6 - Ryan Johnson
While I didn’t rank most AHLers from last season, Ryan Johnson serves as an exception since he saw 41 games with the Sabres. And if the Blue and Gold enjoyed a stint in playoff contention in the same way as the Rochester Americans, Johnson may have never finished the year with the Amerks.
Still, he acclimated well in those 41 games, even if his overall numbers look more forgettable than Jacob Bryson’s. But he wasn’t on the ice for many on-ice goals against at even strength, a number that totaled just 18, adjusting to 36 across 82 outings. If he plays for the Sabres all year, a more physical team around him could warrant even better output as far as possession metrics go.
5 - Connor Clifton
It should serve as no surprise that Connor Clifton landed in the middle of these rankings, as he can go either way here. If the player who showed up later in the season arrives in October, the Sabres will be better off. But he can’t let opponents catch him out of position so much as they did early on in 2023-24.
Still, 45 on-ice goals against at even strength isn’t terrible, though he did have one of the league’s better goaltenders playing behind him amidst just 16:33 of average total ice time, over an entire minute below the 17:51 he attained during his final season with the Boston Bruins.
4 - Mattias Samuelsson
For Mattias Samuelsson, finding a way to stay on the ice long-term is key, and injuries have resulted in him appearing in just 96 games over the last two years. You could argue that lesser ice time would benefit, but through 41 games last season, Samuelsson averaged just 20:30 of average total ice time per game, over a minute-and-a-half less than what he logged in 2022-23.
But even amidst what you may have called a down season, Samuelsson has been good at finding ways to get the puck up the ice, as shown in his 50.3 Corsi For last year. If that number keeps trending north this season and Samuelsson can stay healthy long-term, look for the Sabres to enjoy a plethora more scoring opportunities.