Should the Buffalo Sabres hang onto Anderson and Tokarski?

The Craig Anderson-Dustin Tokarski duo was a patchwork one. But they held their own with a young Buffalo Sabres team in transition. 

Craig Anderson and Dustin Tokarski were not necessarily bad last season when they took the majority of the reps for the Buffalo Sabres. They were not necessarily good either, and both missed huge chunks of time during the season because of injury (Anderson) and illness (Tokarski).

But when they returned, they were integral puzzle pieces in the team’s 16-9-3 run in March and April 2022. Neither are under contract next season, and it is still up in the air whether Anderson decides to play at all.

Should the Buffalo Sabres bring back Craig Anderson and Dustin Tokarski?

If there is one advantage Anderson and Tokarski have that no other goaltender outside Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Malcolm Subban, Aaron Dell, and Michael Houser have, it’s experience playing with this budding hockey team. Die by the Blade referred to Tokarski as serviceable. And you can say the same about Anderson. Luukkonen, Houser, and Subban had too small of a sample size, while Dell is best suited for the AHL.

Anderson finished the season with a 17-12-2 record, a 3.12 goals allowed average, and a 0.897 save percentage. Tokarski played in 29 games, a career high. He compiled a 10-12-5 record, a 3.27 GAA, and an 0.899 save percentage.

Another upside with bringing back Anderson and Tokarski is that the pressure won’t be completely on Luukkonen to succeed, since it is likely the latter re-signs. This puts Anderson in a backup or even a starting role while Tokarski can be ready on a moment’s notice in Rochester. Luukkonen starts the season off as a backup before eventually taking over as a starter.

There is also more stability with keeping Anderson and Tokarski. And while Anderson only has another year in him, Tokarski can move up and play the backup role starting in 2023-24. And if Luukkonen posts a good season, you got your starting goaltender for the next decade.

The sense of familiarity, the fact the duo already performed well, even if not spectacular, and the fact they can keep pressure off of Luukkonen are all solid reasons the Sabres would do well to bring back Anderson and Tokarski. It is a conservative route, but it’s also a familiar one.

(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)