Grading the Buffalo Sabres 2022 offseason (so far)
The Buffalo Sabres roster is practically set for the 2022-23 season, barring another chess piece or two. How did they fare during the pivotal offseason?
The Buffalo Sabres will most likely start the 2022-23 season behind the eight-ball. However, they are a much-improved hockey team as opposed to a season ago when many in NHL spheres projected them to be among the worst teams in hockey.
This past offseason, general manager Kevyn Adams stuck to his plan and continued to build his team through the NHL Draft and resisted the temptation to sign any big-name free agent or pull off any blockbuster trades.
Over here at Sabre Noise, we had some fun designing scenarios for big signings and projections, even if we knew the likelihood of them coming about rested between slim and none. Now that Adams proved us correct, did he do enough this offseason to keep the Sabres needle pointing north? Let’s discuss.
Grading the Buffalo Sabres offseason (so far): The 2022 NHL Draft
The Buffalo Sabres had what many believed was one of the best drafts. Especially since Adams held firm and did not trade his three picks in the first round for a ransom. Instead, he drafted one of the best offensive players out there in Matthew Savoie.
He then followed the Savoie pick with a good puck handler and play driver with Noah Ostlund. It was a pick that I wasn’t a fan of, but Ostlund’s on-ice awareness, hockey IQ, and ability to create scoring chances for teammates is bar-none.
Finally, he selected a tenacious one in Jiri Kulich, who has an outside chance to find himself playing in North America this season, though it is more likely he will play another year in Czechia. Kulich showed off speed and playmaking ability at development camp on multiple occasions.
Other notable picks included top goaltender Topias Leinonen, defenseman Mats Lindgren, and forward Jake Richard. He may have also landed an incredible scorer in Viktor Neuchev. Overall, Adams’ draft added much-needed names to the franchise’s prospect pool, which was already one of the NHL’s deepest.
Grade: B: I was a big fan of the Savoie and Kulich selections, but there were better prospects out there than Ostlund at #16. I was, however, fond of the Leinonen pick, even if some considered it to be a reach. Neuchev, Lindgren, and Richard are three mid-to-late round picks that I believe are brimming with potential. For more information on the Sabres 2022 draft grade, check out the following article.
Grading Free Agency
As projected, Adams re-signed many of the Buffalo Sabres own free agents that included RFA’s Victor Olofsson and Jacob Bryson. Olofsson broke out as a scorer between mid-February and late-April, while Bryson provides a serviceable hand on the third defensive pairing.
Lawrence Pilut also made his return to the organization after he spent two years in Russia. Ditto for Brett Murray and Sean Malone, among other notable AHL talent. Adams also held on to the reliable Vinnie Hinostroza and he brought back goaltender Craig Anderson, most likely to play a backup/mentor role.
Adams did go out and sign netminder Eric Comrie from the Winnipeg Jets. Comrie does not have a lot of NHL experience, but his 0.920 save percentage and 2.58 GAA is promising.
Even more promising is the fact Adams signed an experienced defenseman in Ilya Lyubushkin. Lyubushkin, known for his hard-hitting, has nine seasons of professional hockey experience, He will serve as an outstanding mentor for one of the league’s youngest defensive rotations that includes former first overall picks Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power.
Adams also signed high-end AHL prospects in Jeremy Davies, Kale Clague, and Chase Priskie. While I don’t expect any of the above to appear in the blue and gold, they do make outstanding AHL insurance this season just in case injuries affect the team’s defensemen.
Grade: A: Adams gets an A in the free agency category because he entered free agency to fill current roster holes, which gives his prospects time to develop and eventually fill them. Not that Lyubushkin and Comrie would be stopgaps, but the Sabres have plenty of defensemen and goaltenders in the system to take over in time.
The Verdict
Overall, Adams had a game plan coming into the NHL Draft and free agency, and it was to find more high-end prospects while protecting current prospects. Some in the Buffalo Sabres faithful will castigate him for refusing to spend top-dollar for high-end free agents or trading draft picks for stars like Alex DeBrincat (who ended up in Ottawa).
But the fact of the matter remains that adding superstar potential to a budding nucleus that the Sabres have can stagnate development. The Sabres made big moves in the past decade, and few of them have worked. Further, they didn’t shift the team from its losing ways.
Instead, Adams wanted to keep the nucleus intact, which would allow them to continue to build chemistry over the next two to four seasons. With that chemistry comes a team that is already used to one another. And in the long-run, it gives the Sabres a huge advantage over the likes of the Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings, both of whom threw star players together in hopes that they will mesh.
It is a problem the playoff-starved Sabres don’t need. And for that, Adams gets an A- for the 2022 offseason so far. Yes, the 2022 NHL Draft could have been better in my eyes. But I was glad to see Adams add to the prospect pool, especially at forward.
The Sabres did enough in free agency. light. Related Story
And it was refreshing to see that he did not go crazy in spending money on elite talent, instead opting to keep developing his own talent to reach the elite level. Something that will come with another season of experience.