Ranking Sabres Forwards, Defense, and Goalies Among NHL Teams

The Buffalo Sabres are all over the board in the PuckLuck rankings of NHL teams’ forwards, defense, and goalies assembled for the 2024-2025 season. With forwards like Tage Thompson, defensemen such as Rasmus Dahlin, and goalies Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Devon Levi in net, a debate can be had about where the Buffalo is the strongest.

A busy offseason has the Sabres rolling out five new forwards for their season opener against the New Jersey Devils on Friday. With essentially a new bottom six, the Sabres are hoping for faster play and more secondary scoring.

The rest of the NHL teams also went through their reconstruction this offseason, so let’s take a look at where Buffalo’s forwards, defensemen, and goalies rank among their peers.

Forwards

Sabres Forwards Rank: 22nd

The Sabres added Jason Zucker, Ryan McLeod, Sam Lafferty, Beck Malenstyn, and Nicolas Aube-Kubel to their forward group, boosting the bottom of the lineup and pushing center Peyton Krebs into the extra forward spot.

However, Buffalo did not add any new faces to the top six, as they’re hoping for bounce-back seasons from Tage Thompson and Dylan Cozens to propel them. In theory, it makes sense given the new variables of the upcoming season. One of those variables, of course, is the new head coach, Lindy Ruff, who is implementing a new, uptempo system.

While the Sabres management and fans might expect better results, the PuckLuck statistical model doesn’t yield the same results. The model does project better seasons for Thompson and Cozens and jumps in production from youngsters JJ Peterka, Jack Quinn, and Zach Benson. Still, expecting a drastic leap, historically, would be believing in something that just doesn’t happen that often.

Here are the complete rankings of the NHL’s forward groups, accounting for each player’s goals-for and goals-against value when on the ice, injuries, and projected games played:

1. Carolina Hurricanes
2. Edmonton Oilers
3. Dallas Stars
4. Los Angeles Kings
5. Florida Panthers
6. Nashville Predators
7. Philadelphia Flyers
8. New Jersey Devils
9. Colorado Avalanche
10. Toronto Maple Leafs
11. Vancouver Canucks
12. Winnipeg Jets
13. Pittsburgh Penguins
14. Minnesota Wild
15. Seattle Kraken
16. Ottawa Senators
17. New York Islanders
18. Utah Hockey Club
19. New York Rangers
20. Vegas Golden Knights
21. Boston Bruins
22. Buffalo Sabres
23. Calgary Flames
24. Tampa Bay Lightning
25. Washington Capitals
26. Montreal Canadiens
27. Anaheim Ducks
28. St. Louis Blues
29. Columbus Blue Jackets
30. Detroit Red Wings
31. Chicago Blackhawks
32. San Jose Sharks

More Sabres: How Sabres Line of Malenstyn, Lafferty, Aube-Kubel Compares Across NHL

Defense

Sabres Defense Rank: 25th

The Sabres have star power on defense, with newly-named captain Rasmus Dahlin leading the way. Owen Power and Bowen Byram are emerging players and Henri Jokiharju is coming off his best season as a pro. The question marks reside in the overall quality beyond the top three, given that it may be a stretch to slot Jokihaju into the top pair.

The depth in numbers improved, but it remains to be seen if Mattias Samuelsson and Connor Clifton will be effective as a third pair. Jacob Bryson and Dennis Gilbert hold the extra spots, for now, but don’t be surprised to see Ryan Johnson challenge for an NHL role this season.

The x-factor here is Byram. He is coming off a rough season in Colorado and, despite showing flashes of brilliance, wasn’t much better once traded to Buffalo. The former fourth-overall selection should evolve, as most highly drafted defensemen do, into a pivotal piece on the backend. Until then, the Sabres have more name recognition than actual statistical value.

Here are the NHL’s defense group rankings:

1. Carolina Hurricanes
2. Edmonton Oilers
3. Nashville Predators
4. Vancouver Canucks
5. Toronto Maple Leafs
6. Florida Panthers
7. Vegas Golden Knights
8. Los Angeles Kings
9. Minnesota Wild
10. Dallas Stars
11. New Jersey Devils
12. Winnipeg Jets
13. Colorado Avalanche
14. Pittsburgh Penguins
15. Philadelphia Flyers
16. Seattle Kraken
17. New York Islanders
18. Utah Hockey Club
19. Tampa Bay Lightning
20. Washington Capitals
21. Calgary Flames
22. Boston Bruins
23. Detroit Red Wings
24. New York Rangers
25. Buffalo Sabres
26. St. Louis Blues
27. Ottawa Senators
28. Anaheim Ducks
29. Montreal Canadiens
30. Columbus Blue Jackets
31. Chicago Blackhawks
32. San Jose Sharks

More Dahlin: Rasmus Dahlin Named Buffalo Sabres Captain

Goalies

Sabres Goalies Rank: 9th

With Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen locked in for four years, Buffalo has found their number-one goaltender. Top prospect Devon Levi will be the primary backup to start the season, giving even more reason to feel good about the Sabres goalies.

General manager Kevyn Adams focused on addressing depth at the position, and NHL veteran James Reimer is a clear example of that. He will serve as the third goalie on the depth chart and, should he pass through waivers, will likely begin the season in Rochester.

Felix Sandstrom already cleared waivers and is reporting to Rochester after spending some time in the NHL with the Philadelphia Flyers last season.

Overall, the Sabres should feel strongest about their goalies. If Luukkonen and Levi continue on their upward trajectory, Buffalo will have time to figure out if they have enough in front of them to become contenders.

Here are the NHL’s goalie position group rankings, per PuckLuck:

1. Winnipeg Jets
2. Florida Panthers
3. Boston Bruins
4. Los Angeles Kings
5. New York Rangers
6. Carolina Hurricanes
7. St. Louis Blues
8. Montreal Canadiens
9. Buffalo Sabres
10. Colorado Avalanche
11. Washington Capitals
12. Pittsburgh Penguins
13. New Jersey Devils
14. Edmonton Oilers
15. Toronto Maple Leafs
16. Vancouver Canucks
17. Dallas Stars
18. Nashville Predators
19. Detroit Red Wings
20. Chicago Blackhawks
21. Seattle Kraken
22. Utah Hockey Club
23. Tampa Bay Lightning
24. New York Islanders
25. Vegas Golden Knights
26. Columbus Blue Jackets
27. Anaheim Ducks
28. San Jose Sharks
29. Minnesota Wild
30. Ottawa Senators
31. Philadelphia Flyers
32. Calgary Flames

Sabres Goalies: Luukkonen Deal Looks Better As Swayman Contract Dispute Lingers