Sabres add McLeod, Zucker to try to end playoff drought with Ruff returning as coach

Key departures

English: Jeff Skinner, F: Signed a one-year contract with the Edmonton Oilers on July 1 after Buffalo bought out the final three years of his contract. He had 46 points (24 goals, 22 assists) in 74 games last season. … Zemgus Girgensons, F: Signed a three-year contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning on July 1. Girgensons had 14 points (eight goals, six assists) in 63 games last season. … Victor Olofsson, F: Signed a one-year contract with the Vegas Golden Knights on July 2. He had 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) in 51 games last season. … Eric Robinson, F: Signed a one-year contract with the Carolina Hurricanes on July 1. He had nine points (two goals, seven assists) in 40 games with the Sabres after being acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets. … Tyson Jost, F: Signed a one-year contract with the Hurricanes on July 1. He had six points (three goals, three assists) in 43 games last season. … Don Granato, coach: Granato went 122-125-27 in three and a half seasons and helped several Sabres players reach career highs in 2022-23, when Buffalo finished one point out of the second Eastern Conference wild card.

At dawn

Jiri Kulich, F: Kulich, who turned 20 on April 14, led Rochester in the American Hockey League with 27 goals and finished third on the team with 45 points in 57 games and had two assists in five Calder Cup Playoff games. He played in the 2024 AHL All-Star Classic and was named to the AHL’s Top Prospects Team for the second straight season. Kulich, a first-round pick (28th overall) by Buffalo in the 2022 NHL Draft, made his NHL debut as a 19-year-old on Nov. 25 and did not record a point. … Isak Rosen, F: The 21-year-old tied for the team lead in Rochester with 50 points (20 goals, 30 assists) in 67 games and had two goals in five playoff games. Selected 14th overall by the Sabres in the 2021 draft, he made his NHL debut on Nov. 25; played in seven games and did not register a point. … Lukas Rousek, F: The 25-year-old had 41 points (10 goals, 31 assists) in 51 games with Rochester and led the team with six points, all assists, in five playoff games. He had two assists in 15 games with the Sabres last season.

What they still need

They could potentially add a top-six winger but believe they can rebound offensively internally. The Sabres are counting on bounce-back seasons from Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch and Dylan Cozens after each fell off career seasons in 2022-23 and on young forwards JJ Peterka, Jack Quinn and Zach Benson to take the next step.

They said it

“I’m not worried about our talent, our skill level or our ability to score goals. I think we have all of that in our locker room. We needed to be a well-balanced team. … But honestly, we have talent in this squad. We need to play harder. We need to play more consistently. We need to be more competitive, and I’m not worried about the offensive aspect.” — General Manager Kevyn Adams

Focus on fantasy

The upcoming season presents a breakout opportunity for 22-year-old forward JJ Peterka, who had 50 points (28 goals, 22 assists) in 82 games last season. Peterka has plenty of goal-scoring ability, especially if he plays on their top line with Tage Thompson, who had 56 points (29 goals, 27 assists) in 71 games last season after setting a career-high 94 points (47 goals, 47 assists) in 78 games in 2022-23. Peterka should be considered a 30-goal scoring option in in-season fantasy leagues and a priority in dynasty/goalie leagues. –Anna Dua

Projected composition

JJ Peterka — Tage Thompson — Alex Tuch

Jason Zucker — Dylan Cozens — Jack Quinn

Zach Benson — Ryan McLeod — Sam Lafferty

Beck Malenstyn – Peyton Krebs – Jordan Greenway

Mattias Samuelsson – Rasmus Dahlin

Bowen Byram – Owen Power

Henri Jokiharju — Connor Clifton

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Devon Levi