Buffalo Sabres lineup prediction 5.0 (Defenseman X solved!)

For months, I’ve put Defenseman X beside Owen Power. Well, Defenseman X is no longer a mystery. Here is the latest lineup prediction for the Buffalo Sabres.

Going into free agency, many of us wanted the Buffalo Sabres to sign multiple defensemen, and that’s exactly what they did. And they didn’t just sign a pair of capable blueliners for this team, they went with Erik Johnson, who has hordes of experience on the blue line, and he knows what it takes to get to the playoffs and win a Stanley Cup.

Then they went out and picked Connor Clifton off their division rival, the Boston Bruins, in what was their most brilliant signing in quite some time. So now the question bodes: Is Erik Johnson or Connor Clifton Defenseman X? Find out in my latest projected lineup.

Projecting the Buffalo Sabres 2023-24 opening night lineup 5.0

Like the previous lineup, this one will not include Jack Quinn. So this one, like the previous piece, will include the proposed contingency plan at forward.

• Skinner – Tage – Tuch
• Peterka – Cozens – Mittelstadt
• Greenway – Krebs – Rousek
• Girgensons – Kozak – Okposo
• Jost – Savoie

As you can see, we got Tyson Jost back, but I feel he will be an extra as the Sabres look to prioritize Jordan Greenway, and they will also go with a greater projected scoring threat in Lukas Rousek on the third line. However, expect Jost to rotate into the lineup frequently with Kyle Okposo, who should be on a pitch count this season.

And once again, as you can see, no Victor Olofsson. I still feel he ends up in a trade package, even if it’s for a mid-to-late-round draft pick. And I likely won’t add him into the lineup unless he’s still there in September. Anyway, onto the defense.

Defensemen and goaltenders

• Dahlin – Samuelsson
• Power – Clifton
• Stillman – Johnson
• Lyubushkin

As you can see, I went with the younger Clifton over the older, more experienced Johnson. Although the latter can play top four minutes and he probably will at times, this job will predominantly fall to the younger of the new signees.

• Levi – Luukkonen

Unless something happens during the remainder of free agency, it’s looking more and more like Devon Levi and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen will make up the tandem at goaltender. Sure, they’re young and inexperienced, but with so much more experience in front of them on the blue line, they should be more than okay.

Overall, the Buffalo Sabres lineup, even without Jack Quinn there in the early going, looks formidable. Mittelstadt will ensure the Sabres don’t miss a beat on the top six, and if Greenway and Rousek grow into consistent assets (by no means a small if), then the Blue and Gold has something special here, with a bonus coming when Quinn ultimately returns.

The blue line is set with Clifton and Johnson coming aboard. And the only real dilemma there now is, “Who wants Jacob Bryson and Henri Jokiharju?” While they’re all but finished in Buffalo barring something completely unforeseen, they’re also young enough to develop serviceable players…or at least the latter part is how I’ll try to sway another general manager into taking a flier on them.