Power ranking the toughest decisions the Sabres will face in the 2024 offseason

A few days back, I wrote about a few seemingly unreasonable moves that would make sense for the Sabres. What I didn’t discuss was how tough these decisions could be, and that’s what we’re talking about today. Just because a decision could make sense doesn’t mean it will be easy for general manager Kevyn Adams, and they’re worth a deeper dive.

There are many what-ifs going on as May fades into June, ranging from weighing the pros and cons of signing a veteran goaltender and allowing Devon Levi to play in Rochester or bringing him up to play full-time in the NHL to a contract extension for one certain eligible player. 

We’re not talking about why a decision would make sense or anything like that, but simply looking further into the pros and cons of the following seven decisions that Kevyn Adams must make in the 2024 offseason. We’ll start with something that not too many fans think about but is nonetheless important before ending with whether to extend some current talent. 

7: Which restricted free agents to extend a qualifying offer

This is an interesting one because there are four notable restricted free agents not named Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen whom Kevyn Adams must make a decision on. But not all of them have performed equally well over the past few seasons, with Peyton Krebs being the front runner. 

But Krebs’ ceiling looks like he’s a fourth-liner as opposed to a top-six scorer, as I’m sure it’s what Kevyn Adams wanted from the former first-round pick. Nevertheless, Krebs has the potential to be one of the NHL’s most physical defensive forwards, and that brings value to the Sabres. 

The other three are blueliners Henri Jokiharju, Kale Clague, and Jacob Bryson. I won’t dive too much into them, but the trio’s fate rests with Adams’ vision for the defensive rotation. Does he look to move someone like Connor Clifton and/or plan to call up Ryan Johnson for a full season in the NHL? 

Such variables will decide on whether Jokiharju, Clague, or Bryson stay in the system. Adams will need a lot of foresight as to who he will keep on the blue line if he decides to retain any of them. 

6: Figuring out if any pending unrestricted free agents are worth keeping

There are five unrestricted free agents on the Sabres active roster per Cap Friendly, and none of them put up game-changing productivity. Okay, maybe you can make an exception for Zemgus Girgensons, who brings value not in the offensive zone but as a defensive-oriented forward. 

As for the others, Kevyn Adams needs to weigh the benefits of keeping them to that of letting them walk in free agency and signing, or better yet, calling up others, but there isn’t much to go on. 

Questions include: Are there better depth forwards out there than Tyson Jost, Victor Olofsson, and Eric Robinson, as they pertain to making the Sabres better, whether in free agency or in the system? Should they keep Eric Comrie around strictly as organizational depth and give the 1B spot to Devon Levi, or does it make sense to bring in someone else? The latter is actually a question I will answer in the next section. 

5: Sign a veteran goaltender or set the stage for Devon Levi

Devon Levi can step onto the NHL ice and give the Sabres at least a 0.900 save percentage and a 2.90 GAA in 2024-25. Not outstanding numbers, but better than what he gave them last season. He’s ready for the NHL, but would he be prepared to take on a consistent workload as a 1B goaltender?

In the ‘unreasonable’ piece, I mentioned Ilya Samsonov as a signing that would make sense should the Sabres want to keep Levi in Rochester for another year. But it could also create a potential goaltender controversy if Levi showed an inevitable jump in productivity while Samsonov failed to improve what was a strong second half of the 2023-24 season. 

It would make zero sense in that case to go with a three-goaltender solution, even if, in foresight, bringing someone in like Samsonov would give Levi an avenue to stay in Rochester. Another bet then, could be to sign a goalie to push Levi, perhaps a netminder who is a cut above Eric Comrie. One who, once Levi plays just as well or surpasses them, should have no qualms about being placed on waivers.

2: Include any current players in an offseason trade

Jordan Greenway and Connor Clifton stand out to me as potential trade pieces should something occur over the summer. Greenway has a year left on his deal, but trading him would also mean moving one of the few players who helped the Blue and Gold become a more physical hockey team. 

Connor Clifton took a while to get going, but he also improved as the 2023-24 season wore on. Should the Sabres trade him, not only would they lose their oldest and most experienced defenseman (in NHL experience), but they’re also moving someone who just started figuring things out. 

Neither Greenway nor Clifton factor in as great players, and both would be worth trading at the right price. But they are valuable depth assets who, now that each has a full season in Buffalo, could also be solid and necessary role players. 

1: Short or long-term extension for Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has pretty much played two full seasons in the NHL, even if he didn’t get the initial call-up until November 2022. So far, he had one bad season and one good season, but nobody realized how well he would perform in 2023-24. 

So was last year an outlier, or did we see the real Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen lining up in the crease? He would also head into the 2024-25 season knowing he’s at least the 1A goaltender and isn’t stuck behind Devon Levi. Plus, there should also be no Eric Comrie in town to come out of nowhere and potentially take the spot. 

So far, Kevyn Adams has had mixed results in signing his players to long-term deals. Rasmus Dahlin looks like a winner, and Owen Power had a better year than he was given credit for. Tage Thompson rebounded well and he should pick up where he left off, but Mattias Samuelsson and Dylan Cozens were different stories. So it makes you wonder what the best route would be with Luukkonen if recent history gives us no conclusive results.