Buffalo Sabres 2023-24 Player Outlooks: Riley Stillman

Riley Stillman came to the Buffalo Sabres via trade late last season and made an average impact at best. Does he stay in the Queen City for 2023-24?

When the Buffalo Sabres acquired Riley Stillman, I felt it was a good move considering the price, which involved moving a mid-tier prospect in Josh Bloom for the physical blueliner. But Stillman never made a major impact last season despite logging five hits in the first period of his first game in a Sabres uniform.

He only recorded 24 more the rest of the way, and averaged just 12:03 minutes of average time on ice per game, telling me that he was, along with Jacob Bryson, another defenseman head coach Don Granato had a tough time putting his trust into. At even strength and 5-on-5, the Sabres logged an 85.9% on-ice save percentage when Stillman was on the ice, but to Stillman’s credit, they did generate more than their fair share of scoring chances.

Buffalo’s Corsi For Percentage sat at 57.8% at even strength and 58.0% at 5-on-5, while their Fenwick clocked in at 56.8% and 57.0% with Stillman’s presence, so it wasn’t all gloomy when he was out there. But considering the Sabres most recent signings of Erik Johnson and Connor Clifton, a couple of good stats from last season won’t redeem Stillman.

Does Riley Stillman have a chance to stay in the Buffalo Sabres lineup?

Riley Stillman’s contract puts him at a major disadvantage, as he’s slated to earn just $1.35 million this season. This is substantially lower than the likes of Ilya Lyubushkin and Henri Jokiharju, and even about a half-million below what Jacob Bryson is getting, so overall, the Blue and Gold are making a substantially smaller investment in Stillman.

For him to earn his way into the Sabres lineup, he has no choice but to completely dominate in camp and in the preseason, which is something I don’t see happening. Maybe general manager Kevyn Adams can swap him for a seventh-round pick and cut his losses if Stillman doesn’t pan out, but the likelier scenario is that he passes through waivers and ends up in Rochester.

Stillman will play out the final year of his contract with the Amerks, then move to a different organization. At best, he will at least dominate in the AHL and factor in as a sound insurance policy.

(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference, salary information provided by Cap Friendly)