You know this ain’t gonna be a great report card, right? Hey, it is what it is, but the Sabres have so far looked like a bunch of failures on the ice. Okay, maybe not complete failures, as they know how to put quite a few pucks in the net, so that’s something.
The problem is, they can’t stop anyone consistently, and it’s resulted in a 13-game losing streak at one point. Therefore, unless the Sabres play such picture-perfect hockey that they end up acing their final exam, a return to the playoffs might just happen in April 2026 at the earliest.
Anyway, if you’re curious about how well the Sabres have played during the first half of the season, here’s a rundown, complete with a letter grade for each position.
Grading the forwards - A very cranky ‘C-plus’
While productivity could be better for the Sabres forwards, they’re not the problem. Tage Thompson has been the MVP of the group so far this season, accounting for 19 goals and 34 points in 38 games.
Dylan Cozens has once again been a disappointment, and it’s going to be a surprise at this point if he’s not traded. He’s once again got a shooting percentage of under 10 percent, and his minus-17 is the worst on the team and four in front of Jack Quinn, who’s at minus-13.
The difference is that Quinn’s playing better hockey lately, and Cozens isn’t. As for the rest of the forwards, it’s been a mixed bag outside of JJ Peterka and Jason Zucker, both of whom are enjoying solid campaigns.
Grading the blue line - D
The blue line has been an issue for the Sabres, but their top blueliner, Rasmus Dahlin, also hasn’t been completely healthy. Owen Power has been perhaps the team’s streakiest player, looking for a second like he finally figured things out, only to revert to a serviceable at best game.
Bowen Byram has been the better player, further solidifying the possibility Power may be the worst No. 1 overall pick of the 2020s. As for the rest of the blue line, they’ve been a forgettable bunch. Mattias Samuelsson may be the best of the bottom three (or four), which isn’t saying a lot this season. Or, maybe Dennis Gilbert…
Grading the netminders - C
While the Sabres haven’t been great defensively, either at forward or at the blue line, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has taken just 27.9 shots on goal per game. That said, his numbers are nowhere near ideal, even if he’s got a sound 0.516 quality starts percentage and a pair of shutouts.
Devon Levi has been forgettable, and he’s back where he belongs in Rochester while James Reimer’s taken up the mantle. Surprisingly, Reimer’s looked okay and he continues to provide reliability as a backup netminder.