The regular season opener of the Buffalo Sabres, who is also their home opener, is against the New York Rangers on October 9. That said, I am going to give five daring predictions for the Sabres that will go into the season. I will precede that if one of these happens, I see the Sabres competing at least to break a play -off place with a chance to break their play -off drought in April.
Jiri Kulich scores 30 goals
Jiri Kulich goes into the NHL his second season. Last season he registered 24 points (15 goals and nine assists) in 62 games played. He played the majority of last season about 11-12 minutes a night; Then, in the last month of the season, he started to get considerably more ice age. He is expected to be the first line center of the team that plays with Zach Benson and Tage Thompson. Kulich has one of the better shots in the team, and with him he gets more than 17 minutes a night with two talented players, Benson and Thompson, 30 goals are not excluded.
Jack Quinn becomes point per game player
Jack Quinn started a rough start last season, but he picked it up after January 1. He became a half point per game player for the Sabres and looked like the player he was before he was suffered two injuries in the lower body Six months apart. I know this is a long shot, given his career high in points is only 39, which he recorded last season. However, the new confidence that he showed at the end of the season could play a huge role in this. Everything should go well to make this season happen, but I know he has it in him.
Rasmus Dahlin wins the Norris trophy
Some may not see this as such a hot take, but if you play in the same competition as Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes, it’s a hot take. Rasmus Dahlin finished the 2024-25 Season sixth in Norris votesWhat was the highest in his career. Dahlin is overlooked because the Sabres are not great, so people don’t pay attention, but people who see him play understand that he is a Norris-winning talent. He recorded 68 points last season in 73 games. If he stays healthy this season, I expect a season of 80 points that should be good enough for the Norris trophy.
Dahlin is a Norris Trophy-winning talent and he can be a finalist when he absorbs 80 points. Moreover, if the team sneaks in the play -offs, his performance can be a factor. He only gets better as his career progresses, and with how talented he is, it is difficult to see him end his career without a Norris trophy. It will happen this season.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen Posts Save percentage of .915 or higher and reaches 30-plus victories
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen needs a primary back-back season. Ending with a savings percentage (SV%) of .887 and having his job steal by James Reimer in the last two months of the season, there is only for him to be. In the 2023-24 season, however, he recorded an SV% of .910. I expect that he will return to that number and even a little higher. In terms of victories, he has to play great and the team has to score. A 30-win season probably means that the Sabres will make the play-offs, unless Back-up goalkeeper Alex Lyon has fewer than 10 victories in the season, which would be a huge disappointment. Luukkonen cannot afford a repeat of last season, or Lyon could possibly steal his work this season, so that Luukkonen may push out of the picture. However, I have extreme confidence that Luukkonen will reach this prediction.
Sabres Special Teams both top 10 in the competition
The special teams of the Sabres have not been especially great the last few seasons. Last season they are on the 24th in the competition in Power Play percentage (18.8%) and 23rd in Penalty Kill percentage (76.3%). The Power Play of the Sabres has too much talent not to be dominant. With players such as Thompson, Alex Tuch, Dahlin, Bowen Byram, Owen Power and more to see Power-Play time, expectations must be a top 10 unit in the NHL, which is very feasible.
Related: Sabres’ Blue Line can quietly be one of the best of the NHL
On the side of the penalty of things it will be a tough fight, but it is feasible. The Sabres have actively tried to acquire players who are defensively better, so you would think this would help the punishment. The acquisition of Michael Kesselring and Josh Doan from Utah in the JJ Peterka trade will help enormously because I expect both players to get the minutes of the punishment. Regarding other players on the Roster, Tuch, Ryan McLeod, Dahlin and Benson, all must also be shown on the penalty murder. The last time both units ended to the top half of the competition was the 2018-19 season. The Power Play finished 16th in the competition (19.5%) and the Penalty Kill finished 12th (80.9%).
Time to re -write old trends
The Sabres have a huge season ahead. On a 14-year-old playoff-dried, a few questions, some players, such as Quinn, and how the new additions will help the team, etc. Every season it is always the same story: the team has a hype around them; They start well, Big Losing Streak in November, play on average in December/January, than when it is too late, putting together Winning Streaks start to put together from February to April and miss the play -offs with five to eight points. This season it is time to bring all those trends to bed and go into the play -offs, and it all starts with these daring predictions.
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