The Buffalo Sabres started their California road trip with a 1-0 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday night. They got the win without Tage Thompson, who has now missed three games with a lower-body injury. But Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was back in net after missing two games with an injury, and he was Buffalo’s most important player. He stopped all 24 shots he faced, and 10 of those shots were high-danger shots, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Luukkonen helped the Sabres steal two points and get back to a .500 points percentage with a 9-9-1 record. The Sabres now have the fourth best points percentage in the Atlantic Division and are tied for the eighth best points percentage in the Eastern Conference. So far this season, the Sabres are 0-4 in games when they have a chance to get above .500. A back-to-back against the Ducks and Sharks on Friday and Saturday should present a prime opportunity to get over .500 for the first time this season
There are still a lot of big-picture questions with this team, and we’re going to explore some of those in this mailbag. I’ll add some of the leftover questions into future columns as well.
Note: Submitted questions may be edited for clarity and style.
I think many of us are disappointed in Dahlin’s play this year. So many defensive lapses and silly plays. As someone much closer to the players than we are, is the sense that his dip is due to the stress of having the “C” on his sweater, the change in strategy with Ruff or the randomness of life and he’s going to return to his near-Norris level of ability? — Eric J.
Rasmus Dahlin is back to creating offense for the Sabres, an aspect of his game that was missing while he worked his way back from injury early in the season. He has a seven-game point streak and 17 points in 19 games. But the mental mistakes, whether it’s lack of composure leading to penalties or missed assignments in the defensive zone, have been glaring. Dahlin cares a lot about making this team a winner. Sometimes too much. He’s easily frustrated, which has led to penalties. And he puts a ton of pressure on himself. So I do think he’s been adjusting to the added pressure of having the “C” on his jersey. The change in system and his training camp injury didn’t help. I don’t know how Ruff can get through to him about keeping his composure and not taking penalties. That feels like something Dahlin will either learn in time or will be a struggle throughout his career. If he can figure it out, he could reach his Norris-caliber ceiling.
If Lindy cannot get the most out of Owen Power, what’s next? — Charles P.
Owen Power turns 22 on Friday, so it’s still early to hit the panic button on him. But some of the concerns are valid. The good news is he has 13 points in 19 games. The bad news is he’s been inconsistent, especially defensively, and still hasn’t evolved into a player who can effectively use his size to consistently out-muscle opponents in front of his team’s net. Hockey Stat Cards tracks players’ game scores throughout the season based on Dom’s model. Power has two of the Sabres’ three worst individual games this season but also has the team’s best game. That feels like it sums up Power’s season. He can be a good defender without laying huge hits all the time. But he needs to play stronger in 50-50 puck battles and in clearing the front of the net. Otherwise, he won’t be an $8.3 million defenseman. Power obviously would still hold a lot of trade value around the league as a recent No. 1 pick and the type of puck-moving defenseman teams like to build around. He has the potential to be a No. 1 power play quarterback, but he doesn’t have a path to that job in Buffalo. If general manager Kevyn Adams wanted to shake up this roster in a major way, Power would be one of the team’s most valuable trade chips. I just think the team would prefer Ruff to help him reach his full potential. If he hits his ceiling, Power can become one of those players that’s not easy to acquire.
The Sabres’ belief in Dylan Cozens’ potential is still strong. (Robert Edwards / USA Today)
Cozens for Zegras: who says no? — Bob O.
I think the Sabres would still say no on that one. The internal belief in Dylan Cozens as a two-way center is still strong. He’s been playing better since a slow start, though the production is still lagging behind where it should be. That said, I would have plenty of interest in a Trevor Zegras trade. When I watch him, I still see a player with a ton of ability to drive offense. He clearly doesn’t have the same spark he did a few seasons ago, but that’s why his name is even being thrown around in trade rumors. He can play both center and wing and has a reasonable contract at $5.75 million for one more season after this one before he becomes a restricted free agent. He also doesn’t have a no-trade clause. Would he be thrilled about playing in Buffalo? Who knows? But he is from the East Coast and Sabres assistant Seth Appert coached him with USA Hockey. If Zegras is truly available, it’s the type of calculated risk Adams should be willing to take at this stage of Buffalo’s build. He’s 23 and only two years removed from back-to-back 60-point seasons.
How much confidence do you have in Kevyn Adams making a significant move(s) to improve this team before it’s too late? — Tom T.
