Buffalo Sabres: 3 players who must improve in 2022-23

The Buffalo Sabres are heading into a pivotal 2022-23 season in which they must show that they can make a leap following their 2021-22 campaign.

The Buffalo Sabres need to improve as a team in 2022-23. But to improve, their core players must improve with them. So today, we are listing three important puzzle pieces on the Sabres whose improvement would work wonders for one of the NHL’s youngest teams.

This isn’t one of those situations where I’ll list players like Casey Mittelstadt. While someone like Mittelstadt must improve, the following three players hold a greater sense of urgency, as they are on the cusp of becoming not just one of the most talented on the roster, but one of the better players at their respective positions if they do improve.

Mittelstadt, even with such an improvement, is nothing more than a middling player at this point.  He doesn’t have cornerstone potential quite like those below and in the following slides. Let’s talk about them.

Three Buffalo Sabres who must improve: Player #1 – Peyton Krebs

Krebs was awesome during his first experience of extended playing time in the NHL, knocking down 22 points, seven goals, and 15 assists in 48 games. Some will call his numbers pedestrian, or even Casey Mittelstadt-like, but again, it was his first year and he wasn’t exactly expected to take over games.

But, Krebs must build upon his solid rookie season if the Buffalo Sabres are to continue to improve on offense. One massive area that needs improvement is shots taken, in which he logged 1.70 per game. Compare that number to Dylan Cozens, who took 3.35 per contest.

To make matters worse, Krebs enjoyed a 15.2 shooting percentage, showing me he’s rather accurate. So instead of looking to pass the puck and someone else to take the shot, Krebs needs to take the same advice head coach Don Granato gave to Rasmus Dahlin – Just go out and play hockey. 

If Krebs merely reaches the 2.50 total shots attempted per game, over an 82-game stretch, that equals 205 TSA. Still not a great number, but a solid one. Suppose 56 percent of them can be shots on goal, with a 15 percent shooting percentage. This puts Krebs at 115 shots on goal, with 17 goals on the season. Not bad for a second-year player.

Dylan Cozens

If there is one player I would be almost willing to guarantee will make a major leap from 2021-22 to 2022-23, it’s Dylan Cozens. And he got off to a phenomenal start last season points-wise before tailing off as the year wore on.

Cozens needs to improve his scoring output and he knows it. Next to his inconsistency, there is really nothing not to like about Cozens. His leadership ability is beyond special, something he showed after making the trip to Buffalo Sabres development camp in July to interact with the prospects. How many 21-year-olds go out of their way to do that?

He is going to be a phenomenal leader who may end up wearing a C a few years down the road. But his productivity must match it. And if there is any good news, it’s that Cozens’ possession metrics improved from Year 1 to Year 2.

How good did they get? His Corsi For Percentage (CF%) improved from 45.8 to 52.1 at even strength, while his Fenwick For Percentage (FF%) also increased, starting at 44.0 before it clinched the 49.2 mark in 2021-22. His Offensive Zone Starts Percentage at even strength were better, with 57.6 percent of them taking place in the offensive zone, an 11.3 percent increase over the previous season.

This shows that the Sabres were better as a unit on offense when Cozens was on the ice. Now, if he can do his part and convert, he will develop into one of the better middle six centers in the NHL.