Sam Lafferty ready to help Sabres neutralize opponents

A hard-working forward raised in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, Lafferty has seen throughout his five years in the NHL that fans in Western New York can be as loud and rowdy as the ones he played for in Pittsburgh, Chicago, Toronto and Vancouver.

Lafferty is one of the players Ruff and Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams have added to try to bring life to the KeyBank Center crowd and energize their club with a mix of painful hits and momentum-stopping penalties.

“The more we thought about Buffalo, the more we liked this team and the opportunity it gave us,” Lafferty told reporters in a video conference call after the 29-year-old signed a two-year contract to join the Sabres’ bottom third. “I’ve always been a big fan of this hockey club and the players they had, so I was excited, the opportunity to play with a lot of these guys, obviously. You could just tell from the conversations with Kevyn that it was going to be a good fit and a situation where I think I can really help the team.”

Some of the Sabres’ offseason additions will have to wait until training camp for their roles to crystallize when Ruff returns as coach.

Jason Zucker, Lafferty’s former teammate in Pittsburgh, can play on the first, second or third line. Buffalo’s Dennis Gilbert is currently the team’s seventh or eighth defenseman after signing a one-year deal, but the uncertainty surrounding the defensive corps could create an opportunity for the former St. Joe’s star to become a fixture in the lineup. Lafferty, meanwhile, was signed to play center and appears destined to lead the fourth line when the season opens in the Czech Republic on Oct. 4.

Lafferty’s physical, abrasive approach made him a prime target for the Sabres when Adams decided his club needed to become “tougher to play against.” Lafferty is coming off a season in which he scored 13 goals, ranked third among all Vancouver forwards with 191 hits, excelled alongside the club’s first-line center Elias Pettersson and appeared in 11 playoff games for the Canucks, who lost to eventual Stanley Cup finalist Edmonton in Game 7 of the second round.

The difference, however, is that Buffalo could ask Lafferty to return to a defensive stopper role that he didn’t occupy during his time in Toronto and Vancouver.

“I think I’m versatile, wherever the team needs me to be. I’m ready and able to step into those situations,” Lafferty said. “I think I could definitely help out on the penalty kill and bring my speed and energy every night. I think I feel comfortable wherever I’m at. So, yeah, I’m just excited to start building our team game. That’s one of the things Lindy talked about, is how we want to play as a group and be tough to play against, and that starts with playing hard in our own zone and coming back strong. I’m excited to get things going and see what we can do.”

The Sabres are betting that Lafferty will have faceoff success next season, as he did in 2022-23, when he won 51.1 percent of the 485 faceoffs he took between Chicago and Toronto. One potential problem, however, is that Lafferty wasn’t as effective last season, winning just 42.1 percent of his faceoffs. He has a career conversion rate of 44.5 percent, which isn’t exactly impressive either. His new club ranked 32nd in the NHL last season in faceoff winning percentage, an area Ruff wants to improve, and the Sabres need a center to handle tough defensive assignments.

While Dylan Cozens benefited from learning how to fill that role under former head coach Don Granato, the Sabres need someone else to take on that responsibility at home when Ruff is able to deploy Cozens against weaker competition. Cozens can handle those road situations when the other team has the second-line change to determine line matchups, but the Sabres need to find ways to get more offence out of the 23-year-old pivot. His 18 goals last season weren’t enough for someone who’s $7.1 million under the cap.

Lafferty’s arrival also gives the Sabres the opportunity to move Peyton Krebs to the third line with fewer defensive zone starts. It’s important for the coaching staff and management to see if Krebs, 23, can produce more offence after scoring just four goals and 17 points in 80 games last season.

If Krebs is better suited to centering the fourth line, then the club can move Lafferty to the wing and recall 2022 first-round pick Jiri Kulich or 2024 first-round pick Konsta Helenius from Rochester to provide more offense at the position. Helenius, 18, is expected to start the season with the Amerks, though the Sabres have yet to sign the 14th overall pick to an entry-level contract. Depending on how the roster is constructed, Ruff could use the following lineup on opening night:

• JJ Peterka – Tage Thompson – Alex Tuch.
• Jason Zucker – Dylan Cozens – Jack Quinn.
• Zach Benson – Peyton Krebs – Jordan Greenway.
• Beck Malenstyn – Sam Lafferty – Nicolas Aube-Kubel.

Lafferty is also effective on the wing, scoring 25 goals over the past two seasons. His speed and tenacity on the forecheck would complement someone like Sabres winger Benson or Zucker, whom the club signed to a one-year, $5 million deal to provide some of the offence it lost with the buyout of Jeff Skinner and the trade of Casey Mittelstadt.

“I love his game,” Zucker said of Lafferty. “I mean, he brings crazy speed. His physicality is a lot of fun to watch. So, I think we’re going to bring more of that and I think it’s going to make us a lot tougher to play against next year.”

The Sabres will have to determine if Lafferty can handle a heavy workload in the defensive zone. He ranked 10th among all Vancouver forwards in that category last season, and he logged fewer than 30 minutes of shorthanded time. Buffalo doesn’t need him to play in those latter situations unless Ruff prefers to avoid using top-tier forwards like Thompson, Tuch and Cozens on the penalty kill. Lafferty scored four shorthanded goals with the Blackhawks in 2022-23 before being traded to the Maple Leafs at the trade deadline.

Lafferty irritates opponents on the forecheck and finishing hits. He doesn’t need to hit or defend a teammate to improve the Sabres, though. Like the team’s other offseason additions, he plays a simple game with the puck that should help Buffalo repair the poor starts that ruined its playoff chances last season.

Last season, the Sabres forced cross-ice passes early in games too often to try to score, and that strategy backfired when a turnover turned into a goal against. They allowed a league-worst 97 goals in the first period. Ruff will have his players follow a more patient game plan that focuses on solid defense and then forechecking to create scoring chances. The Sabres have the speed and skill to create scoring chances, but those chances usually come through responsible play in the defensive and neutral zones.

Lafferty, Malenstyn and Aube-Kubel were brought in to help transform the Sabres into a more mature, physical team capable of winning on nights when their opponent doesn’t allow the dynamic skills of Thompson and company to take over.

“I see our team as a tight-knit team that fights for our opponents,” Lafferty said. “I can’t wait to get everyone together and start building that chemistry. … I don’t think there’s any reason why we can’t pull together and have a lot of success this year.”