The Buffalo Sabres have done a good job of retaining and agreeing to multi-year deals over the past year with some of their younger players. That group includes Josh Doan, Zach Benson, Olen Zellweger, and at this point in the offseason, only has Peyton Krebs left.
Krebs is a restricted free agent after the Sabres extended a qualifying offer at the end of June. However, the player now has a decision if he wants to go to arbitration and must make it by 5 PM on Sunday.
If Krebs decides not to go to arbitration, the Sabres would have 24 hours to decide whether or not they want to go to arbitration. It is far less common for the team to elect arbitration, but the Sabres did go that route last year with Bowen Byram.
For Krebs, he certainly has the advantage of a neutral third-party helping to find a middle ground on a new contract. However, if he does agree to arbitration, he loses the ability to sign an offer sheet from any other team and almost certainly will be back in Buffalo next season.
Peyton Krebs had a career year but his role next season with the Buffalo Sabres is unclear
Peyton Krebs had primarily been a bottom- six forward since joining the Sabres as part of the Jack Eichel trade with the Vegas Golden Knights. However, this past season, he saw his role expand and spent a large portion of the season on the top line with Tage Thompson, and was one of the reasons he finished with a career-best 39 points.
When looking ahead to next season, he isn't necessarily guaranteed a Top 6 spot with players like Konsta Helenius, Noah Ostlund, and Jiri Kulich expected to be on the Sabres' roster. He might have to start the season on a fourth line with Sam Carrick and Beck Malenstyn, but the flexibility to move up to the top line if needed would be an advantage for the coaching staff.
It will be interesting to see what decision Peyton Krebs makes on Sunday and would be an indicator if he wants to remain in Buffalo or is still hoping for an offer sheet from another team in the league.
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