When healthy, the Buffalo Sabres could have a solid top four

While it's considered a weakness of the team, the Buffalo Sabres have a surplus of young and talented defensemen. They include Rasmus Dahlin (23), Bowen Byram (22), Mattias Samuelsson (24) and Owen Power (21). Unfortunately for the team, Samuelsson has missed a lot of games in the last two years with injuries.

After signing a multi-year deal with the Sabres at the start of last season, Mattias has the worst luck and seems to get hurt. While injuries are part of the sport, Samuelsson seems to be injured for a long-term period. Whether it's for a month or the rest of the season, it's unfortunate to see him injured because he is a huge factor.

As for the other three players, they are also a huge part of the Sabres. Byram came over for Casey Mittelstadt before the NHL trade deadline and has fit in well for Buffalo. Owen Power has been up and down in his sophomore season, but he's been playing solid after coming back from his injury.

Then there's Dahlin, who has been a vital cornerstone for the franchise since getting drafted in 2018. While all of these players are still very young, they have the potential of being a good top-four defensive unit. The only issue is, injuries have gotten in the way.

Looking to next season, Buffalo has a chance to have a talented top-four. As I mentioned earlier, hockey is a physical sport and every player is going to be banged up in some way. With that being said, if Samuelsson can find a way to not miss so much time and the other three players can stay healthy, Buffalo could have one of the best top-two defensive pairings in the league.

Dahlin, Power and Mattias are locked up for the long haul. If Byram keeps playing like he is, then he can be the next player being locked up, giving the Sabres a young but talented defensive core.