Ranking the Sabres forwards for the 2024-25 season from worst to first
The Buffalo Sabres have more than a few new forwards in their lineup, so who’s Number 1 in the rankings amidst a busy summer?
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.
10 - Peyton Krebs
Peyton Krebs also won’t help in the scoring category, and there’s a chance he won’t give the Sabres more than 25 points. But you can’t help but get excited about how much he’s evolved as a defensive-forward, with just 30 on-ice goals against at even strength in 80 games. I also wouldn’t be surprised if Krebs became more serviceable in the faceoff circle this season, as that number continues to trend north - 46.3 last season compared to 45.1 in 2022-23; slow but steady progress.
9 - Jordan Greenway
Jordan Greenway should revert to seeing between 13 and 15 minutes per game now that the Sabres should be healthy this season and with Zach Benson potentially seeing more ice time. That said, he’ll be part of a sound checking line that may also include Ryan McLeod and Jason Zucker if the Sabres don’t end up putting the latter in the top-six.
8 - Ryan McLeod
You know I was a big fan of this move, even if it meant sending Matt Savoie to Edmonton of all places. His play isn’t flashy, but winning faceoffs will be a priority for the Sabres this season, as will depth scoring, and McLeod is capable of bringing the Sabres both of these from the bottom-six.
7 - Zach Benson
If there’s one young player I can see gaining ground in these rankings this season, it’s Zach Benson. His late-season performances set the stage for what we can expect this year, and if you’re a Sabres fan, you can’t help but get excited about his future.
6 - Jason Zucker
Jason Zucker regressed last season following a strong 2022-23 campaign, and at 33, this signing looked hit-or-miss to me. Hopefully, I’m wrong about Zucker, but if there’s one player listed here who could freefall, it’s him.
5 - Dylan Cozens
Dylan Cozens should be set for a rebound season after he struggled in 2023-24 and ended the year with 47 points and 18 goals. It wasn’t the progression we wanted to see, but his high-energy play didn’t waver, and Cozens has worked his way out of scoring slumps in the past, so I’m confident the best is yet to come this season.
4 - Jack Quinn
Okay, so perhaps no one else is poised for a bigger statistical increase than Jack Quinn, who looked sensational despite struggling through an injury-riddled 2023-24 campaign. A full offseason of work could send his play into the stratosphere, but he’s not the only one I’m ultra-confident in.
3 - JJ Peterka
JJ Peterka was the Sabres biggest riser last season, and although he finished the year with 28 goals, Peterka still had his relative ups and downs. If he finds more consistency, Peterka will end the 2024-25 season as one of the NHL’s better scorers.
2 - Alex Tuch
Alex Tuch is a physical two-way forward who ended the 2-23=24 season with 82 takeaways, and that number should continue to increase. He’s one fast start away from enjoying another career season after he put up career-best numbers on offense in 2022-23. While his performance dipped in the offensive zone last season, 82 blocks and 72 hits inch Tuch closer to becoming one of the NHL’s more well-rounded players, but he must rebound in scoring.
1 - Tage Thompson
Although he missed 11 games and rarely seemed to be completely healthy, Tage Thompson still ended the year with 29 goals and 56 points, so what would a 100 percent healthy version of him look like? Like Tuch, Tage also grew more physical last season, and under a new head coach in Lindy Ruff, expect him to land a few more checks in 2024-25.
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