Power ranking the Sabres top offseason moves effects on rebounding in 2024-25
The Buffalo Sabres made a few moves this offseason that should at least get them to play respectable hockey in 2024-25.
The Sabres top offseason moves weren’t all what I would have done, even if I will admit the team looks better now than it did one season ago. Sure, we were expecting playoffs last season, but Jack Quinn’s injury still left myself and many of us with that nagging feeling that 2023-24 could be a disaster.
And disaster it was, or at least that was the case to an extent. The Sabres dipped below expectations and ended the year with seven fewer points than they had the previous season, and it led to the firing of Don Granato before general manager Kevyn Adams quickly brought back head coach Lindy Ruff.
Knowing Ruff’s previous accomplishments in Buffalo, you can call that the most effective offseason move for a potential rebound in 2024-25. But it wasn’t the only transaction that made the Blue and Gold a better team. Like I said, I wasn’t fond of some of the following moves, but I also can’t help feeling more confident in the 2024-25 version of the team.
5 - Acquiring physical lower-line forwards to change the team’s identity
They weren’t the most glamorous pickups, but for years, the Sabres seemed to be afraid to land body checks on opponents. Last season, that number sat at a modest 21.7 hits per game, and while it was better than what we saw in 2022-23 (14.2 hits per game), the Sabres weren’t intimidating anyone until they solved this problem.
Sam Lafferty, Beck Malenstyn, Nicolas Aube-Kubel, and Jason Zucker will all provide sound remedies. Jordan Greenway is already a big hitter, and Dylan Cozens is also trending north along with Peyton Krebs, giving the Sabres a plethora of physical forwards they haven’t had in ages.
Under Lindy Ruff’s system, look for the Sabres to be far edgier than they have been over the past few seasons, and it won’t just be limited to the bottom-six - not that (perhaps) Jason Zucker or Dylan Cozens will find themselves playing there - but expect the entire team to take their physical play up at least a notch.
4 - Trading for a depth center who can win faceoffs
I know few were as impressed with this trade to the extent I was, but the quickest way to gain possession in a hockey game is to win faceoffs. Sure, puck retrievals matter, but one of the many reasons the Blue and Gold’s struggles carried over into the 2020s was that they’ve been unable to consistently win at the faceoff dot.
No, one player won’t make a ton of difference here, but the point is, at least there’s someone in town who can win roughly one out of every two faceoffs in a worst-case scenario. Yet without a trio of elite scorers on the Sabres, there’s a good chance we’ll also see McLeod’s ability to produce points - and goals - trend north.
One number I’m looking at is his 11.9 career shooting percentage, which isn’t a half-bad figure. I won’t be so bold as to claim it’s great, but it shows that when McLeod takes shots at the net, there’s a good chance they will find twine.
3 - Signing Jason Zucker
Kevyn Adams didn’t impress me when he signed Jason Zucker, who finished last season with 32 points and 14 goals across 69 contests. His shooting percentage landed in the single digits, and 13:49 of ice time last season is one reason I’m still hesitant to project him as a top-six forward in Buffalo.
But he’s just a season removed from a 27-goal outing that saw him end the year with 15:39 of average total ice time. Zucker also finished that season with 197 hits, so if the Sabres get that version of him in 2024-25, this will turn out to be a better move than I initially thought.
Either way, whether playing on the top-six or as a depth scorer, opponents will nonetheless be aware that Zucker can put up more than just respectable scoring numbers. He hasn’t been consistent at it in his career, but if they give him his chances, Zucker will make them pay.
2 - Buying out Jeff Skinner’s contract to save cap space
Buying out Jeff Skinner’s contract was a rather gutsy move for Kevyn Adams, especially since he never replaced him with a consistent scorer. Ryan McLeod creates sensational depth, as we mentioned earlier, and Jason Zucker could turn out to have been a solid addition, but neither has consistently found the net in their respective NHL careers.
So perhaps Adams isn’t finished making moves to land one final piece before the preseason kicks off in September. Regardless, buying out the final three seasons of Skinner’s contract allowed Adams to pay just the remaining two-thirds, substantially reducing the costs of paying Skinner across his remaining three seasons, even if the 32-year-old will be playing in Edmonton.
Still, even if Adams doesn’t make another move, the Sabres are better off without Skinner in the lineup. It could create room for a current prospect, or for a promising young player like Zach Benson or JJ Peterka to see time on the first line - a pair of players who, in the long-run have much more to offer.
1 - Extending a qualifying offer to Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
This was an easy decision on the Sabres part to uphold Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s restricted free agent status. And whether they reach a deal in the coming days or at an arbitration hearing is irrelevant; Luukkonen will be a Buffalo Sabre next season.
Right now, we don’t know how long the term of the deal will be, but if Luukkonen enjoys a season similar to the one he went through in 2023-24 with an improved product on the ice, he’s in for another big outing. Last year, he notched career-highs in quite a few categories, including games played (54), shutouts (5), wins (27), and goals saved above expected (22.46).
Will he reach those same numbers in 2024-25 that also include a 0.910 save percentage and 2.57 GAA? It would be tough to get five shutouts, but other than that, he has more than a realistic chance to repeat what he did last season and he’ll be well paid for it.
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