Sabres 2024-25 report cards: Grading every player after ‘failure’ of a season
A few players used that word to describe a Sabres season that began with playoff expectations.
www.nytimes.com
Buffalo Sabres forward Alex Tuch wasn’t interested in sugar coating the team’s 26th-place finish this season.
“As a team, we have to push to be better because this year was a failure in all of our minds,” Tuch said.
A few players used that word to describe a Sabres season that began with playoff expectations. Last week, we graded the overall season as an F for that reason. But how did the Sabres perform on an individual basis this season? Rather than assign letter grades, we set out to determine how each player performed relative to expectations. Role, talent level, experience and salary were all factored into the expectations.
Who met expectations and who fell short?
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6287925/2025/04/18/nhl-regular-season-team-grades-2024-2025/
Met high expectations
Rasmus Dahlin
Dahlin again showed why he’s one of the 10 best defensemen in the NHL. He battled through a back injury early in the season and ended up missing nine games. He still finished the season with 17 goals and 51 assists. The Sabres had 54.6 percent of the expected goals when Dahlin was on the ice at five-on-five. He took some time to find his voice in his first year as captain, but he’s the team’s most valuable player and its most competitive.Tage Thompson
Thompson had 33 five-on-five goals this season, seven more than the next closest player in the league. Despite missing six games due to injury, Thompson finished the season with 44 goals, three shy of his career high. He embraced a move to right wing, and he benefited from the position change both with his production and his defensive play. He would have liked more power-play production and could still improve his 200-foot game, but this was a strong season from Thompson.Alex Tuch
Tuch set a record for blocked shots by a forward, was among the league leaders in takeaways for forwards and led the league in short-handed goals and points. He played in every single game and was a leader on and off the ice. He matched a career high with 36 goals and added 31 assists. He’s eligible to sign a contract extension on July 1 and deserves a healthy raise on his $4.75 million salary.Exceeded expectations
Jason Zucker
The Sabres got all they could ask for out of Zucker, who signed a one-year, $5 million contract last summer. He had 21 goals, including 11 power-play goals as an important net-front presence. He quickly became a strong leader for the Sabres, too. Only three of Zucker’s 21 goals came in the final 19 games after he signed his contract extension, so that kept his grade from being an A.Ryan McLeod
The Sabres paid a decent price when they traded top prospect Matt Savoie to the Oilers for McLeod. But McLeod’s speed and defensive acumen made an immediate impact in the middle of Buffalo’s lineup. He set career highs in goals, assists and points and filled a crucial role for the Sabres all season.Zach Benson
Benson didn’t make a major jump in offensive production in his second NHL season, but he was one of Buffalo’s best defensive forwards. The Sabres had nearly 55 percent of the expected goals when he was on the ice at five-on-five, the best mark on the team. He got a brief audition on the Sabres’ top line at the end of the season and showed off the forechecking and playmaking skills that make him a potential top-six fixture in years to come.Jiri Kulich
Even the most optimistic of Sabres observers didn’t expect to see Kulich centering the top line this season. But that’s where the 20-year-old was at the end of the season, and Lindy Ruff made it clear he expects Kulich to be a center going forward. He had 15 goals and nine assists in 62 games with an on-ice expected goal share of 51.12 percent, showing impressive acumen in the defensive zone. He didn’t have a single power-play point, in part due to how he was used on the power play. So there’s room to grow offensively. Kulich will join the Amerks for their AHL playoff run.Met expectations
JJ Peterka
Entering a contract year, Peterka was expected to take another step forward, and he didn’t disappoint. He fell short of his previous career high in goals but added a layer of playmaking to his game and set a career high with 68 points. He needs to develop more consistency with and without the puck, though. He had 87 giveaways and only 22 takeaways, and also had the highest on-ice goals-against average among Sabres forwards. But Peterka likely earned himself a nice raise with his season.Peyton Krebs
Krebs started the season as a healthy scratch and then played the final 81 games of the season without coming out of the lineup. He was third on the team in hits, first on the team in penalty minutes drawn and led the team with a 2.2 on-ice goals-against average at five-on-five. While he hasn’t produced the offensive numbers to match his first-round draft pedigree, he’s embraced his role as a shutdown defensive forward and has proven to be a team-first player throughout his career.Bowen Byram
Byram is still a tricky player to figure out. He posted his best numbers this season while playing with Dahlin, and his metrics suffered away from Dahlin. Byram’s a restricted free agent, so the Sabres need to determine how Byram fits into the long-term roster-building puzzle. According to Dom Luszczyszyn’s game score model, Byram is in the 85th percentile in the league for offense and the 12th percentile for defense.https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5965149/2024/12/03/bowen-byram-buffalo-sabres-colorado-avalanche/
Beck Malenstyn
Malenstyn did what the Sabres acquired him to do. He was a heavy presence on the forecheck, a willing shot blocker and a quality addition to the locker room. He led all Sabres in hits per 60 minutes of ice time and had 55 more hits than Buffalo’s next closest forward.James Reimer
Reimer went on a hot streak at the end of the season that helped the Sabres win games more consistently. The 37-year-old goalie started 19 games and had a quality start in 68 percent of those starts, according to Hockey Reference. The only problem is the Sabres didn’t use him often enough early in the season, so he was unable to make an impact until late.Did not meet expectations
Mattias Samuelsson
Samuelsson has a seven-year contract with a cap hit north of $4 million and wore a letter for the Sabres this season. So the fact that he was a healthy scratch at times early in the season and ended the season with a 45 percent expected goals share made his season a massive disappointment.Owen Power
Power had 40 points and set a new career high with seven goals, but he was also minus-13 and set a career low in on-ice expected goal share at five-on-five. His offensive game has proven worthy of his draft status as a No. 1 pick, but his defensive game has taken longer to develop.Jack Quinn
Quinn had some bursts of production late in the season, but he had just five goals and nine assists through the first 41 games. He had one goal and four assists in October and November. He finished with 39 points, but only 20 of those came in the team’s first 50 games.Sam Lafferty
Lafferty dealt with injuries for a decent chunk of the season and didn’t live up to the two-year contract with a $2 million cap hit he signed last summer. He played just 60 games, had seven points and was minus-15.Connor Clifton
Given his role as a third-pairing defenseman, Clifton mostly did his job with more than 200 hits. But he was also in and out of the lineup due to his inconsistent play with the puck. Given that his salary is north of $3 million, he hasn’t met expectations.Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
After signing a five-year contract with an average annual value of $4.75 million, Luukkonen took a big step back for the Sabres. He had an .887 save percentage and 3.20 goals-against average in 55 starts. Ruff said he didn’t want to judge Luukkonen too harshly until the team plays better defense in front of him. But Luukkonen clearly needs to be better as well.Jacob Bryson
Bryson played in 48 games for the Sabres and had an on-ice goals against average of 3.52, the worst among Sabres who played at least 10 games.Injured
Josh Norris and Jordan Greenway
Norris and Greenway didn’t play often enough to get a full grade. Norris ended the season with a torn oblique and played only three games for the Sabres. Greenway played 38 games and looked like one of the team’s best two-way forwards before he needed mid-body surgery early in the season and then aggravated that injury later in the year.Jacob Bernard-Docker also didn’t qualify for a grade with only 15 games played, but he had a solid showing after joining the Sabres’ lineup after the trade deadline. He looks like a useful depth player for Buffalo’s blue line.