‘Do it the right way’ | Takeaways from Wednesday’s press conferences with McLeod and Aube-Kubel

Ryan McLeod learned the value of the little things during the Edmonton Oilers’ dramatic mid-season turnaround and run to the Stanley Cup Final.

Through 70 games, after a 2-9-1 start, the Oilers ranked sixth in goals against (186), seventh in penalty kills (81.5%) and third in shot differential (623). Those defensive habits played a role in their 104-point haul and playoff run.

“It’s a tough league to win and the margin for error is so small that those little details really matter,” McLeod said. “And over 82 games, if you do it the right way, it’s going to even out.”

The Sabres acquired McLeod from Edmonton last Friday, the latest in a series of forward additions aimed at fine-tuning the Sabres’ game. The 24-year-old has been a regular contributor on the Oilers’ penalty kill and has played a two-way role as the team’s third centre.

McLeod finished tied for 15th in the NHL with 66 assists, a combination of his 6-foot-3 frame and a skating style that ranks among the fastest in the league. NHL EDGE puck tracking metrics put McLeod in the 99th percentile of players with 373 bursts of speed over 20 miles per hour. The league average is 73.

The Oilers have had 56.6 percent of their shot attempts when McLeod has been on the ice at 5-on-5, the best mark of his young career. While shorthanded, McLeod has been on the ice for 4.20 power-play goals per 60 minutes — the seventh-lowest mark in the NHL.

There’s also the faceoff circle, an area that was singled out for improvement by new Sabres coach Lindy Ruff during his inaugural press conference in April. McLeod won a career-high 50.8 per cent of his faceoffs, a figure that has improved to 52.4 per cent in 24 playoff games.

“I think we’ve proven in this league over the last few years that we have players who can be as talented as anybody and make plays,” Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams said after free agency opened July 1. “We needed to round out the group.”

Adams cited physicality, sustained forechecking and defensive responsibility as areas the Sabres were looking to strengthen with their offseason additions. In addition to McLeod, the Sabres added Jason Zucker as well as a trio of power hitters in Beck Malenstyn, Nicolas Aube-Kubel and Sam Lafferty.

Zucker, a veteran with 52 playoff games under his belt, has scored 20-plus goals in six different seasons but has the versatility to move up and down the lineup. Malenstyn, Aube-Kubel and Lafferty all would have been the Sabres’ top forwards last season and have played in defensive-heavy roles, including last season when Aube-Kubel and Malenstyn were often teammates on Washington’s fourth line, often tasked with neutralizing opposing teams’ top players.

Aube-Kubel pointed to speed as the other common ingredient in Buffalo’s new class of players. According to NHL EDGE, McCleod, Malenstyn, Aube-Kubel and Lafferty all posted top-end skating speeds that ranked in the 93rd percentile of NHL players or higher last season.

Aube-Kubel compared that recipe to his experience playing for the 2021-22 Stanley Cup-winning Colorado Avalanche.

“I thought this team was very quick in terms of transition,” Aube-Kubel said. “Everybody was very quick on the team, and I think Buffalo did a good job of that in free agency as well.”

Here are some other takeaways from Wednesday’s introductory press conferences with Aube-Kubel and McLeod.

1. McLeod believes he has room for improvement offensively after posting career highs in goals (12), assists (18) and points (30) in 81 games last season.

“I’m trying to get into the habit of shooting more and getting to the net more,” he said. “Anytime you can make an offensive contribution and score a goal, it’s going to help the team. So I’m trying to do that more often.”