Nope, this is not an April Fools Day prank. The Sabres are in a better position than you may think despite their awful points total. This isn’t to say Kevyn Adams shouldn’t make a splash because when it’s April and you’re about to miss the playoffs again, he needs to.
But forget about a complete revamp because it’s not happening, nor should it. The Sabres need to get rid of some ineffective talent, but they’re still too deep of a team to just tear this down and party like it’s the 2014-15 season all over again and play for a lottery spot in 2025-26.
Now, you may be thinking how could I logistically even fathom that this team is in a better place than their points total indicates. Well, we can start with the fact that they’re ninth in scoring as of Tuesday afternoon with 236 goals. Teams that are in the top 10 in the league in this category aren’t awful, regardless of what their position is in the standings.
Sabres are just a few adjustments away from playoff contention
That playoff contention isn’t happening this year, but when you have forwards in Alex Tuch and Tage Thompson who can score 30-plus goals per season, playmakers in Rasmus Dahlin and JJ Peterka, breakout players in Owen Power, Bowen Byram, and Ryan McLeod, and a power-play specialist in Jason Zucker, things suddenly don’t look so hopeless.
No, none of them seem willing to stop opponents, especially when you consider they’ve allowed over 2,100 shots on goal this season, which equals about 28.8 shots on goal per game. Not a horrific number, but one they can stand to improve on, it shows you where their ultimate weaknesses reside.
While I’m still expecting one more ace in the top six, plus improvements in supplementary scoring with Jiri Kulich coming into his own, more defensive-minded players will be a godsend for the Sabres. If they can keep up what has once again become a high-octane pace offensively, with improvements in defensive play, don’t expect 13-game losing streaks to trash their season.
Goaltending is another area of concern that needs addressed
Devon Levi has progressed well in Rochester and is light years ahead of where Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was during his time with the Amerks. So far, I’m convinced that this is Levi’s net, and it’s only a matter of time before he figures it out in the NHL. That could happen next season, but the Sabres could use some sound insurance.
As for Luukkonen, he’s once again raising question marks of whether he’s the answer in the short term. Luukkonen was awful two years ago, looked like a breakout player last season, and has since fallen back to reality. No, you can’t blame him for every goal he’s allowed, but last year we saw a netminder who was only too keen to step it up. This year, it hasn’t happened.
So, if the Sabres want to keep Levi in Rochester for one more year - it wouldn’t hurt - they need to go out and get a goaltender who is capable of starting 50-plus games. Luukkonen is 1 for 3 over his three seasons as the go-to, and it looks like his ceiling in the NHL is as a 1B.
Overall, if the Sabres improve defensively, get better in the net, and even if they kept everything as-is from an offensive standpoint, they will contend next season simply because they won’t be losing 13 straight games with even more reinforcements. We’ll see if Kevyn Adams finally gets it and if the message has sunk in that he must show more urgency.