Peyton Krebs
Krebs is easily the top candidate to land a job on the second line, even if it may not be at center. While he doesn’t display ideal size for the position, he is fantastic at passing the puck around and creating scoring opportunities, as shown by his 15 assists in 48 games. This stat alone gives him a huge advantage over the other two names on this list.
While Krebs looked like a rookie at times, as seen by his 31 giveaways, he steadily improved throughout the season and showed immense versatility. Overall, for a player buried on the depth chart over in Vegas, he played well despite being a 21-year-old thrown onto the middle lines for what was a seemingly bad hockey team.
But the question is this: Is Peyton Krebs better at left wing for the Buffalo Sabres? If the answer is yes, don’t expect him to play much center next season, but winger. But if head coach Don Granato thinks Krebs can make the big jump next season, expect him to play center right behind Tage Thompson.