Welcome to the first edition of our Sabres Mailbag at The Charge.
In typical Buffalo Sabres fashion, I will be answering the readers’ questions after a heartbreaking 3-game losing streak. So let us dive right into things:
Do you think playing Jiri Kulich and Isak Rosen would be more detrimental than playing Victor Olofsson, Zemgus Girgensons, and Kyle Okposo?
You know what, Victor Olofsson has had quite a wild last two games. He scored two “garbage time” goals against the Bruins on Tuesday. Was on the ice for a lot of danger for and a lot of danger against. Friday’s game against the Jets saw Olofsson on ice for 1.20 expected goals for and only 0.13 expected goals against. Naturally, he would be on ice for 0 goals for and 1 goals against that game.
Olofsson had a few awry puck touches in the game against the Jets that could have easily turned bad, but luckily they did not for the most part. He’s a strange player. Quality finisher, smart with the puck at times, but also extremely careless with it at other times. I think he has largely been fine as of late on a line with Tyson Jost and Jordan Greenway, but it does not mean there is not room to upgrade.
The Zemgus Girgensons and Kyle Okposo duo has lost the magic from their LOG line days. They used to be a line that could just muddy things up at 5v5 with their strong defensive impacts. Now their defensive impacts are just average and the offensive impacts have turned into even more of a black hole:
Despite the bottom six being fine the past two games, I absolutely think there is room for an upgrade. Could Jiri Kulich and Isak Rosen be those upgrades? I think so, but the only way to truly find out is by giving them minutes at the NHL level.
We do know that the Kulich/Rosen duo can provide a fun pop of speedy rush offense. Unlike Matthew Savoie, both players have a full season of cutting their teeth on the defensive side of the puck at the North American pro level as well.
I like to think that Kulich and Rosen are two hungry young players who can help the Sabres get back to their identity on offense. I mean this looks like some of the stuff we saw from the Peterka-Cozens-Quinn line in Buffalo last season:
So if it was up to me, I would absolutely be experimenting by putting Jiri Kulich and Isak Rosen in the lineup. The upside of seeing what this young duo can do is absolutely worth shaking up the lineup for a few games. If they struggle at the NHL level then they can easily be sent back to Rochester.
What is your ideal 2023/24 Sabres lineup (regardless of age/leadership status)?
This a fun one. With a fully healthy Sabres lineup, I would go with:
Skinner - Thompson - Tuch
Quinn - Cozens - Benson
Kulich - Mittelstadt - Peterka
Greenway - Jost - Okposo
x: Krebs, Girgensons
Samuelsson - Dahlin
Power - Jokiharju
R.Johnson - Clifton
x: E.Johnson
I think the top line is your top line. They should be able to rekindle their magic even with the slowish start. I put two rookie forwards alongside the Cozens-Quinn and Mittelstadt-Peterka combos. This would make a good offensive middle six. I think pushing Greenway and Jost down to the “fourth line” could make for a pretty decent line. Krebs and Girgensons could rotate in whenever deemed necessary.
I stuck with ol’ reliable as the top defense pair even though they could be better this season. Power-Jokiharju has been a sound second pair. Ryan Johnson and Connor Clifton could be a fun pair with two players not afraid to activate up ice. Then Erik Johnson could draw in when necessary.
In terms of goaltending, this is just going to be a “play who is hot” season. Ask me the day of the game and I can give you my best answer.
Do you think they will send Devon Levi to Rochester and call up Jiri Kulich? What could stop them from making this move?
So the Sabres’ 23-man roster right now has 12 forwards, 8 defenseman, and 3 goalies. The press box has 0 forwards, 2 defenseman, and 1 goalie (with another sitting on the bench). That roster configuration is not considered a “long term” solution.
The decision on Zach Benson will be made next week after he skates in his 9th NHL game. If he gets sent back to the WHL then maybe they really consider giving Jiri Kulich the call-up, especially if the team continues to struggle. The Sabres would only have 11 forwards and would need to call up a 12th forward.
If Zach Benson sticks in the NHL (a very real possibility), I still think there is an opportunity for a Rochester forward to get called up. With only 12 forwards, you run the risk of having to run an 11 F and 7 D lineup if a forward is dinged up and we all saw how disastrous that was the last time the Sabres ran that.
The two players who can realistically be sent down and do not have to clear waivers are Ryan Johnson and Devon Levi.
Ryan Johnson has been pretty solid at the NHL level so far. I don’t see how they can take him out of the lineup, but we will see what they do with him when Henri Jokiharju draws back into the lineup. But both Connor Clifton and Erik Johnson have yet to be scratched.
Devon Levi really struggled against the Bruins, just one game removed from his best game of the season against the Wild. Eric Comrie had a not so great game against the Jets. UPL was great in relief against the Bruins, but has been inconsistent at times.
I think if Devon Levi really struggles in his next start (assuming it is Wednesday vs. the Capitals) then sending him to Rochester becomes a more real discussion. He does not need to pass through waivers, he’s a young goalie who could use more starts, and it opens up a spot to roll with a more sustainable 13 F, 8 D, 2 G roster at the NHL level.
I don’t really think there is any way for Jiri Kulich to draw in the lineup over the next few games, but we will get a much clearer picture of what his opportunity to crack the NHL lineup looks like next week. The question is if Brandon Biro and Lukas Rousek are still ahead of him in the Rochester call-up pecking order.
Zach Benson can’t go back…right?
I think it is no secret that I am a huge Zach Benson fan and have been for the past few seasons. Not even I thought he would be this NHL ready at just 18 years old. Here is some of what Don Granato had to say about Benson after Friday night’s game:
“He has many more NHL habits than major junior habits. There’s players throughout the league that still have major junior habits, probably more than he does. He is an intelligent, intelligent hockey player and has done very well.”
Granato admitted that they will be faced with a tough decision with Zach Benson after his 9 NHL games. This kid is doing everything in his power to stick with the big club though. The magic with his game is really in the details.
He set up a Peterka breakaway and kickstarted a 3v1 opportunity with some smart neutral zone passing vs. the Jets. He was hard on pucks and was great disrupting the Jets’ transition offense.
He may be undersized but knows how to make up for it with his elite positioning and effort. Benson has even been scoring points too. He’s got 3 in 7 with not a lot of ice time.
I am not sure when his injury actually occurred, but his first two games of the season and his last game against the Jets have just been phenomenal. A healthy Zach Benson is one of the better forwards on this NHL team and I think the Sabres will have an incredibly difficult time saying goodbye to him for the season.
Just seeing the praise he receives from Don Granato, with him even cracking a smile when talking about him at times, that’s definitely a good sign.
Benson still has two games left in his nine-game trial (22.2% of his trial remaining), so I think those two games still hold a decent amount of weight. With the details in his game, his feistiness, his ability to play up-and-down the lineup, his ability to play NHL-caliber defense, his ability to make high-level NHL plays on offense, I just think there’s too much there to send back down to the WHL.
I think Zach Benson should be a Buffalo Sabre for the entire 2023/24 season and I think he will be.
No they wouldn't ! Girgensons, Jost ,Okoposo should have not been resigned. We need new blood, except for a few new faces we are the same team as last year. The 4th line has not contributed much this season. Levi does need to play in Rochester, our D sucks for our goalies. Giving Power 8 mill was INSANE ! they need a new coach