The Buffalo Sabres’ playoff hopes officially ended on April 11, with a 6-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils.[1] While the season was marked with streaky play, it ended on a promising note as the team was the closest it has been in recent years to ending the 12-year playoff drought.[2] The Sabres finished the season with 91 points – the first time the team has had 90+ points since the 2010-11 season.[3]
While the Sabres did not qualify for the playoffs for the 12th straight year, there are reasons for optimism heading into the 2023-24 season. General Manger Kevyn Adams and Head Coach Don Granato have appeared to bring stability to the organization, something it has lacked for several years. In addition, the Sabres were the youngest team in the NHL during the 2022-23 season with an average age of 25.9 years, which includes 34-year old Kyle Okposo and 41 year-old Craig Anderson.[4] The Sabres have several core pieces age 26 or younger including: Alex Tuch, Tage Thompson, Dylan Cozens, Casey Mittlestadt, Jack Quinn, J.J. Peterka, Peyton Krebs, Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, Mattias Samuelsson, and Devon Levi.[5] This list above does not even include notable prospects such as Matthew Savoie, Jiri Kulich, Noah Ostlund, and Isak Rosen.
As noted, the Sabres appear to have a bright future with their list of current young NHLers and significant prospect pool. The team, as of April 13, also has the most estimated cap space in the NHL at $17,547,000 going into the offseason.[6] This will give the team flexibility to resign its own players, as well as allowing the team to add players through free agency and trades. However, both first overall defensemen Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power will be restricted free agents after the 2023-24 season, and signing them will likely require a large chunk of this estimated cap space.[7] Going into the 2023-24 season, the Sabres will have a projected cap hit of $64,040,237 and the salary cap is to be $83,500,000. This estimation projects the Sabres to have anywhere from $17-$19 million in cap space over the next two years, allowing them to have significant ability to resign talent.
The Sabres will have significant decisions to make this offseason about how to utilize this substantial cap space. One major decision that the Sabres will have to make is what to do with former first round draft pick and current University of Minnesota defenseman Ryan Johnson. The Sabres drafted Ryan Johnson with the 31st pick in the 2019 NHL draft.[8]Johnson just finished his 4th year at the University of Minnesota and could become a free agent if he does not sign with the Sabres. As noted, in “The Sabres Have a Major Decision to Make Concerning Devon Levi,” there are generally three options when it comes to signing collegiate players including: (1) Johnson could elect to not sign with the Sabres, allowing him to become a free agent, (2) Johnson could sign his Entry-Level Contract (“ELC”) beginning in 2023-24 with an option for an Amateur Tryout Contract (“ATO”) with Rochester, or (3) Johnson could sign his ELC beginning in 2022-23. General manager Kevyn Adams recently spoke with Johnson about the possibility of signing his ELC, and while Johnson has not yet made his decision, it appears that conversation went well.
In addition to a surplus of cap space and the possibly of adding a former first round pick to the mix, the Sabres will also have the 13th pick in the 2023 NHL draft, which is widely regarded as one of the deepest drafts in recent years. The Sabres were unable to get the 1st or 2nd pick in the draft because, as discussed in “The NHL Lottery System Explained,” the NHL changed its lottery rules in 2021, limiting the number of spots a team could move up to 10. A top 13 pick allows the Sabres to add another young, talented player to its already deep prospect pool.
It will be interesting to see what the Sabres do this offseason. The obvious priority will be signing Power and Dahlin to long-term deals, given the surplus in cap space and recent trend of locking up young, promising players with long-term contracts. However, even after signing these two, the Sabres will still have cap flexibility. Will they look to improve by trading for other players? The Sabres have a surplus of prospects and seemingly few spots available in the NHL given their young core. Could one or more of these prospects be traded for a more established NHL player? One area for improvement is defense. The Sabres were in the top seven in goals against per game this season and will have to improve on that to make a run at the playoffs next season.[9] While the team did not qualify for the playoffs this season, they took steps in the right direction and given their offseason flexibility, there is reason for optimism.
[1] https://www.nhl.com/scores/2023-04-11
[2] https://www.rochesterfirst.com/buffalo-sabres/sabres-lose-to-devils-playoff-drought-reaches-twelve-years/
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Buffalo_Sabres_seasons
[4] https://www.flyersinsider.com/Top-10-Youngest-NHL-Teams-2022-23-145534
[5] https://www.nhl.com/sabres/roster
[6] https://www.spotrac.com/nhl/cap/
[7] https://www.capfriendly.com/teams/sabres
[8] https://www.nhl.com/player/ryan-johnson-8481564
[9] https://www.statmuse.com/nhl/ask?q=nhl+team+most+goals+given+up+per+game+2022+-+2023
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