Top 3 questions facing the Buffalo Sabres in 2022-23
By Sion Fawkes
Can Tage Thompson and others be more than one-year wonders?
I placed Tage Thompson’s name at the front here because he’s the one player you think of when it comes to one-year wonders for the Buffalo Sabres. But in actuality, there are a lot of them. Rasmus Dahlin put together a career year after riding the borderline bust label, so the jury also remains out on him.
Jeff Skinner and Kyle Okposo were abysmal between 2019-20 and 2020-21 before rebounding in 2021-22. They are older players who both saw immense success earlier in their respective careers. But they have one-year wonder status because of their massive dip in production in the years leading to last season.
You can even say the same for players like Alex Tuch and Victor Olofsson. Tuck was a middle six player before he saw most of this time on the first line in Buffalo. Olofsson started the season hot, tailed off, then rebounded as arguably the team’s best scorer between mid-February and April 29th.
Mattias Samuelsson played like a seasoned veteran, but in actuality, he has just 54 games of NHL experience. Jack Quinn and J.J. Peterka will likely earn a roster spot, but they both only saw one dominant year in the AHL.
My guess is you will see a mixture of elite and modest production. I don’t believe any of the players listed above will sink into, or back into, the doldrums. Thompson and Dahlin will most likely enjoy that elite production, while Skinner, Olofsson, and Okposo will put up modest-to-solid numbers. Tuch will fall into the solid category, with the possibility for more.
As for our rookies and young players, I’m going the modest route. Quinn and Peterka will impress, but 30-40 points is more realistic. Samuelsson remains on the first pairing in his first full NHL season, but there will be up and down performances.