Ryan McLeod continues to be a workhorse, and arguably the best player on the team over the last few weeks. He showed exactly that after his historic game against Winnipeg on Sunday.
Not only did McLeod set a career-high for points in a game with four against the Jets, but he also became the first Sabres player to record a four-point game on the road in Winnipeg/Atlanta since their relocation.
Yes that’s right the infamous Atlanta Thrashers have made an appearance in the year 2025, as no Sabres player ever recorded a four-point game in Atlanta during the Thrashers era as well.
With the Sabres season nearly over, and no playoff hopes left, what can we expect from McLeod the rest of the season?
McLeod will get first-line reps
McLeod right now is the best player on the team with his consistent rate of play. It wouldn't come as a surprise if he got some first-line reps because of injuries to end the year. Tage Thompson has been the only player consistently on the first line as Jiri Kulich is injured, and JJ Peterka is spending time on the second line.
With Josh Norris still hurt, seeing a pairing of Thompson and McLeod could be a sign of things to come as we go into the 2025-2026 season. McLeod is just entering his prime and is posed for a massive year next year as he has had talks about wanting to stay in Buffalo.
McLeod wants to build around the solid core that Buffalo has now, and I am all for it as he continues to be a leader for this team.
What could McLeod’s contract look like?
McLeod carries a current cap hit of 2.1 million per season, and I think McLeod will definitely get double that at least. I’m projecting at least a 5 X 5 deal, and what that stands for is five years, and five million per season.
I think that is more than enough for a player of McLeod’s current caliber, especially if you are looking at him to be a leader in the future. Kevyn Adams needs to pay some his offensive players this offseason if he wants to bring back this top-10 offense, and as of right now, it starts with keeping McLeod in Buffalo.