It’s time to owe Jason Zucker a sincere apology
Jason Zucker looked like a player past his prime when the Buffalo Sabres signed him, but that hasn’t been the case through 12 games.
To say the Sabres season has been a complete disaster heading into their 12th game of the season against the Detroit Red Wings was, so far, my understatement of the year. Detroit hasn’t been scoring this season like they were last year and they got a 37-year-old Cam Talbot in the net alongside a journeyman in Alex Lyon, and the Blue and Gold still couldn’t get it done.
If you haven’t yet conceded the season and lambasted this team for how bad it’s been yet again, then you’re indeed a true, loyal Sabres fan, and I applaud you. But I won’t hold back until this group starts figuring out how to win games as consistently as they’ve been losing them since I’d just barely left my teens.
Anyway, you can’t blame Jason Zucker for the team’s mishaps, as the newcomer has compiled a trio of goals and six assists, good for nine points in those 12 contests. That puts Zucker on pace for a solid 61-62 points and between 20-21 goals, setting the stage for a rebound season from last year.
Jason Zucker has been a surprising bright spot on a bad Sabres team
But Jason Zucker hasn’t just been putting points and goals onto the stat sheet; he’s been on the ice for nine of the team’s goals at even strength and boasts an on-ice shooting percentage of 13.0. Despite 42.0 percent of his starts originating in the offensive zone, Zucker also has a 52.4 Corsi For at even strength, and he’s been a big part in at least improving the team’s power play over the past week.
No, I won’t grant him top-six status, and there’s a good chance he’s no better than a third-line winger on a decent hockey team. But Zucker has more than shown, through the first 14.5 percent of the season, that general manager Kevyn Adams was smart to bring him in despite failing to find a true top-six scorer.
The Sabres have a ton of problems right now, but Zucker isn’t one of them. Nor have the likes of Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch, Owen Power, JJ Peterka, or Rasmus Dahlin. But the rest of the team, or at least the skaters, have been a huge reason why the 2024-25 campaign has been nothing more than a migraine-inducing experience.
Maybe things will change when the Blue and Gold take on the Ottawa Senators on November 5th, or maybe they’ll officially have lost twice as many games in regulation than they have wins. If the latter occurs, I don’t believe Jason Zucker should take too much of the blame.
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