Sabres roundtable, part 1: Which offseason addition will make biggest impact?
Aside from former Edmonton Oilers center Ryan McLeod, which of the Sabres' offseason additions will make the most significant impact and why?
This is the first roundtable in a two-part series, during which Lance Lysowski and Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News discuss pertinent issues about the Sabres.
We'll soon learn how different training camp will be with Lindy Ruff back as head coach of the Buffalo Sabres.
Rookie camp and Prospects Challenge are a few weeks away. Then, Ruff will gather his NHL players to begin preparing for their season opener against the New Jersey Devils in Czechia on Oct. 4.
Nearly half of the Sabres forwards are different than the lineup Don Granato used leading up to the trade deadline in March, but Ruff will also need to help returning players rebound from a challenging season. Although it is too soon to predict Buffalo's finish, we tackled a few other prominent questions that will loom over this team in the coming weeks and months:
1. Aside from Ryan McLeod, which of the Sabres' offseason additions will make the most significant impact and why?
Lysowski: Jason Zucker. This may be the obvious pick. After all, the Sabres handed a one-year, $5 million contract to Zucker, who became their third highest-paid forward behind Tage Thompson and Dylan Cozens. Zucker's impact will extend beyond the scoresheet, though. He is a respected veteran who can set a work rate in practice that others must follow or risk being left behind. Zucker, 32, is also beloved by former teammates for his personality and leadership. He can provide the wisdom and insight that this group lost with the departures of Kyle Okposo and Zemgus Girgensons.
Sabres free agent signee Jason Zucker needs four goals to reach 200 for his career. Mark Humphrey, Associated Press
Zucker also has the potential to be the top-six goal-scorer that Buffalo needs after it bought out Jeff Skinner. Injuries were an issue for Zucker during his time with the Pittsburgh Penguins, but he capped his time there with 27 goals in 2022-23. The left wing has totaled at least 20 goals in six of his 10 full NHL seasons. He is willing to get to the front of the net and should fit well with the way Ruff wants this team to play. The question, however, is whether Zucker can bounce back from a season in which he was stuck in the Arizona Coyotes' bottom-six until a March trade that sent him to Nashville, where he impressed during the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Another oft-overlooked element of Zucker's game is his ability to agitate opponents. He understands how to get under their skin by finishing a check or, like Skinner, trash-talking between the whistles. The Sabres' revamped bottom-six will win over fans with speed and physical play, but it is also important to have a forward who can bring that to the first or second line. Zucker can also show younger players on the roster how to impact the game when they are not scoring.
Harrington: Beck Malenstyn. Among the many reasons Ruff is here is to change the personality of this club. Extreme skeptics could say he needs to give them a personality. The thing general manager Kevyn Adams' moves with the bottom six has done is give the Sabres an edge they have sorely lacked. Ruff doesn't want opponents to have easy nights against his team, and that is something they too often enjoyed last season. Malenstyn drove the Rochester Amerks crazy while playing for the Hershey Bears during the 2023 AHL Eastern Conference finals, and was a huge physical presence last season in Washington.
Malenstyn led the Capitals in hits with 241, no small accomplishment on a club with a roster that includes agitator extraordinaire Tom Wilson. Among last year's Sabres, only Connor Clifton (204) and Rasmus Dahlin (195) got more than 190 hits, and the leading total by a forward was just 141, set by Girgensons and Jordan Greenway. Fellow newcomer Nicolas Aube-Kubel also played last year in Washington, and said last month he couldn't wait to rejoin Malenstyn in Buffalo and drive Atlantic Division opponents crazy.
Zucker should provide offense and a new source of leadership, and McLeod should provide stability and some faceoff wins as the No. 3 center. But Malenstyn is being brought here to give the Sabres a different feel. If he is successful, you won't have fans or even some of the players whispering about this team being soft.
2. Is there a player who may endure some struggles as the Sabres adjust to a new system and different coach?
Lysowski: JJ Peterka. The winger, 22, saw firsthand last season that responsible habits away from the puck will lead to more offense. He was exceptional in March and April, when his line with Thompson and Alex Tuch followed a simple game plan. Rather than trying to rely on rush chances, the trio chipped the puck into the offensive zone and created by forechecking. The approach helped Peterka finish his second NHL season with a career-high 28 goals and 50 points in 82 games.
There were still too many instances of Peterka not being detailed enough, particularly when skating back to his defensive zone to try to thwart a scoring chance. He needs to show more effort and detail when backchecking, and part of that challenge will be managing his shifts in a more mature way. Sometimes it is better to make the safer play than overextend yourself when you don't have much left in the tank. Ruff won't have the patience that Granato showed. Adams has referred to the Sabres' new standard as "non-negotiables," which he wants to see his coach begin to enforce during training camp.
