PRAGUE — On Monday morning, the Buffalo Sabres skated at a rink just outside of downtown Prague and looked like a team well adjusted to their new time zone. The Sabres’ plane took off for Germany just about 10 days before the puck drops on the regular season against the New Jersey Devils in Prague. They finished out camp in Munich, winning a 5-0 exhibition against Red Bull Munich on Friday and then traveled to Prague on Sunday night.
So the energy they had during practice on Monday morning was striking. The pace was typical of what we’ve come to expect from Lindy Ruff’s practices this fall. But the trash talk, laughing, celebrations and pushing and shoving for every inch of ice made Monday one of the most spirited sessions of camp.
“I loved the energy today,” Ruff said. “The energy the guys have brought from day one. The way we skated today, you’re skating like you’re preparing to play.”
And despite the fun the Sabres have had on this trip — a visit to Bayern Munich’s soccer stadium and wearing lederhosen to their exhibition game — it’s clear how much urgency there is for these two games against the Devils. A slow start to last season doomed the Sabres. They were also one of the worst first period teams in the NHL a year ago. Ruff wants both of those things to change, and training camp has been designed with that in mind.
A trip to Europe across six time zones to start the season might not be the perfect recipe for a fast start, but the Sabres have the advantage of extra time to get their bodies acclimated to the time change. The speed of Monday’s practice was evidence of that. Maybe that’s a minor detail, but the Devils didn’t get to town until around the time the Sabres were getting on the ice for practice on Monday. The Devils will be able to shake off some of that jet lag by Friday, but the Sabres should have an energy edge.
“I think it helps if you use the time wisely,” Ruff said. “You get a comfort level with getting in a routine almost like you’re playing a home game.”
There’s been a business-like approach to Ruff’s first training camp back with the Sabres. But the trickiest part of every NHL season is figuring out how much of the preseason hype will turn into on-ice results when the regular season begins. To that end, let’s make a few specific predictions about this Sabres season and acknowledge where we still have some questions.
Bold predictions
1. Quinn will score 31 goals
We know Jack Quinn has the potential to be a big-time goal scorer in the NHL. He showed that as a rookie and then again in his injury-shortened, 27-game season. Since the start of the 2022-23 season, Quinn has averaged 1.07 goals per 60 minutes of ice time at five-on-five. That’s tied with Jets winger Nikolaj Ehlers, Sharks winger Tyler Toffoli and Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho. Now Quinn is looking at an expanded role on the power play, which should help him take a step forward and surpass 30 goals for the first time in his career. Injuries don’t concern me much with Quinn, because his two major injuries last season were flukes, one in offseason training and the other on a collision during a game.
2. Power will double his previous high goal total
In his first two full NHL seasons, Owen Power has scored four and six goals, respectively. He had 130 shots as a rookie and 108 last season, though his shooting percentage jumped from 3.1 to 5.6 percent. Power had two goals in Buffalo’s two preseason games before the team left for Europe. Exhibition goals against AHL-level competition don’t mean much, but Power’s shot has looked better. That could lead to an increased shot totals. Under Ruff, the Sabres are also emphasizing getting to the front of the net. More traffic in front should be a huge benefit to the defensemen.
“Once you start throwing them in a little bit more, teams give you a little bit more time and space and that’s when you can start making plays,” Power said. “It’s nice to throw pucks in there and have them turn into good scoring chances.”
3. Sabres will be top 10 in hits
Last season, the entire Sabres’ forward group had 991 hits with Zemgus Girgensons and Jordan Greenway tied for the team lead at 141 apiece. Buffalo added Beck Malenstyn, Sam Lafferty and Nicolas Aube-Kubel to form a new fourth line. That trio combined for 592 hits last season. As a team, the Sabres were 21st in hits last season with 1,786, according to MoneyPuck. And in the two seasons prior to that, the Sabres were dead last as a team in hits. Hits don’t necessarily correlate with wins, but the Panthers, Leafs, Canucks and Predators were the top five teams in hits last season and all made the playoffs. Ruff has emphasized physicality with his words and actions so far as a coach. The offseason additions will not only boost Buffalo’s hit totals but will also encourage the rest of the roster to be more physical as well. Will that translate into more wins?
4. Kulich will score at least five NHL goals
While I don’t expect Jiří Kulich to get NHL games right away, I think he’s ready to be the first in line for a call-up when the Sabres have injuries. Maybe five goals isn’t the boldest prediction for Kulich’s goal total, but it took JJ Peterka 77 games as a rookie to score 12 goals. Kulich likely won’t come close to matching that game total. But when he plays, I expect him to make an impact, including on the power play.
