Injuries were a major issue early in the season for the Buffalo Sabres last year, and it looks like they are already going to be without one of their regular starters to begin this season. It was confirmed by both Jarmo Kekalainen and Lindy Ruff that Jason Zucker would miss camp and the first few weeks of the season.
However, this season the Sabres seem to be better equipped to handle Zucker's absence, and it might actually end up being a blessing in disguise for this team.
Entering training camp, the Sabres knew they were going to have some tough decisions by the time the season started, as they can carry only 13 forwards since they are planning to carry three goalies. With players like Jiri Kulich and Justin Danforth returning from injuries and younger players like Noah Ostlund and Konsta Helenius looking for bigger roles, it was going to be tough to get everyone ice time.
With Zucker set to miss time, that opens up more opportunities for the players, but also for the coaching staff to evaluate the players they might not have been able to. That was essentially what Ruff said when asked about being without Zucker to begin the season.
"It's another player's opportunity. I look at it like you've got a colleague that's going to step in, going to get a bigger opportunity right off the bat. You got [Josh] Doan, [Jack] Quinn, and the likes of those guys. Same thing for [Noah] Ostlund, you got [Konsta] Helenius, who gets a bigger opportunity right off the bat."
Sabres will have a chance to get an extended look at their young core with Jason Zucker out
Last season, all four of those players had breakout seasons, as Doan and Quinn registered 50 or more points in a season for the first time in their careers. Ostlund saw extended time in the NHL with 60 regular-season games and was rewarded with an eight-year contract extension recently. Meanwhile, Helenius played in only 13 games between the regular season and playoffs, but it was clear that he has a chance to make a major impact this season, either replacing Jason Zucker or somewhere else in the lineup.
While Jason Zucker's injury buys the Buffalo Sabres some time, they are going to need to address the roster logjam at some point. If one of these young players continues to play at a high level, it can't be a guarantee that Zucker is back in his role, or even in the lineup entirely.
Injuries were something that the Buffalo Sabres had to battle through last season, and Jason Zucker's injury won't be the last that the coaching staff has to manage. However, they have the depth this season to handle it better and even find some positives with extra ice time for some of these players.
Add us as a preferred source on Google