Poll: Should The Buffalo Sabres Re-Sign Andrej Meszaros?

By Melissa Kania |

As the Buffalo Sabres season winds down, it’s time to start looking toward a number of things in the postseason. First it’ll be the draft lottery, then the draft itself, and shortly after that: free agency. The Sabres have a decent number of impending free agents to think about, with one of them being defenseman Andrej Meszaros.

Meszaros, 29, is finishing up his 10th NHL season and first with the Sabres.

The Považská Bystrica, Slovakia native joined the Buffalo Sabres last July, signing as a free agent for a one-year, $4.125 million deal.

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But with the direction the team is headed, will Meszaros still suit up in the blue and gold when October rolls around?

In order to really think about it, let’s look at the other defensemen that the Buffalo Sabres have in their system, that could potentially be with the team next season. (The asterisk * indicates a player that is going to hit free agency this summer.)

With Bogosian, Gorges and Ristolainen as your likely top three blueliners heading into next season, that leaves basically four spots open, including the 7th slot. Unless a trade happens over the summer, Weber and Zadorov will fill two of those spots, leaving essentially one-two spots open.

But don’t forget guys like Mark Pysyk, Jake McCabe and Chad Ruhwedel waiting in the wings. Though Pysyk’s health has been a concern lately, if he is indeed healthy come October, he really should be a lock for an NHL spot. McCabe and Ruhwedel are slowly proving their worth in the AHL and could either be a 7th d-man or at the very least, a top pick for a call-up when needed.

The Sabres could, realistically, choose to not re-sign Benoit, Meszaros OR Strachan, and instead bring in blueliners via trade or free agency.

But would you be willing to re-sign Meszaros and give him one of those empty spots? Or would you let him walk and fill it with a perhaps more suitable candidate?

The Sabres are probably most likely to let Meszaros walk, and here’s why.

On a generally not-so-good team, Meszaros hasn’t contributed a whole lot. Four of his seven goals this season came within a two-game stretch, and nine of his 14 points on the season came since January.

He’s averaged 17:43 ice time per game, almost 10 minutes less than Bogosian (26:48) and less average TOI than Gorges, Ristolainen, Strachan, Weber, Pysyk, Benoit and Zadorov.

Only Ruhwedel and McCabe have seen less average TOI — and they’ve only played two games each this season.

One thing that Meszaros does bring to the Buffalo Sabres blueline is a veteran presence. With 10 NHL season under his belt, he’s the most experienced of the Sabres’ defensemen, with 643 NHL games played.

Added up, that’s 53 games more than Weber, Zadorov, Ristolainen, Pysyk, McCabe and Ruhwedel combined. But is the veteran factor enough to make GM Tim Murray want to re-sign Meszaros? Or will he stick with guys like Gorges (606 NHL games) and Bogosian (412 NHL games) and bring in other pieces along the way? He’s also a decent penalty killer, but it still seems likely that the Sabres will let him go.

Well – let’s hear your opinion. Do you think the Buffalo Sabres should re-sign Andrej Meszaros, try to trade him before free agency opens, or let him walk away for nothing?

Will Meszaros be back with the Buffalo Sabres in October, or will this weekend’s games be his last in the blue and gold?

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