilya Lyubushkin, Jacob Bryson, Riley Stillman, and Kale Clague. They went out and added newly signed Connor Clifton and Erik Johnson to fill some of the top defensive roles, but that leaves far too many defenders on this team. Dahlin, Power, and Samuelsson will take up three of the top four roles, Lyubushkin will do well on the third line, and Johnson, along with Clifton, will likely take on the last two spots. This leaves players like Jokiharju and Bryson on the outside looking in. Both played very poorly for most of the season, and players like Clague and Stillman can fill in based on injury needs. They also have prospect Ryan Johnson who may be NHL ready, but the Sabres will likely let him play his first pro season in Rochester.
Trading Jokiharju and Bryson does not create a lot of cap space, but the Sabres currently don’t need to shed unwanted cap. Right now, they should be looking to maximize their return for these players, or package them in to a bigger deal that brings a goalie like Gibson into the fray. Having too many NHL caliber defenders is a great problem to have, but the reality of the roster limit will come into play before they know it. Adams needs to find a trade partner sooner than later to move out his extra defenders, so they can really shore up their roster before training camp starts.
Sabres Should Maximize Extra Forwards’ Value
Their forward group is essentially set, even with the recent injury news for Jack Quinn, so if there are any additions there, I would be mildly surprised. A couple of names that Buffalo could move would be Victor Olofsson and Casey Mittelstadt. Both players put up some very good offensive numbers that other teams might be intrigued by. Olofsson is known to be a power-play specialist and a goal scorer, so the Sabres could use him as a decent-sized bargaining chip, but the bigger value lies in Mittelstadt. The former 2017 eighth-overall pick finally caught his stride towards the end of this year, and he nearly hit the 60-point mark. While it is very likely that the Sabres continue to hold onto him for this season, I believe maximizing his value now would be a better option.
They could be in a similar situation to 2011 when former winger Drew Stafford scored a career high in goals and points, and the Sabres decided to hold onto him instead of moving him while he value was at its peak. They have the chance to do that now with Mittelstadt and really add a big piece to their team; whether thats a high-end draft pick, or being a piece of the trade offer for Gibson, this is the best time to move a player like him. He is coming to the end of his cheap $2.5 million contract, and if he continues to produce like he did at the end of last season, he will demand a hefty pay increase. It is better to trade him before the season starts and then let a different team negotiate his next contract, as the Sabres continue to grow and develop the top prospects in their system.
Sabres’ Window is Very Open
The playoff window is wide open right now with how Kevyn Adams has currently assembled this team. There is a lot to look forward to as they have addressed most of their key needs on paper. Now the time has come to make the final cuts from the NHLers and get this group solidified before training camp and the preseason.
Related: Revisiting the Sabres Failed 2015 Draft Class
Adding a goalie like Gibson makes this team much more legitimized as they would not be relying on two young goalies with less than a full season of game experience. The Sabres did improve their defensive situation by a lot, and it will help their goaltending regardless of who is in net, but adding veteran experience is very important to a young group like this. That is why a presence like Erik Johnson will be such an important piece during this coming season. He has almost 1,000 games of NHL experience, and he knows what it takes to win the Stanley Cup. Adams has assembled a very hungry NHL team, and the sooner the season starts, the sooner the Sabres will break their playoff drought.