Adams has been willing to trade in recent years, so I’m confident something will happen at some point. The question is how significant a move he makes. I would categorize the Casey Mittelstadt for Bowen Byram trade as a significant move, although it was one that also resulted in a major subtraction from the forward group. The Ryan McLeod trade was significant given Matt Savoie’s status as a top-10 pick, and McLeod has made a strong impact. So has Jason Zucker, a summer free-agent signing who has four goals and nine assists in 19 games including the game-winner against the Kings on Wednesday. But it feels like this team still needs a top-six forward and a playing partner for Power. Those are needs that would have been better addressed at some point in the last two seasons. But there are still options if Adams wants to upgrade this roster. The team is sitting on $7.2 million in cap space. No other team in the Eastern Conference playoff race has close to that much money to spend. Adams also has more prospects and picks to trade than most teams. There isn’t much of an excuse to not make an addition to this roster at some point. And it’s clear that more upgrades are needed. This does lead us to our next question, though.
Why does Kevyn Adams still have a job? They’re not tracking for a playoff position, so the worst possible scenario looms: no longer concerned with “winning the Stanley Cup”, but instead worrying solely about keeping his job next year, this horribly failing GM goes all-in at the trade deadline and destroys whatever’s left of the prospect pool and future draft picks in a useless and utterly improbable “heroic run for the eighth seed” that will of course fall short. Why is Pegula even risking this? Why not fire him now before he goes scorched Earth and leaves nothing for the next GM? — Matthew D.
Given how long it took Terry Pegula to fire Don Granato, I’m not sure whether he would be willing to fire Adams in season. The Sabres are still flirting with playoff contention and as long as that’s true, Pegula won’t make changes. But your point is a fair one. A lot of questions in the mailbag were about trades and what could be done to shake up this roster. Pegula now has Ruff, someone he trusts and considers a friend, to give a sober, honest look at the state of the team. Is a major roster shake-up justified? Which core players should be moved? Those are questions he can now ask Ruff. If they decide to go in the direction of a significant shake-up, the next question Pegula should ask is whether Adams should be the one executing those trades. His track record is mixed at best. The Jack Eichel trade doesn’t look great. Neither does the Sam Reinhart deal. The Sabres need to be careful about pressing the panic button and making a desperate trade. I wouldn’t worry too much about that at this point, though. I don’t think it’s in Adams’ nature to go scorched earth. He cares about this team, the players and the city. He also wants to do right by Pegula, who has put a lot of faith in him over the last five years. But desperation can cloud the decision-making process, and that’s something Adams needs to be careful about.
We’ve read reports that Adams is trying to put a big trade together to overhaul this roster. At this point, I don’t see any “untouchables” on this roster or in this organization. Do you? — Ralph S.
In the right deal, anyone on the Sabres’ roster should be available. This core hasn’t won anything, so Adams should be open to anything. That said, the closest two players to untouchable are Thompson and Dahlin. Thompson has a reasonable contract and has shown star potential. He’s Buffalo’s best player, so any trade would have to be a no-brainer. Dahlin has been inconsistent, but we’ve also seen how good he can be at his best. You need stars to win, and Dahlin has that potential. He’s got a long-term contract and is the captain of the team.
Beyond those two, I’d be open to the idea of the Sabres moving just about any player on the roster. Players like JJ Peterka and Zach Benson would be close to that untouchable tier. But until this core proves it can win, you have to at least listen to the offers to understand the market value of your players.
If the Sabres don’t make the playoffs, which odds favor, what’s Lindy’s future? I can’t imagine Terry Pegula wants to pay another coach who isn’t behind the bench. Does he transition to a front-office role, asked to “retire,” etc? Seriously do not know where this franchise goes from here if they need to blow things up again. — Austin Z.
I don’t think Pegula would consider firing Ruff after just one season even if they miss the playoffs. Given the patience he showed with previous coaches, he owes some patience to Ruff, who is working with a roster he only recently had a hand in building and trying to break young players of poor habits. If they miss the playoffs, it’s not a coaching issue. But the question about what happens if Pegula does decide changes are necessary is a prudent one. The Sabres appear to be grooming Seth Appert to be Ruff’s heir apparent one day. He’s filled in for Ruff in some media availabilities, something no assistants did under Granato. But it feels like any transition would be contingent on Adams still being the one who makes decisions. If Ruff has the appetite for it, a transition to the front office would suit him given the strong relationships he has around the league and his eye for talent. If the Sabres don’t make the playoffs, none of the potential solutions are clean or simple. But it would be tough to justify the status quo. That doesn’t mean they need to blow things up again, but letting Adams have a sixth season wouldn’t sit well with a fan base that has already become fed up with waiting for postseason hockey. Hence the pressure on Adams to get this season right.
(Photo of Alex Tuch and Trevor Zegras: Bill Wippert / NHLI via Getty Images)
