Top 3 burning questions Buffalo Sabres must answer in preseason

Every team in the NHL has a trio of burning questions and the Buffalo Sabres are no different. Here are three questions they must answer in preseason. 

The Buffalo Sabres enter their first training camp practice today and they are still a team in transition, but with a better overall outlook this season. Last year, they entered camp with a new coach in their first full season with the team, plus hardly any stability on the roster.

Burning questions that they have since answered since September 2021 included who would lead the defensive rotation, who would play first line center, and what would they make of Jack Eichel? They answered those questions eventually, and this year, the burning questions have a lot to do with their youngest talent. Let’s check them out.

1 – Where does Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stand?

Luukkonen showed little improvement last season at the AHL level, though he put up a solid performance in the NHL with a 2.74 GAA and a 0.917 save percentage. This season, he figures to enter camp as the third goaltender in the system, but that can change depending on his performance.

If Luukkonen plays well, do the Buffalo Sabres move him up one rung and make him a third goaltender in the rotation? Or do they keep him in Rochester regardless and give him more reps? Overall, it will depend on how he plays in the preseason, and where they believe he will best serve the organization.

2 – Do the Buffalo Sabres go with rookies or veterans?

Since June, I made several roster projections. My scenarios placed players like Jack Quinn on as high as the second line, and as low as the fourth. There have been cases where I put J.J. Peterka on the third line, but also onto the fourth, and at times, an extra skater.

It depended on whether, in that moment, if I leaned toward the Sabres starting the season with their veterans or going with their rookies. This depends how quickly Quinn and Peterka acclimate themselves.

If they have good outings in the preseason, don’t be surprised if Quinn ends up on the second line as a winger. However, he could also wind up as low as the fourth line if he shows some difficulty adapting to the faster game. Peterka would be an ideal third liner, but expect a veteran to play there if coaches feel Peterka would be better off as an extra skater or fourth liner.

3 – Who will play second-line center?

Conventional wisdom tells me Casey Mittelstadt will earn this job, but he needs to a) stay healthy, and b) show more than he’s shown over the past few seasons. There is an outside chance Dylan Cozens or Peyton Krebs snag the job, even if Cozens is better suited for the third line and Krebs, a winger.

In most of my projections and those I’ve seen elsewhere, Mittelstadt looks like the shoo-in at to start on the second line at this point. So perhaps the hotter question would be, Can Mittelstadt keep the second-line center gig? He showed last season that he can score when healthy, but he has more young talent this season to fend off.

Buffalo Sabres got some questions to answer

Of course, these are just the top three burning questions for the Buffalo Sabres. There will be others as camp and the preseason progresses. Who will be the starting goaltender? Will Tage Thompson live up to his big extension? Can Jeff Skinner repeat?

An endless list of questions face the Sabres this season. But at least many of the most glaring roster questions have some clarity this year. We know who will play on the first line, we know who will lead the defensive rotation, and we also know that the roster will be far more stable than it has been in years’ past.

(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)