Now that the offseason has officially started, Sabres fans are anxiously waiting to see what Kevyn Adams does next. Buffalo will have roughly over $44 Million in cap space during this offseason, which is considered a lot since the max cap hit in the NHL is $82.5 million for the 2022-2023 season. Although the Sabres currently hold the longest playoff drought in NHL history, that could soon come to an end if they utilize their cap wisely during the summer.
Buffalo’s biggest concern on their roster right now is their goaltending. Unfortunately, 41 year-old Craig Anderson can not commit to the starting job for the team. Buffalo also has numerous goalie prospects developing with the teams minor league teams, so they aren’t necessarily looking for a long term contract either. I think there best bet would be too keep Anderson as a backup, but find someone through free agency or even a trade, who is going to come in for a year or two and be the starter until the prospects are ready to come up to the NHL.
Defense is probably the only area on the roster that is in pretty good shape. There are lots of young defensemen who are capable of playing a big chunk of minutes during games, as well as Owen Power coming up to the team as well. I would say if there is still a lot of cap space left during free agency, pick up a veteran defenseman that can come in and guide the younger players and teach them, but don’t sign a big contract. Have faith in these young defenders as they will be totally fine once they’ve gained a little more experience ince.
Offense on the other hand is quite tricky. We saw Tage Thompson have an exceptional year, as well as Jeff Skinner getting back to his old scoring ways. The main issue I would say with the offense is consistency. During this season, we had nights were the offense couldn’t be stopped. We can most certainly dominate on offense with the players we have, but in some cases the team didn’t. Players such as Cozens, Mittlestadt, and Oloffson were most definitely not as effective as they could be. If these players all click, the offense is lethal. Some extra help also wouldn’t hurt. Hopefully some offensive pick ups happen this summer to help solidify a push for the playoffs.
Draft picks and prospects are looking very good as well, there is nothing really needed to add on to this department.
GM Kevyn Adams has a lot to spend this summer. Hopefully he will spend it on the right people and right areas to help this team become more of a threat for next season, specifically for the playoffs.
