Ranking the Sabres forwards for the 2024-25 season from worst to first

Heading into the 2024-25 season, no position group on the Buffalo Sabres has changed as much as their forwards. Gone are Casey Mittelstadt, Zemgus Girgensons, Jeff Skinner, Kyle Okposo, Tyson Jost, and Eric Robinson - remind me if I’m missing anyone - and enter Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Beck Malenstyn, Sam Lafferty, Ryan McLeod, and Jason Zucker. 

Do the math, and that’s nearly half the Sabres forward group that wasn’t even on the team last season. It’s obvious that general manager Kevyn Adams saw enough following last season’s debacle, so revamping the unit was a clear top priority for Buffalo. 

So, if we were to rank each player in terms of how well they will serve the Sabres for the upcoming 2024-25 season, where would they end up? Let’s start the countdown with our No. 13 forward who will be with the big club and end with who right now is the Undisputed No. 1. 

13 - Nicolas Aube-Kubel

Nicolas Aube-Kubel is the likely 13th forward for this Sabres team and the No. 1 priority to fill in if there is an injury. He played in 60 games last season and finished the year with 16 points and six goals, but his 159 hits show us he’s here to provide more of a physical edge than to score. 

12 - Beck Malenstyn

Much like Aube-Kubel, Beck Malenstyn won’t be a big-time scorer, but he will likely get the nod with more ice time. Also, like Aube-Kubel, Malenstyn is coming to the Sabres from the Washington Capitals, but he will likely get the nod since he saw action in 81 games last season and recorded 241 hits, or nearly three per game. He mainly saw middle-six minutes, but that should change with the Sabres. 

11 - Sam Lafferty

Sam Lafferty saw fourth-line minutes last season with 11 minutes and 13 seconds of average total ice time in 79 games, and that won’t change this year. But Lafferty could sneak in a few more goals than Malenstyn or Aube-Kubel after he scored a career-high 13 in 2023-24 while racking up 24 points for the Vancouver Canucks.