5. Peterka will lead the Sabres in goals and get the next big contract
Peterka was one goal shy of Tage Thompson for the team lead last season. Thompson dealt with injuries off and on throughout the season, though, so it’s not a given that Peterka can pass him for the team lead this season. But all signs in the preseason point to another big year for Peterka. He has a knack for scoring goals from a variety of angles and has now shown an increased willingness to get to the net. He’s going to have a full season of playing on the top line and getting top power-play minutes. With bounce-back seasons from Thompson and Alex Tuch, Peterka will have plenty of opportunities and maybe even more open ice as teams focus on the two veterans. In their wave of contracts coming up this season, Peterka will be a priority.
6. Dahlin will get Norris votes
I expect Ruff’s presence to have a positive impact on Buffalo’s defense as a whole, and that should benefit Rasmus Dahlin. The Sabres haven’t had much defensive structure during Dahlin’s time with the organization. That should change this season. Ruff has also said he wants his defensemen joining the rush, so don’t expect that part of Dahlin’s game to change. Getting the captaincy is only going to help him, too. He’s the type of person who will take the responsibility of that role the right way and elevate his game. I think he’ll get 70 points again and be back in the Norris conversation next spring.
Lingering questions
1. Will there be a big in-season trade?
The Sabres have $7 million in cap space and plenty of prospects, but will Kevyn Adams find a trade partner at some point? We know the Sabres were poking around the trade market for a top-six forward throughout the summer and that need is one that went unaddressed. How strong the rental market will be depends on what happens early in the season, but Adams has the assets to make a move if Buffalo is in contention. He also has roster players who are in the final seasons of their deals, notably Jordan Greenway, who could be attractive trade chips if Adams wants to shake the roster up at any point. I think we’ll see a significant Sabres trade at some point, but there are a lot of variables at this point.
2. How will the goalie situation play out?
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s second half was stellar. That’s why the Sabres signed him to a five-year extension. But we’re still in the process of finding out what type of goalie Luukkonen is going to be year to year. Will he be able to match or exceed the season he had last season? Will he take a step back? The Sabres can’t afford for him to regress too much, and it should help if the team can play better team defense than it has the last couple of seasons. But Devon Levi is the lingering wild card in Buffalo’s goalie situation. He got beneficial AHL experience last season and is likely going to get the first crack at Buffalo’s No. 2 goalie job when the season opens in Prague this weekend. If he can have a better start than he did last season, Levi could work his way into a bigger workload. Goaltending doomed Ruff in New Jersey and it’s the position that could define his first season in Buffalo.
3. How much will the offense bounce back?
Which season was the outlier? Was it 2022-23 when Thompson, Tuch, Dylan Cozens and Dahlin all had career-high point totals? Or was it 2023-24 when Buffalo’s power play went cold, injuries hampered Thompson and Tuch and the Sabres became an average offensive team? Maybe it’s somewhere in the middle. I’ve liked the Sabres’ mentality on the power play much better during the preseason and training camp. There’s more movement and traffic in front. Ruff wants work ethic to come before skill on the man advantage. That should create some positive regression for the scoring. But I don’t have any ironclad predictions about the Sabres’ top scorers, because I need to see them in action against NHL competition in Ruff’s system. I believe they’ll be better, though.
4. What about the playoffs?
After 13 years without the playoffs, this is the only question Sabres fans really care about. Buffalo’s front office can’t sell development any longer. That’s what hiring Ruff was all about. It’s also why the Sabres brought in five new players for the bottom six. This team isn’t in a position to hand ice time to young players. There are still young players on this roster who are in need of development, but that needs to happen while the team wins. I predicted this team would get into the playoffs last season and felt foolish after watching them for a few weeks. I think they can make it this season, but a lot depends on how the rest of the conference looks. The division is still arguably the toughest in the NHL. Will a team like Boston or Tampa Bay drop off? What about the Islanders or Capitals? Are the Sabres ahead of other playoff hopefuls like Detroit and Ottawa? If the Devils take one of those spots, how much do the Sabres need to improve to knock off one of the other teams?
The reason I think the Sabres can make it is because of Ruff. I think coaching can make a difference in how consistently a team plays and how much a team is able to grind out ugly wins. Just look at the Flyers last season. They didn’t make the playoffs but they were a lot closer than many expected because they were often the hardest-working team when they played. The Sabres have more talent than the Flyers do. If Ruff can make them a team that works harder more consistently and is tougher to play against on a consistent basis, the playoffs are a reasonable expectation.
(Photo of Dylan Cozens, Zach Benson, Jack Quinn, Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power: Bill Wippert / NHLI via Getty Images)
