As Thanksgiving and the holiday season approaches, PHR will be taking a look at what teams are thankful for in 2022-23. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Buffalo Sabres.
Who are the Sabres thankful for?
The man they call “GMKA” in Buffalo has been nothing short of a fan favorite in his short tenure as the GM of the Buffalo Sabres. Since taking over as the full-time GM in the spring of 2020, Adams has completely transformed the Sabres outlook, getting young players to take the next step, signing them long-term, and perhaps his biggest move to date, the trade of Jack Eichel.
Adams inherited a tough situation back in 2020, finding a team that had been rebuilding for nearly a decade with a few tough-to-stomach contracts on the books, but has seemingly done wonders with what he had. Adams replaced former head coach Ralph Krueger halfway through the 2020-21 season, replacing him with Don Granato. Forward Tage Thompson, who had never had more than 14 points in a season, was moved to center under Adams and Granato’s watch and broke out as a star. Rasmus Dahlin, the number one overall pick in 2018, has apparently taken the next step in his development this year as a true superstar defenseman. Winger Jeff Skinner, who’s $9M AAV seemed to be one of the poorest values in the NHL, has reignited into his old self, recording 63 points last season, and 12 in 17 games to start this season.
The highlight of Adams’ resume would likely be the Eichel trade last fall. In exchange for the team’s captain, who Buffalo was almost compelled to deal, Adams was able to acquire a first-round pick in 2022 (Noah Ostlund), a secound-round pick in 2023, top prospect Peyton Krebs, and Alex Tuch. Thus far, the return is paying dividends, though Krebs has struggled to start this season and the development of their draft selections will be solely on Buffalo, Tuch, an upstate-New York native and life-long Sabres fan, has become a bona fide star in his own right and emotional leader for the team.
There’s more work to do in Buffalo, and it’s no secret that the team has been struggling lately after a strong start, however Adams’ work in his first two-and-a-half years has given the Sabres and their fans plenty to be thankful for. The sort of development seen in their young players, performance from their big contracts, and stability behind the bench is not something seen in Buffalo during this rebuild. While it’s hard to keep waiting after so much time, Adams has created what appears to be a true light at the end of the tunnel.
What are the Sabres thankful for?
Growth of young players and rejuvenation of veterans
Above, we discussed GM Kevyn Adams and his ability to get the most out of veterans like Skinner and young players like Thompson. After such a lengthy rebuild, with more still to come it seems, a lot of the present hope for the Sabres was going to have to come out of the current group the team has locked up, and thankfully for Buffalo, it has.
Starting with the veterans, Skinner will command a $9M cap hit through 2026-27. That’s obviously a big number, flat cap or not, and Skinner’s 63 points last season and similar pace this season still don’t justify that price. However, after a pair of incredibly disappointing seasons, Skinner seems to have found his scoring touch again. Regardless of his performance, the contract is what it is and it was highly unlikely Buffalo was going to be able to move it. Now, getting as much production as they can out of Skinner will be key, and a 60-point winger is a much welcomed addition to any team’s top-six.
Another veteran turning things around is captain Kyle Okposo. The winger had his own share of disappointing seasons and while he’s now in the final year of his seven-year, $42M contract, Okposo managed to turn in a productive 2021-22 with 21 goals and 24 assists in 74 games. Just before the start of this season, the team named him captain, with Adams, Granato, and his teammates, praising the person and leader Okposo is.
It’s not only the veteran turnaround to be thankful for in Buffalo, as the younger core including players like Thompson, Tuch, and Dahlin have all taken steps in their development to form what could be the next great group of Sabres players. As mention, Thompson went from a winger with light offensive potential to a powerhouse for the Sabres last season, turning in 38 goals and 30 assists in just 74 games. If that wasn’t enough, Thompson has turned on another gear it seems in 2022-23, leading the team with 22 points in 17 games.
Alex Tuch, who had a previous career-high of 52 points in 74 games, found his old magic once again after coming back from injury last season and making his Sabres debut, recording 38 points in 50 games. The forward has built on that success this year as well, with eight goals and seven assists in his first 17 games. On the backend, Dahlin has transformed himself from a solid, star defenseman into a Norris caliber presence, boasting 19 points in just 16 games so far, including a historic five-game goal streak to start the season. While both players have already shown the ability to be stars already, the consistency and ability to take the next step as Buffalo looks to break out (in the big picture) is something to be thankful for.
What would the Sabres be even more thankful for?
Season-long consistency
Consistency, in many ways, hasn’t been an issue for the Sabres, even in their darkest seasons during their rebuild. The team had constantly struggled, usually with many of the same issues and not much had fixed it. As things have turned around, especially in the last couple years under Adams and Granato, the team has found positive consistency, such as the breakout and stability of players like Thompson and Dahlin, the revitalization of Skinner, or even in more low-key situations, such as the calming presence of veteran goaltender Craig Anderson.
The consistency issues for Buffalo come in something that is, ironically, rooted in consistency: great starts, followed by poor performance. In Buffalo, even with many of the positive turn-arounds they’ve seen, that is holding true again this year. The team started the season 7-3-0 and looked like they were finally back on track, but has since lost seven games in a row, dropping them to 7-10-0. Four of those seven losses have come to some of the league’s best teams, including the Carolina Hurricanes, Tampa Bay Lightning, Vegas Golden Knights, and Boston Bruins, but the other three at the hands of the Arizona Coyotes, Vancouver Canucks and Ottawa Senators, were against teams Buffalo had hoped to be ahead of at this stage.
Now, let’s be realistic, good teams are allowed to lose to bad teams, are allowed to have off nights, and are allowing to have some losing streaks here and there. It happens to the best of them. However, Buffalo has made a habit of looking as though the rebuild is over, starting strong, only to drop off sharply some time early on. As of right now, that trend is being followed. The team is only three games under NHL’s .500 heading into tonight, and the season is far from over. But, the Sabres would be most thankful, beyond a smart signing by their GM or a 40 goal season from their 6’7″ center, for consistent winning over an 82 game season.
What should be on the Sabres’ holiday wish list?
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen seizing the opportunity
Many were confused when the Sabres elected to not only re-sign Craig Anderson, but bring in veteran backup Eric Comrie on a two-year deal, effectively blocking prospect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s path to an NHL job. Instead, the Sabres opted to send Luukkonen to the Rochester Americans of the AHL where he could carry the load of a full-time starting goaltender and continue his development.
So far, Luukkonen has been, at best, alright with Rochester, while Comrie has had his struggles with Buffalo. But, with Comrie now out a few weeks with a lower-body injury, Luukkonen finds himself on the NHL roster with a shot to impress. This one stint in particular may not be a make-it-or-break it scenario for Luukkonen, who may not figure to get a heavy dose of starts, but it will factor into the Sabres’ opinion of him and the overall picture of where the young Finnish netminder stands as a legitimate NHL option.
A second-round pick by Buffalo in 2017, Luukkonen had dominated overseas before coming to North America. In one OHL season with the Sudbury Wolves, Luukkonen showed he could handle North American hockey before turning pro. Now in the Sabres organization, Luukkonen first proved himself in the ECHL before moving up and working in the AHL. Luukkonen’s AHL time has, again, been alright. The goaltender hasn’t been remarkable enough to force Buffalo to give him a regular shot in the NHL, but not poor to the point of taking him out of the category of true prospect status.
Encouragingly, in his brief time in the NHL, Luukkonen has impressed to an extent, giving the Sabres and their fans hope he could be the next starting goaltender in Buffalo. For that to happen though, Luukkonen will need to take another step sooner rather than later. So, what better time than now to put that on Buffalo’s holiday wish list?
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