What might the Sabres 2024-25 lineup look like with no trades or free agent signings?
What if Kevyn Adams made no big trades or free agents signings this summer? The Sabres 2024-25 lineup would inject even more youth into the equation.
Okay, here is a fun exercise: What if the Buffalo Sabres brought back most of their team from 2023-24, but general manager Kevyn Adams opted not to make any trades or free agent signings this offseason? For starters, this wouldn’t happen, but it would give an idea of where the Blue and Gold would stand and may look like without including anyone whom they would inevitably sign or trade for this offseason.
So before we get started, let’s go over the rules for this exercise: Anyone on the team last year who is still under contract will return for 2024-25 while pending restricted and unrestricted free agents may return.
Since there are no free agent signings or trades, former Sabres who were moved at the trade deadline, like Kyle Okposo and Casey Mittelstadt, also won’t be listed - nobody recently departed will return anyway.
Forwards
- Jeff Skinner - Tage Thompson - Alex Tuch (A)
- JJ Peterka - Jiri Kulich - Jack Quinn
- Isak Rosen - Dylan Cozens - Zach Benson
- Jordan Greenway - Peyton Krebs - Zemgus Girgensons (A)
- Lukas Rousek - Eric Robinson
Here, we got the familiar crew on the top line, so there are no changes. But I broke up the Kid Line, mainly because I felt that, in this scenario, the Sabres would be better off placing two experienced wingers, or at least wingers with multiple years of experience, around Jiri Kulich.
The same goes for Dylan Cozens, who would line up alongside a player heading into their first full season in Isak Rosen. Zach Benson has just one year under his belt, so lining him up alongside a veteran works too.
Jordan Greenway drops to the fourth line alongside a returning Peyton Krebs and Zemgus Girgensons, which would give the Blue and Gold a hard-hitting trio. Lukas Rousek gets a full-time NHL promotion and factors in as an extra, while Eric Robinson returns on a one-year deal and is the 14th forward.
Victor Olofsson goes elsewhere here, and Tyson Jost is either playing for another organization or he re-signs and starts the year in Rochester.
Defensemen
- Rasmus Dahlin (C) - Bowen Byram
- Owen Power - Mattias Samuelsson
- Ryan Johnson - Connor Clifton
- Henri Jokiharju
Defensively, the Sabres would see more of a rotation, but if we were to roll with the likeliest scenario for most games, why not put a pair of players who are physical AND can also score at the top? This gives projected team captain Rasmus Dahlin the privilege to line up alongside Bowen Byram to start things out under such a situation in October.
Owen Power showed off more physicality this season, but he would fare better with a hard-hitter in Mattias Samuelsson. Samuelsson could be the real winner here and in what the true situation will look like, as Byram’s presence should warrant him lesser ice time.
Ryan Johnson predictably gets the full-time role, and Connor Clifton returns as the more physical of the duo. Johnson would keep playing the same type of game he developed as a puck mover while Clifton lands body checks and knocks around opponents.
It wasn’t tough to choose between Henri Jokiharju, Kale Clague, or Jacob Bryson as to who would be in the best position to return on a bridge deal. As with Jost, Clague and Bryson are either in Rochester or they will go elsewhere.
Goaltenders
- Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
- Devon Levi
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen re-signs and starts the season as the 1A while Devon Levi moves up to the Sabres lineup full-time, and is the 1B. A projected split here, roughly five months before the opening puck drop, would be 45 starts for Luukkonen and 37 for Levi, and the two should be a blast to watch if the Sabres improve.
As mentioned earlier in this exercise, the Sabres will add a few new names, so this won’t be the opening lineup going into 2024-25. But I wanted to concoct a piece like this just to help identify the weakest points in a projected lineup without a single addition.
Overall, I would like to see a more experienced center in the top-six and a middle-six winger, which would wind up with Jiri Kulich and Isak Rosen playing another year in Rochester. I like the idea of them playing for the big club, but at this point, established talent would win out.
None of us will find it surprising when Kevyn Adams makes those transactions, and it should result in, at least on paper, the highest-potential Sabres team of his tenure. But even if he did the bare minimum again, this lineup, I will admit, is still rather intriguing.
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