Buffalo Sabres Player Projections: Brian Gionta

Can the aging veteran give the Buffalo Sabres one more productive season in 2016-17?

When the Buffalo Sabres acquired Rochester, New York native Brian Gionta back in 2014, I had mixed feelings.

On the one hand, I sure didn’t mind bringing in a classy veteran who would spend a few years mentoring younger player such as Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart, and Marcus Foligno, the latter of whom seems to have benefited most from Gionta’s leadership.

At the same time, I didn’t love seeing the Sabres commit $4.25 million and, more importantly. three years to Gionta. Sure, the Sabres were not going to make the playoffs in either 2015 or 2016 . . . but as we enter the 2016-17, there IS a chance that the Buffalo Sabres could earn a trip to the postseason, so the question is, will the soon-to-be 38 years-old Gionta help, or hurt, the Sabres’ playoff chances?

Player: Brian Gionta

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2015-16 stats: 12-21-33, -5 in 79 games played

For some inexplicable reason, Gionta spent a healthy period of time playing on the second line alongside Eichel, and even logged the most ice time of any of the Sabres’ right wingers in 2015-16.

Yes, that’s right: Brian Gionta still logs first-line minutes, even though he’s a third-line player AT BEST at 37 years-of-age. A good deal of those minutes come from the penalty kill, where Gionta is still moderately effective – but come on. The Sabres are not going to make the playoffs if Brian Gionta is logging more minutes than Sam Reinhart.

Fortunately, Reinhart played his way onto Eichel’s line, and Gionta found chemistry with Foligno and Johan Larsson, which makes me so confident that he will see his ice time drop below Reinhart’s that I promise* to eat a live duck (“Everything but the beak and feet” – name the movie!) if Gionta still logs more minutes than Sam (barring injuries, of course).

*My promises mean nothing.

Gionta did give the Sabres 33 points last season, which is only two points less than what he produced in 2014-15 and which was head-and-shoulders above what Foligno and Larsson contributed, but truth be told I would rather see Hudson Fasching begin to see some minutes on the third line, even though that probably won’t happen much in 2016-17.

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At this stage of his NHL career, Gionta produces at a fourth-line level, but we all know that Dan Bylsma would like to keep the Foligno – Larsson – Gionta combination together on the third line. It’s true that he generated 169 shots for the Sabres last season, which is he fourth-highest total on the team, and his 33 points were sixth-best . . . but his shot percentage of 7.1% was the second-lowest of his career, ahead of only his record season percentage of 6.9%, and his .42 points per game was the third-lowest of his career, too. It doesn’t take a stats guru to look at his numbers and identify a downward-trend: Gionta’s offensive production is slipping, folks. It’s damn-near a miracle he only scored two points less last season than he did in 2014-15; will he be able to keep the floodgates from opening in true Matt-Moulson fashion next season?!?

Projection: 10-19-29

Next: Is Jake McCabe Ready For Bigger Minutes?

Unlike Jaromir Jagr, who appears to have found the real Fountain of Youth down in Florida, Brian Gionta is losing a step or three every single season. While I hope he is able to retire as a member of the Buffalo Sabres, I’ll be honest: I was hoping even more that he would announce his retirement this summer. Instead, he admitted that he feels like he has a few more seasons in him, but it’s hard to imagine any season after 2016-17 will be spent wearing a Sabres sweater – not with Fasching and Justin Bailey moving closer to permanent spots in the NHL.

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