Are the Sabres taking a massive risk by rolling with a defense-first identity?

The Buffalo Sabres are taking on a different identity in 2024-25 after this time last August, we all thought they were well on their way to bringing about an all-out offensive approach. No, the Blue and Gold weren’t good on either end of the ice last season unless you count the crease, where Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stepped up yet somehow garnered little recognition for his efforts. 

Anyway, let’s fast-forward through that turbulent season and jump to where we are now, with Lindy Ruff in charge and a revamped bottom-six. One that oozes defense, so unless Ruff and Company have some kind of curveball ready to roll, expect the Sabres to be a hard-hitting team that will win games on puck battles and physical play. 

But is this a massive risk, and should they have just stuck with trying to rediscover that offensive approach? We know the approach worked in 2022-23 before opponents caught onto the Sabres system, and, unfortunately, the Blue and Gold had no answer, which led to the subpar outing last year. 

And sure, adding a top-six scorer and changing up the system to something more unpredictable was probably the “safe” route. But at the same time, you also have to ask yourself this question: What is the best way to compete with the Eastern Conference? 

Reinvigorating the team defensively was in the Sabres best interests

Here is an interesting fact for you: The top four teams in the Eastern Conference finished no worse than seventh in the NHL in goals allowed last season. And if you add up their respective ranking in goals allowed and divide by four, you get 4.75. 

That wasn’t the same as what they finished with in goals for, as one of those teams, the Boston Bruins, ended up 12th in the league. The Stanley Cup-winning Florida Panthers finished 11th, while the NY Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes took sixth and seventh in the same category, respectively, giving them an average of ninth in goals for. 

While revamping the team with more defensive-minded forwards to play in front of the Sabres young and brewing defensive rotation plus one of the league’s better goaltenders is a definite shift, and, therefore, a risk, you can’t call it a bad move.  

Defense is how the best teams in the East won their games last season, and that trend will continue in 2024-25. I, like many who want to see the Sabres finally make the playoffs, would also like to see a top-six scorer in town. But ultimately, improving defensively with a better bottom-six is currently the best way to win in this conference, and while it constitutes a major change, it’s a necessary one. 

(Data powered by Hockey-Reference)