Sabres gained more than they lost in the 2024 offseason despite one glaring need

Say what you will about the Buffalo Sabres, and I’ll even say what I will about the Blue and Gold since I wasn’t overtly impressed with what general manager Kevyn Adams did in free agency. For me, you need to do all you can as an executive to address your team’s top priority, which, for the Sabres, was landing the ideal top-six scorer. 

And if you don’t find that top priority, it’s hard to call the free agency period and offseason a success. But there were other needs that Kevyn Adams did address, one of which we’ve “only” been waiting a few years for - finding hard-hitting, scrappy lower-liners. 

Yeah, at least Adams did that by acquiring five new names for the forwards group, and not cast-offs like Tyson Jost (2022) and Eric Robinson (2023). Hey, Jost and Robinson added some value to the Sabres, but neither was physical enough to make much of an impact, especially Jost. 

Enter Jason Zucker (98 hits), Ryan McLeod (65 hits), Beck Malenstyn (241 hits), Sam Lafferty (191 hits), and Nicolas Aube-Kubel (159 hits). No, hits aren’t everything, but this batch of new forwards, even the most ardent Sabres critic should concede, is at least a cut above what’s leaving town. 

Sabres summer wasn’t great, but at least the team managed to upgrade

Let’s face it: Kevyn Adams made more valuable acquisitions at forward this offseason than he did during the last two combined, when, as implied earlier, cast-offs were busy invading the unit. Plus, would we really expect more from Victor Olofsson or even Zemgus Girgensons - as much as it pains me to say it for the latter - than from Sam Lafferty and Beck Malenstyn? 

Neither provided a ton of value on the ice for the Sabres unless you count Girgensons’ leadership. Losing Jeff Skinner could hurt if nobody arises as a top-six scorer or if Adams doesn’t get one, especially since Skinner still managed to score 24 goals last season. 

But, it’s also safe to admit that Skinner still wasn’t the same player, as 46 points in 74 games is a steep drop-off from 82 in 79, and JJ Peterka’s emergence last season foreshadows that he could bring more to the top-six than Skinner had the latter stayed in town. So, while there’s a chance it can hurt, it’s not like the Sabres don’t have players who can’t replace Skinner, especially a version of Jeff Skinner that’s on the decline. 

Well, at least James Reimer isn’t Eric Comrie…

I scoffed when the Sabres signed James Reimer, as I was only too happy to critique him rather harshly when he was in Detroit last season. That said, he was a netminder I’d have rather seen rolling into town wearing another team’s uniform. 

But I will concede this point: At least he’s not Eric Comrie, who, this time two years ago, some of us believed he could maybe end up as a solid 1B in this league. Or better yet, perhaps the optimists were even thinking he could be a 1A, as Craig Anderson and a then-so-so (at best) Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen were his competition. 

Yeah, that didn’t work, even if Comrie gave us the occasional legendary performance, like his shutout win over the New York Islanders in 2023. The catch? It came just one appearance after he allowed 10 goals vs. the Dallas Stars, even if we can’t pin the blame on him for all 10 scores. 

But you get the point: Reimer is an upgrade over Comrie, and truth be told, I’d rather see him in the Sabres net than the former. So even if I grumbled about the signing, I’d have been beside myself had Adams re-signed Comrie. 

Most of the players who are no longer in Buffalo deserve to be gone

Obviously, I don’t think too highly of Eric Comrie. And really, if someone steps up or if Kevyn Adams makes one more trade, then buying out Jeff Skinner will look like a genius move, so I’m not necessarily lamenting the fact that he’s in Edmonton. Though under the current circumstances, Skinner will probably be a productive winger in the presence of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl or whomever he lines up alongside. 

Zemgus Girgensons was never an impact player during his decade-plus career in Buffalo while Tyson Jost and Eric Robinson are nothing more than high-end organizational depth. Victor Olofsson played in spot duty last season, and apart from his shooting ability, he didn’t give the Sabres much. 

Maybe moving Matt Savoie will haunt the Sabres in the coming years, but they also needed a depth center rather badly, and with such a rich prospects pool, it’s even hard to call a player with exactly 3:55 of NHL ice time a major loss at the moment. 

Not when you have a young team of high-potential scorers filling most of the top-six like Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch, JJ Peterka, Dylan Cozens, and Jack Quinn. All five of them have seen success as scorers in this league, and besides Tuch, they’re all 27 or under. As with the Skinner buyout, if someone like Zach Benson breaks out, nobody will lament moving Savoie come April 2025. 

That said, most of those who are no longer in Buffalo either deserve to be gone and those who don’t (at the moment) may be adequately replaced. Time will ultimately tell whether these new additions give the Sabres a better team overall, but on paper, it’s an upgrade, even if Adams could have done a better job.