Buffalo Sabres: What are the pros and cons of signing Ryan Johnson?

Now that his final college season is in the books, Ryan Johnson and the Buffalo Sabres have a decision to make. Are they mutual fits?

Last month, the Devon Levi watch was on, and he signed just one week after his collegiate season ended. Levi has since been solid in the net, posting a 0.904 save percentage, a 3.17 GAA, and there is a good chance he opens the 2023-24 season as the team’s top goaltender.

Now, the Ryan Johnson watch is on. Will he sign? And if so, is it, overall, a good idea for him to sign with the Blue and Gold, or should the two parties mutually agree to split, which allows the Sabres to attain a second-round draft pick as compensation?

Should the Buffalo Sabres sign Ryan Johnson? Pros and Cons

The first pro is obvious: The Sabres need defensemen in their prospect pool. And while they have some intriguing names like Nikita Novikov, Vsevolod Komarov, and Mats Lindgren, none appear to be as NHL-ready as Johnson. While you can expect Johnson to play at least a season in Rochester, there is a good chance we would see him in the NHL in 2024-25.

Johnson would also give the Sabres someone capable of clearing the puck regularly once he makes the jump to the NHL. This is something they’ve had trouble with all season. His game in the defensive zone has also gotten better, it will only continue to improve, and that would be huge for a team that struggled defensively this season.

Signing Johnson would eventually also add another early-round pick to the rotation that already includes Owen Power, Rasmus Dahlin, and Henri Jokiharju. Mattias Samuelsson was a former 32nd overall pick, which had the selection occurred in 2021, would have also been in the first round.

This gives the Sabres five defensemen picked in the Top 32. And yes, it’s a pretty much surefire thing that they will be drafting at least one big-time blueliner in this season’s draft.

The obvious downside is that the Buffalo Sabres wouldn’t get a second-round compensatory pick. Johnson was a project from the beginning, and when drafted, he was very raw.

Although no second round compensatory pick in the 2024 draft will be playing in the NHL immediately, the Sabres may find a diamond in the rough with less of a learning curve with that pick. But as you probably guessed, this is a very ticky-tacky con.

As it stands, the pros far outweigh the cons, given the Sabres massive need for more defensemen in the prospect pool. Johnson is a former first-round pick who, while a project when drafted back in 2019, has made massive strides during his time at the University of Minnesota.

He would enter the 2023-24 season as the most NHL-ready defensive prospect in the pool, and he would be joining a high-upside rotation that the Buffalo Sabres already have, most likely come 2024-25. The only real downside is that the Sabres wouldn’t get a chance for a do-over with a prospect in 2024 who they could feel has more upside than Johnson, but that’s really a nitpick.

Source: Ryan Johnson’s future with Sabres comes into focus after Golden Gophers’ loss by Lance Lysowski, BuffaloNews.com