5 outstanding building blocks for the Buffalo Sabres
Amidst a lost season the Buffalo Sabres have still managed to build on the solid foundation that has meshed together in March 2022
The Buffalo Sabres have a lot of hope moving forward. Yeah, they’ve turned in some abysmal performances, but if March serves as an indicator, they’re a team turning the corner with a few cornerstone players rising from the ashes of the NHL’s longest playoff drought.
These days, the Sabres, despite just logging 55 points so far this season, have at least five players aged 25 and under that fans can get excited about. Of course, we can name a few more than the five listed in the following slides, given the sheer youth on this team.
One cornerstone player not listed but must be discussed is Jeff Skinner. Since Skinner is going on 30, he does not appear in the following slides. However, if this article talked about five franchise cornerstones regardless of age, Skinner would have a place on the list.
Especially given his 26 goals in 63 games this season. The guy has experienced a career renaissance under head coach Don Granato. That said, a few more players listed below have had a similar experience. Whether they spent time in Buffalo before this season or somewhere else.
Reverting back to Skinner for a second, he also has this in common with the following players despite his age: He too can expect to be in town for quite a while entertaining fans at the KeyBank Center.
So who are these five building blocks who should, barring anything unforeseen, remain Buffalo Sabres for at least the next half-decade? Keep reading to find out.
Alex Tuch
Having arrived in the Jack Eichel trade, Alex Tuch has evolved into one of the team’s key contributors. You often see him sharing the top scoring line with Jeff Skinner and Tage Thompson. And it’s a position the 25-year-old winger can hold for the next decade.
Tuch didn’t take the ice for the Sabres until late December, but it didn’t take him long to get acclimated. And now, he’s a legitimate threat to score or provide an assist every single game.
He hasn’t disappointed, posting a +/- of 5, with 26 points in 33 games. He’s also aggressive when fighting for the puck, evidenced with his 27 takeaways this season. Tuch has also logged a career-high 19:05 of average ice time.
He doesn’t just bring a sound game to his hometown Sabres, he also brought a winning mentality following a four-season stint with the Vegas Golden Knights. And it’s the winner in Tuch that brings more value to the Sabres than anything else. He’s been to the Stanley Cup Final and has made deep playoff runs with the Knights.
The budding franchise cornerstone knows what it’s like to be in the spotlight. And his experience is impeccable for a young team like the Sabres when they eventually clinch a playoff berth.
Rasmus Dahlin
He’s one of the most dangerous two-way defensemen in the NHL and following his first All-Star Game, he’s putting the league on notice. Dahlin’s 39 points in 63 games proves he’s a tremendous puck handler unafraid to take risks with the puck if it means a potential goal.
But don’t let his offensive prowess fool you. Dahlin is also budding into one of the league’s top defensemen with 84 hits, 72 blocks, and 19 takeaways. He’s already set a career-high for blocks, and his 19 takeaways are his highest since his rookie season. Look for him to threaten setting a new career-high in hits while he’s at it.
Like Tuch, Dahlin has evolved into a leader and a franchise cornerstone. You see his leadership skills on display given how vocal he has become this season, regularly shouting encouragement to teammates while his competitive drive is on full display every time he takes the ice.
Still just 22, expect Dahlin to build off of his incredible 2021-22 campaign and solidify his spot as a cornerstone for at least the next five seasons. The days of the Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart meltdowns are long gone, and Dahlin is one of a few rays of hope for this Sabres team.
Dylan Cozens
Cozens isn’t the type of player built for the top scoring line given his streakiness production-wise. However, it’s easy to forgive Cozens, since he has just 103 games of NHL experience. Translation: Cozens has a long way to go development-wise.
Cozens also needs to learn to tone things down, given his 49 penalty minutes in 62 contests this season. Despite his shortcomings, which are nothing more than growing pains, Cozens has improved, logging 0.5 points per game, eclipsing his 0.33 points per game last season.
His shooting percentage sits at 10.3%, nearly a four-percent increase from 2020-21. He’s also been tasked with more face-offs this season, but his 43.8% win percentage shows he still has a lot of room to grow. Yet if his productivity increased from Year 1 to Year 2, it indicates any new responsibility thrown onto his shoulders will as well.
Look for Cozens to spend at least another season with inconsistent but improved play. However, expect him to blossom in 2023-24.
Peyton Krebs
Like Cozens, Krebs also shows some inconsistencies. However, he’s also essentially a rookie, having played in just 84 career NHL games to date. A first-round pick in 2019, Krebs went to an outstanding Vegas Golden Knights team and found himself buried within the system.
Arriving with Alex Tuch in the Jack Eichel trade, Krebs has since found a niche on the second scoring line for the Sabres. And for a player with little NHL experience, he’s looked good, converting 14 points and hitting on 18.8% of his shots on goal.
Krebs struggles with aggression when in possession of the puck. But his numbers clearly indicate he can afford to take more chances when he has a good look. At times, he has done this and found twine. Other times, he’s hesitant and has potentially cost the Sabres a few goals.
Krebs can afford to cut down on the giveaways and improve his face-off win percentage, which should come in time. He can also stand to get more aggressive when battling for the puck. Overall, it’s easy to expect Krebs to stick around the second scoring line, potentially at left wing or switching in and out at center with Cozens.
Tage Thompson
A lot of players on this list have salvaged their NHL careers. Alex Tuch and Peyton Krebs both found their respective niches with the Sabres. Rasmus Dahlin’s competitive edge was released this season and he wound up with an All-Star appearance. But no one stepped up more than Tage Thompson.
No stranger to adversity, Thompson debuted in 2017-18 for the St. Louis Blues and over the next four seasons, he logged a meager 35 points in 145 games. The former 25th overall pick in 2016 looked as though he were headed to the NHL discard pile.
But it wasn’t meant to be, as Thompson stepped up big in 2021-22, logging 49 points in 61 contests while becoming the Sabres nominee for Last Man In at the All-Star break. Thompson has shown he can play in this league, and no one is better suited to lead any Sabre who may find themselves in a similar predicament he once found himself in.
Thompson is going to grow with the other four names on this list and he will man the top scoring line with Tuch and Skinner for years to come. Overall, Thompson, like Dahlin and Tuch, has become a franchise cornerstone.
(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)