Sabres Should Target These 3 Bottom-Six Forwards This Offseason

If that’s the case, Faksa to the Sabres would make a lot of sense since Lindy Ruff knows him (from his time in Dallas), he would fill the third-line center void, and bring playoff experience. Faksa has a cap hit of $3.25 million for one more season, and the Sabres could persuade the Stars by offering up one of their young forward prospects. Available or not, the Sabres should inquire.

Curtis Lazar

The offensive output from his days with the Edmonton Oil Kings never translated to the NHL level, but Curtis Lazar has developed into a solid, bottom-six forward for the New Jersey Devils who provides energy and enthusiasm and can win a key faceoff or two. In Lazar’s case, here’s a player who (like Faksa) Ruff is familiar with from his latest head coaching gig with the Devils and is someone who played really well in Buffalo before being dealt to the Boston Bruins in 2020-21. The 29-year-old had a career-high 25 points in 71 games this season, comes with a $1 million cap hit in 2024-25, and wouldn’t cost much more than what he was acquired for by the Devils a season ago – a fourth-round pick.

Justin Bailey

Sticking with the theme of players who are familiar to Ruff and the Sabres, Justin Bailey is a Buffalo native who was drafted by the club in 2013, but was never able to hit his stride with the Sabres (eight points in 52 career games), and has since played for the Philadelphia Flyers, Vancouver Canucks, and the San Jose Sharks (2023-24).

Overall, the 28-year-old’s time in the NHL has been insignificant, but that changed a bit this season in San Jose (five points in his first eight games) with 59 games under his belt (career-high). Bailey brings size and physicality with his 6-foot-4 frame, and adds a speed element that fits with the way the Sabres want to play. The pending unrestricted free agent (UFA) would be a cheap add for the fourth line this offseason after making a league-minimum salary of $775,000.

The bottom two lines of the forward group have been identified as areas of need for this team and rightfully so with questions around the likes of Peyton Krebs, whether or not a player like Zemgus Girgensons will be coming back, and so on. Paul Hamilton weighs in on what the Sabres need:

“They need to get two guys to complement him (Jordan Greenway). You know, a center and a winger, and have a full line that are difficult to play against.”

Paul Hamilton – WGR 550 – 03/07/2024

Two of these three potential targets (Faksa, Lazar, Bailey) could be great complementary pieces next to Greenway, and give the Sabres something different depth-wise. Make no mistake about it, adding a couple of third-pair defensemen (Erik Johnson and Connor Clifton), and some depth for the Rochester Americans simply won’t cut it. This 2024 offseason needs to be a better one for Adams, and he knows it.