A number of players on the Buffalo Sabres are entering this season with high expectations. If the Sabres want to end their playoff drought, they are going to need players like Zach Benson, Jiri Kulich, and Josh Norris to have breakout seasons.
While the coaching staff is hoping some of those players are able to live up to those expectations, there are a number of players that they don't have to worry as much about. They have shown season after season that the coaching staff can trust them to deliver and play at a high level.
When looking at the roster, these are the four players that the Buffalo Sabres are not going to have to worry as much about entering the season.
4 Buffalo Sabres that fans can trust to deliver this upcoming season
Rasmus Dahlin
Rasmus Dahlin is not only the best defenseman on the Buffalo Sabres, but he is arguably one of the best in the entire NHL. Over the past four seasons, Dahlin has averaged around 25 minutes of ice time on that top pair for their defense.
He has had at least 53 points in each of those seasons with at least double-digit goals and 39 or more assists. One area he has been a big part of with the Sabres is their power play, where he has been very productive. Dahlin has led the Sabres in power-play assists over this stretch and should be able to extend that one more season.
Tage Thompson
While Dahlin has been the Sabres' best defenseman, Tage Thompson has been their best forward, and the offense will go as far as Thompson is able to take them. He has developed into their top goal scorer and, in fact, has led the team in that category each of the past four seasons.
Since the 2021-22 season, Thompson has had at least 29 goals each season and has surpassed 40 goals in two of the last four. While Thompson has been productive, he won't be able to do it alone, and the coaching staff will need to figure out who the best players are to put with Thompson on the top line.
They will use most of training camp and the preseason, but whoever ends up with him, it feels almost certain that Thompson will finish the season leading the team in goals once again.
Alex Tuch
Tage Thompson is the best scorer that the Buffalo Sabres have but Alex Tuch might be the best all-around forward that the team has. He is a player who does almost anything you could ask for from your forward.
This past season, he tied his career-high in goals with 36 while having his third-straight season with 30 or more assists. He is on the ice for over 19 minutes because of what he is able to do at full strength, but also on the power play as well as the Sabres' penalty kill. This past season, he not only led the Sabres but also led the entire NHL in short-handed goals with six.
Tuch does the little things that can make a team successful, like the fact that he had 113 blocked shots. This was the most among the Sabres forwards and only three behind Bowen Byram and Connor Clifton for the team lead.
Ryan McLeod
Last season, Ryan McLeod was a pleasant surprise for the Buffalo Sabres, and he had a career year with 20 goals and 33 assists. He surpassed his previous career-high in points by 23 to finish the season with 53.
It remains to be seen if he can deliver the same offensive output, but one thing he showed in Buffalo that he also showed in Edmonton was that he is very good on the penalty kill. According to MoneyPuck, McLeod led the Sabres in penalty kill minutes with 177 and had seven minutes more than Alex Tuch.
The Buffalo Sabres finished the season 23rd in penalty kill with a percentage of 76.3% and will want to improve that this season. Ryan McLeod will be a big part of that improvement for the Buffalo Sabres if it happens.