The Buffalo Sabres are in the midst of another early-season skid as they have gone 1-3-4 over their past eight games and just blew a 2-0 lead against the Utah Mammoth. Even though the Mammoth handed them the loss, the Sabres owe them a thank you for trading them one of their best players this season in Josh Doan.
During the summer, the Sabres would trade JJ Peterka to Utah for Michael Kesselring and Josh Doan. While Kesselring has dealt with injuries and hasn't met expectations, Doan has not only met expectations but far exceeded them to the point that ESPN recently included Doan among 10 players who have been 'shockingly good'.
"Doan had seven goals and 12 assists in 51 games as a rookie for the Hockey Club last season in limited ice time (13:31 per game). He's getting more ice time (15:28) with the Sabres, and putting more shots on goal (9.6 per 60 minutes) than he did last season (7.3) at 5-on-5. He's also getting way more power-play time than he did in Utah as well."
Josh Doan has excelled in a bigger role with the Buffalo Sabres this season
As Greg Wyshynski highlights, Doan has had a much bigger role during his time with the Buffalo Sabres than he did in Utah. He also has done a great job at impacting multiple areas of this roster from 5v5 to the power play.
Prior to the injuries that forced the Sabres to shuffle their lines, there was no question that the best line Buffalo had was Josh Doan with Ryan McLeod and Alex Tuch. Once they get healthy, it makes perfect sense to go back to these three.
Through 16 games, Doan is third on the team in goals, but tied for first in power play goals while also tied for fifth in assists. He is also first on the team in xGF% among players with 12 or more games played on the Sabres at 61.18%, according to Natural Stat Trick.
The Buffalo Sabres have plenty of questions at this point of the season but they should view Doan as a key part of their roster moving forward and an ascending player that could help with an eventual turnaround for the franchise.