With the recent buyout of star forward Jeff Skinner, the Buffalo Sabres now have a gaping hole at the top of their lineup. Though he was coming off a highly disappointing season, the winger was one of the team’s biggest offensive contributors and replacing him won’t be easy.
The Sabres were very quiet as free agency opened this past week and didn’t make the major signing some were expecting with the added financial leeway the buyout brought. As a result, one can surmise that their plan is to promote from within and hope an existing player will step up to fill the void. While undeniably a gamble, there are candidates who could make it happen and perhaps none stand out more than youngsters John-Jason Peterka and Peyton Krebs.
Peterka had a major breakout in his second season and will be looking to continue his surge, while Krebs will be looking to show he’s capable of more. With Skinner and other key pieces now gone, the Sabres will need everyone to step up their game and both men should be entrusted with larger roles.
Peterka Is Ready for Heavier Workload
At this point, there’s no inkling of what incoming coach Lindy Ruff will do with the Sabres’ lineup, as he could completely rearrange it, make minor adjustments, or opt to keep it as is. Regardless of what he chooses, there’s little doubt Tage Thompson will keep his spot as the top-line center and Alex Tuch will remain by his side. But with the other wing open, a couple players could be slotted in, but JJ Peterka is the only legitimately viable option.
The German bucked the sophomore slump and took a major step forward in his second go-around, following up a 12-goal, 32-point rookie campaign with 28 goals and 50 points. It was a revelation for fans and one of few positives to come out of what was a very dim season in Buffalo. His emergence did not go unnoticed and numerous teammates sung his praises while also stating he hadn’t even reached his full potential.
Like Skinner, Peterka has shown himself to be a finisher and leans towards shooting, but he’s proven he has the skill to create plays as well due to his strong skating and vision. Unlike Skinner, however, he’s much more capable defensively and his plus-10 rating was second amongst Sabre forwards last season. That will put him in very good standing with Ruff, who prizes strong two-way play and will be tasked with making the team better in that regard.
His abilities would also be a great complement to Thompson and Tuch and very well and could help the two bounce back from underwhelming performances last year. Ex-head coach Don Granato briefly elevated Peterka to the top line at the end of last season and it resulted in a four-game goal streak. If given another chance to play together, the trio could potentially recapture the same magic Thompson, Tuch and Skinner found during the 2022-23 season.
For the Sabres to have any chance of making the playoffs for the first time since 2011, they’ll have to find a way to bring their offense back to life and get their big guns going again. Adding a fresh weapon into the fold — one that can play the same style as Tuch and Thompson — could be exactly what the top line needs and Peterka is the man for the job.
Roster Space Gives Krebs Chance to Move Up
Skinner’s departure provides a layered opportunity for the Sabres, as Peterka’s potential move up to the top line would give another player a chance to be promoted as well. Of all those that could be, Peyton Krebs is both most deserving and needing of such.
It would be understandable if fans had forgotten that Krebs was actually the centerpiece of the return in the Jack Eichel blockbuster. The 17th-overall selection of the 2019 Draft was a scoring machine in his junior career and expected to become a major threat for the Sabres that could one day fill Eichel’s shoes. This hasn’t been the case since he’s come to Buffalo, through no fault of his own.
The 23-year-old spent a majority of the last two years inhabiting the fourth line, mostly alongside Kyle Okposo and Zemgus Girgensons. He was placed there so the veteran stalwarts could help him become a better all-around player, and though he did transform his game, he was left in that spot. The Calgarian proved his worth as a feisty and disruptive defensive forward, and while he played to a plus-two rating this season, the lack of offensive exposure limited him to just four goals, 17 points, and an average of 12:30 of ice time per game.
In his typical nonchalant fashion, Krebs blamed himself for his lack of production, but no player ultimately has any control over his lineup placement and had he been with more talented linemates, his output almost certainly would have been higher (from “Peyton Krebs faces pivotal offseason as he tries to find his place with Sabres”, The Buffalo News, 6/17/24).
I’ve advocated for Krebs to be given a bigger role before and this is the opening he needs. Ruff could very well see fit to keep him as an anchor on the bottom-six, but continuing to do so would be a waste of his skills. A move to the top-six or even consistent third-line play would put him in legitimate offensive scenarios that will give him a chance to put his speed, skill and vision on display. It could also help the Sabres as a whole rediscover their scoring touch.
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A potential issue is that the Sabres forward group is currently logjammed. While Girgensons departed to the Tampa Bay Lightning, general manager Kevyn Adams has made a number of moves. Among others, Sam Lafferty and Jason Zucker inked free agent contracts, while Ryan McCleod was acquired in exchange for Sabres’ top prospect Matthew Savoie. Krebs is undeniably deserving of a promotion but his competition just became a whole lot tougher.
Krebs, a restricted free agent, is yet to accept the qualifying offer the Sabres extended and he can accept offer sheets if he declines. It’s not at all likely that he will, however, as he told the media at the end of the season that he’s optimistic about what lies ahead.
“I love coming to the rink every day,” he said at locker room cleanout day. “I love Buffalo, the city, I’m gonna have my first kid here and everything like that. Buffalo is home and it’s exciting. We’re gonna win a Stanley Cup, I know it. And once we do, the fans are gonna be fired up, so it’ll be great.”
What Will the New Sabres Look Like?
The 2024-25 season will begin yet another new era for the Buffalo Sabres, as Ruff returns to the franchise that he coached for 15 seasons and led to four Conference Finals and one Stanley Cup Final. Ironically, the Sabres haven’t made the playoffs since his first tenure and fans will be praying he’ll be the one to finally get them back there after an NHL-record 13 season absence.
With a host of new players now in the mix, the Sabres could bear little resemblance to the team of last season and there’s currently no telling how the revamped roster will look come the fall. The new players brought in will almost certainly be placed in big roles but that shouldn’t necessarily come at the expense of the existing roster. For the Sabres to have the best odds of at long last getting over the hill, Peterka and Krebs should both be given a chance.
