Why the Buffalo Sabres will rule the Atlantic in three years: Part II
The Buffalo Sabres should contend this season, but they should also be raring to rule the Atlantic Division within the next three years.
The Buffalo Sabres and the Rochester Americans were both good hockey teams last season. And while the Sabres fell just shy of making the playoffs, the Amerks made it all the way to the Conference Final. The common denominator is that the Sabres and Amerks have landed the ideal formula for one (Amerks) to feed the other (Sabres).
No, we won’t see every Amerk coming up through the system become Sabres – that’s an impossible feat, especially when you factor in those inevitable trades around the deadline. But as I implied in Part I, any Sabre who is not part of the team’s inner-core could go elsewhere, and there is always a good chance someone from the Amerks serves as their immediate replacements.
For example, the Sabres have identified their current core with the following players:
- Jeff Skinner
- Tage Thompson
- Alex Tuch
- Rasmus Dahlin
- Mattias Samuelsson
- Owen Power
- Dylan Cozens
Deep Buffalo Sabres organization may help the team win perennially
Several other players could become part of that core:
- Devon Levi
- Jack Quinn
- J.J. Peterka
- Peyton Krebs
- Casey Mittelstadt
- Jordan Greenway
- Connor Clifton
The players listed at the top are those who have gotten huge deals, or will eventually ink a huge deal (Dahlin, Power – both currently eligible, Tuch – eligible 2025-26). And those in the second group could join them, but that number will probably be limited to two or three – likely Devon Levi if he excels as a franchise goaltender and up to two others.
Prospects of today take over tomorrow
The rest will go elsewhere once their respective contracts are up unless they’re willing to stick around on smaller deals. But this is where the prospects pool comes in. For example, suppose Peyton Krebs and Casey Mittelstadt end up leaving, then youngsters like Tyson Kozak and Jiri Kulich could take their respective places – Kozak for Krebs and Kulich for Mittelstadt.
Someone like Matt Savoie or Zach Benson could be ready to take over for Victor Olofsson when he’s gone. That leaves Kyle Okposo, Tyson Jost, and Zemgus Girgensons, and someone like Lukas Rousek could get the gig, leaving just a pair of voids, which the Buffalo Sabres can address with bargain deals in free agency while the other prospects develop.
Why is this feasible? Because recalling players from the AHL to the NHL, when they are fully developed thanks to the contract lengths of the core and those outside the core. As that trend continues, and so far there is every indication that it’s the case, we will see long-term, sustained success.
Keeping the system afloat
General manager Kevyn Adams would need to hit hard on the drafting and keep seeing the success he’s already seen early on for this to work. Let’s take guys like Benson and Savoie, for example, let them play the three seasons on their entry-level deals, re-sign them to bridge deals worth 2-3 years, then, once those initial long-term deals signed by the likes of Tage Thompson and Dylan Cozens (as examples) are nearing their respective ends, sign Benson and Savoie to a pair of long-term deals.
Tage and Cozens, if they are interested in staying, could opt for smaller deals. Or, if they are seeking more money, then they walk in free agency, and you have your next batch of great players. If the likes of Benson and Savoie aren’t working out, or if they don’t look like they would reach the same level, then you keep Tage and Cozens in such a scenario, let Benson and Savoie walk, and you dip back into the pool for another pair of prospects, or by that point, those on bridge deals.
Overall, this is one of many examples and just a couple of many scenarios that I can use here, but you should be getting the idea. The same thing applies to each position, whether it’s goaltender or defenseman.
Related Story. Why the Buffalo Sabres will rule the Atlantic in three years: Part I. light
Early returns show us that the Buffalo Sabres are capable of pulling this off thanks to the ability of prospects to properly develop in Rochester while the current version of the Blue and Gold contends. The key X-Factor here is Kevyn Adams: If he keeps hitting hard on the draft picks, then this system will be successful for a long time. And the Sabres will rule the Atlantic not just within three years, but as I also mentioned yesterday, well into the future.
(Statistics and figures provided by Cap Friendly)