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.