Can Olofsson be the main goal scorer for the Sabres?

The Buffalo Sabres roster is going to look a lot different this season than it has over the past few years. With players such as Sam Reinhart and Rasmus Ristolainen being traded for younger talent and draft picks, and Jack Eichel either missing the start of the season due to injury or just being on an entirely different team once the season rolls around, Buffalo will need others to step up if they want to be competitive.

One player that Sabres fans have seen produce over the past few seasons despite the team’s lack of success is Victor Olofsson. Over the past two shortened seasons, Olofsson has scored 33 goals in 110 games played. Pair that with 43 assists in that span and he is certainly one of Buffalo’s top offensive players at the moment.

With Eichel’s future with the blue and gold currently up in the air, it may be time for Olofsson to shine as Buffalo’s top offensive weapon. But the lack of top-tier talent surrounding him this season has the potential to lead to a dip in offensive stats.

Olofsson was regularly on a line alongside Eichel and/or Reinhart. With one of those players in Florida and the other likely unavailable going forward, it is reasonable to think maybe Olofsson might not be as effective this year. He is basically going from the third or fourth option on the offense to the first or second. So opposing teams may focus more on him than they have in the past.

Having a lack of Reinhart and Eichel could affect his success on the power play as well. But having no Eichel didn’t slow Olofsson’s power play success last year. Over the past two seasons, Victor has 18 goals and 27 assists on the man advantage for Buffalo.

With the Sabres’ goal-scoring weapons thinning, Buffalo is banking on an entire season of “Goal-ofsson” as they will be without a lot of their offensive firepower we have seen the past few years.