BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Buffalo Sabres GM Kevyn Adams and head coach Lindy Ruff have said multiple times the goal is to win now. Here's the problem; the roster they have put together isn't good enough unless you ask the GM.
"I really like the steps we took today and took a big step towards being the type of team we need to be," Adams said on Monday afternoon. "(We're) harder to play against, direct, fast, physical, wearing teams down and physical."
Following the first day of free agency and the 2024 NHL Draft the Sabres have made some solid additions, but those hoping for a big splash still find themselves waiting. Within the first hour of free agency, the team added veteran forward Jason Zucker. He's a solid player and should bring secondary scoring and help the second power-play unit. But if he's the most significant addition the team makes the longest playoff drought in the NHL could extend another season.
Sorry, long Sabres post.
— Matthew Bové (@Matt_Bove) July 1, 2024
The front office spent the week before the draft saying they were open for business and their first round pick was available.
Then they used the pick, traded for a fourth line player, signed a middle six winger and added two more fourth line players.…
Along with Zucker, the team added fourth-line speed and grit with the additions of Sam Lafferty, Nicolas Aube-Kubel, and Beck Melenstyn. It's a completely revamped fourth line that will bring sandpaper and speed to a team lacking it. I'm a fan of the additions of Lafferty and Aube-Kubel, especially given their contracts, and think they will help the bottom of the roster. In a vacuum, I really like what the Sabres did on Monday.
But it's what they didn't do that has me concerned. My issue is with the middle-six. As it stands, Peyton Krebs is slotted in as the Sabres third line center. Last season Krebs had four goals and 13 assists in 80 games. Unless he can triple his offensive production, the Sabres will be leaving meat on the bone and putting too much pressure on their top two lines. Krebs is a restricted free agent and needs a new deal and the Sabres should give him one. But banking on him to be a productive third-line center given his track record seems too risky for my liking.
"We have a lot of skill and we have a lot of talent and I think we've proven over the years we've got guys as talented as anyone who can make plays but we needed to round the group out and get harder," Adams said. "We needed to have just a little more of a presence where we can go after teams and roll them over and be that tougher team to play against. The skill is exciting and great, but we needed to get the mix a little bit better and that's why we were so focused on that and we need to be better defensively."
I have the same issue with forcing Zach Benson into a second-line role. His rookie season was exceptional but he'd be better suited playing on the third line where his matchups wouldn't be as difficult. Unless Zucker can find the goal-scoring touch he had in 2022-23, Benson will need to build off his rookie season and take another step, which feels presumptuous for a second-year player.
Adams is also betting on bounce-back seasons from Thompson, Cozens, Quinn, and Tuch. That very well could happen, it just doesn't give the Sabres much margin for error. Even with a pretty scarce list of remaining free agents, the Sabres still have plenty of assets they could use to swing a trade. Adams isn't ruling that out, but didn't make it seem likely on Monday.
"It's not like the offseason stops, you know, there are ongoing conversations plus once the dust settles a little bit and you see where different teams are, but I really like where our group is at right now," Adams said. "I like it a lot. I like the look of our team, we had goals coming into this offseason that we were trying to achieve and I think we're a much better team today than we were a couple of days ago."
I didn’t leave that press conference convinced the Sabres have anything big up their sleeve. Maybe that’s by design, or maybe they are happy with the roster they have.
— Matthew Bové (@Matt_Bove) July 1, 2024
I don't disagree with the idea and like all of the notable free-agent moves the team has made so far. But what the team didn't do with the cap space they still have will overshadow any of the positives for the remainder of the summer. Buffalo still has more than $20 million in salary cap space, and nearly $10 million if they give new contracts to all four of their restricted free agents.
Until the Sabres spend to the salary cap, I'll have questions about how seriously they want to compete. There's still time for this to change with a big trade and the money the Sabres have to spend, so maybe Adams has a trick up his sleeve. Sabres fans better hope he does.