Peterka has the exceptional skating and skill to be a top-six fixture and help the Sabres replace Skinner, but the 2020 second-round draft pick will need to play more of a complete game to earn Ruff's trust. While it may take Peterka longer than others to adjust, this coach should work wonders for a player who has the potential to become a franchise pillar. Don't underestimate Seth Appert's impact with Peterka, though. The former Amerks coach understands how Peterka absorbs information in individual meetings and processes challenging messages. Appert and the Sabres' other assistant coaches will be an invaluable resource for Ruff as he builds relationships with these players and evaluates how to teach each of them.
Harrington: What Lance said. All of it in deep detail. It feels as though we're going to have some Thomas Vanek moments between Ruff and Peterka. The offensive talent is wondrous, the defensive commitment will be a long-term work in progress and will drive the coach batty from time to time. Remember Vanek being a healthy scratch as a 22-year-old rookie in the 2006 playoffs after a 25-goal season? Peterka, who turns 23 in January, might start the season with Thompson and Tuch, but you can bet he will run afoul of Ruff playing against top-line opponents and move a lot through the lineup during the season.
3. Who among the returning players will benefit the most from Lindy Ruff's return?
Lysowski: Cozens. The 23-year-old has the ability to be an outstanding No. 2 center. He showed that potential in 2022-23, when he produced 31 goals and 68 points during a season in which he received a seven-year contract extension. His shooting percentage dropped from 14.7 to 9 last season, though, and he endured a crisis of confidence that slowed his development. Ruff will love Cozens' competitiveness, willingness to get to the net and tenacity. Cozens sticks up for teammates, finishes checks and never backs down from a challenge, even when he should skate away from a confrontation.
The fight with Philadelphia's Garnett Hathaway impacted Cozens, but the 2019 first-round draft pick's dedication to playing better defense slowed him down more than his short bout that happened in early November. Cozens was so concerned about his defense that it took away from his offense, which can't happen again this season. Different usage should help. Ruff doesn't need to have Cozens on the ice for as many defensive-zone faceoffs now that McLeod is around to shoulder that responsibility. Ruff should be able to guide Cozens through the process of reestablishing the identity that we saw from him two years ago.
Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, chasing a loose puck against the Philadelphia Flyers in April, has pure offensive skill that rivals or surpasses anything Lindy Ruff had during his previous time as coach in Buffalo. Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
Harrington: Dahlin. Almost every time I talked to Ruff during his four seasons in New Jersey, he would bring up Dahlin unprompted in any discussion about the Sabres. Ruff loves having that workhorse defenseman on his back end to stimulate the offense. Think Alexei Zhitnik and Brian Campbell in his first stint with the Sabres, Adam Fox during his time as an assistant with the Rangers or Dougie Hamilton in New Jersey. Dahlin's pure offensive skill rivals or surpasses anything Ruff had during his previous time in Buffalo. And I distinctly remember him saying how he felt Dahlin was a pure weapon on the power play.
Dahlin did not have a good year with the man advantage last season, as his confidence seemed to wane in those situations. It will be up to Ruff and Appert to renew Dahlin's swagger as the quarterback of the power play. Although Dahlin had his first 20-goal season last year, his point total dropped from 73 to 59, and most of that difference came on the power play, as he fell from 32 points to 20. New philosophies and new voices will help him.
4. Which area of the roster is a potential concern and how should it be addressed?
Lysowski: Another winger who can skate in the top-six and score goals. This isn't a move that must be made before the season begins, though. Wait to see how Jiri Kulich looks in training camp. Perhaps the top prospect is ready to push for a spot and provide Buffalo with some of the offense that it lost by parting ways with Skinner. And, if Kulich isn't ready, the Sabres still have salary cap space and capital to acquire a player who fits. Adams can't wait too long, though, if the need becomes obvious in October and November. It is time to make bold, aggressive moves that can push this group over the top.
Harrington: There wasn't a big move for a winger that left you saying the Sabres should have done that one. And don't tell me Patrik Laine, either. You seriously want to pay $8.7 million for a guy who hasn't played 60 games in a season since 2020 or scored 30 goals since 2019? I don't. The Sabres feel that better coaching and a return to form of some of their key top-six players will mean more offense. If that doesn't look like it is happening early in the season, then Adams should react.
The real issue in this view is how will the defense get arranged. The Sabres need to find a reliable partner for Dahlin, and I would go with Mattias Samuelsson, but he has to stay healthy. They have to harness Bowen Byram's talent after he seemed confused by Granato's system much of his time here last season. They have to decide if Henri Jokiharju is a player with a future here or is a trade chip, perhaps for offense. Most fans could chart four very reasonable forward lines today. If you asked 10 people to plot out three defense pairs, the answers would likely be all over the map. It will be a huge priority at camp.