Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff turned a few heads last week when he announced defenseman Michael Kesselring had recovered from a lower-body injury but would remain out of the lineup in favor of Jacob Bryson and Zach Metsa.
Kesselring proceeded to return in Saturday's overtime loss to the Minnesota Wild and, while he displayed his team-first approach by taking on Marcus Foligno in a fight, his on-ice impact has remained well below what Buffalo expected when it acquired him from the Utah Mammoth.
It's almost an afterthought at this point because winger Josh Doan, who also arrived to the Sabres in the JJ Peterka blockbuster trade, has been one of the Sabres' best players, but at the time of the deal it felt like Kesselring was the main piece.
The 26-year-old blueliner was coming off a breakout year with Utah and felt like a perfect fit on the second pair alongside Owen Power, a void the team had struggled mightily to fill since selecting Power with the first overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft.
Kesselring has battled a string of injuries dating back to training camp, however, and he simply hasn't been able to find top form.
The South Carolina native ranks seventh among nine Buffalo defensemen in both 5-on-5 expected goals for percentage (48.0%) and high-danger chance rate (46.6%), according to Natural Stat Trick. He's also tallied no points in 17 games.
Yet, it's important for Ruff to start feeding him consistent minutes if an effort to rediscover the level of play he showcased last season for the Mammoth. Leaning almost entirely on the top four defenders could come back to haunt the Sabres later in the season.
Power, Rasmus Dahlin, Bowen Byram and Mattias Samuelsson have all played great hockey, and their combined success in recent weeks is right there with the elite play by Doan and Tage Thompson as the main reasons for the club's rapid rise up the Eastern Conference standings.
Ruff has played that quartet monster minutes during the club's 15-2-1 run, and it's hard to blame him given the results, but at some point the third pair needs to get back involved. That'll especially be true once Conor Timmins returns from injury.
Buffalo's veteran coach also can't put himself in a position where an injury to his main defensive group risks sinking the team because nobody is ready to fill the spot.
Kesselring has a lot more to give, but he needs consistent minutes and a more stable role to have any chance of finding his game. Playing just over 10 minutes across 16 shifts, like he did against the Wild, isn't enough.
There were far too many promising signs from the 6-foot-5 defenseman last season to believe he should now be a healthy scratch in favor of fringe NHL/AHL players like Bryson and Metsa. He needs to avoid any further injury setbacks and be given the playing time necessary to get back on track.
Meanwhile, let's jump into the latest installment of our Sabres player grades series as the Blue and Gold fought hard to earn a point against Minnesota.
Ryan McLeod continues run of standout performances in Buffalo Sabres' Jan. 17 overtime loss to the Minnesota Wild
Sabres player grades
Player | Grade (1-10) |
|---|---|
Ryan McLeod | 8 |
Jason Zucker | 7.5 |
Jack Quinn | 7.5 |
Peyton Krebs | 7 |
Alex Tuch | 7 |
Rasmus Dahlin | 6.5 |
Bowen Byram | 6 |
Mattias Samuelsson | 6 |
Noah Ostlund | 5.5 |
Owen Power | 5.5 |
Josh Doan | 5 |
Tage Thompson | 5 |
Zach Metsa | 4.5 |
Zach Benson | 4.5 |
Michael Kesselring | 4 |
Beck Malenstyn | 3 |
Tyson Kozak | 2 |
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen | 2 |
Jordan Greenway | 1.5 |
Buffalo Player of the Game: Ryan McLeod
Saturday's OT loss was a prototypical McLeod game. He didn't make a bunch of highlight-reel plays but you check the box score and he tallied a goal, an assist, a blocked shot and a plus-two rating while seeing ice time in all three phases. He also won 11 of his 16 faceoffs.
The 26-year-old Canadian has established himself as one of the NHL's best third-line centers since arriving to Buffalo last season. He's the club's most consistent pivot in the faceoff circle, playing a high-IQ defensive game and can chip points at a steady rate.
Ruff may call on him to take on more minutes in the weeks ahead with Josh Norris once again sidelined by an injury, and it's nice to know the 2018 second-round pick of the Edmonton Oilers is also capable of filling that top-six vacancy without missing a beat, too.
All told, McLeod is exactly the type of well-rounded player who helps complete any roster and landing him in exchange for Matthew Savoie was one of former general manager Kevyn Adams' best pieces of work.
Sabres (and Bills) quick hits
- The Buffalo Bills' decision to fire head coach Sean McDermott while retaining general manager Brandon Beane feels like a mistake. Beane's roster-building failures have been more glaring than McDermott's coaching mistakes recently. Terry Pegula owns both the Sabres and the NFL's Bills.
- In a mostly quiet game from the Blue and Gold's top players, it was nice to see Jack Quinn and Jason Zucker step up to boost the offense against Minnesota.
- A much better game from Peyton Krebs on the third line, but what can Buffalo do to get its fourth line to make a more positive impact?
- In the same vein, Jordan Greenway's poor play at even strength is raising serious questions about the true value of a penalty-killing specialist.
- Luukkonen has cooled off in January (.896 save percentage in five starts) after a terrific December (.918 SV% across six games). Alex Lyon should return soon to give the Sabres another option between the pipes.
- Buffalo (26-16-5) kicks off an important five-game road trip Monday afternoon (1:30 p.m. ET) when it visits the Lenovo Center to battle the Carolina Hurricanes (30-15-4) on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.