Why the Sabres waited to elevate Peyton Krebs
I’m Lance leowski from the Buffalo News here in well if you could tell by the palm trees Sunrise Florida where the sabras are facing the Panthers on Tuesday night at 700 p.m. of course the last time these two teams played down the Sunshine State the implications were
A tad different both were pushing for a playoff spot the sabes ended up losing a very tight game while the Panthers went on to of course reach the Eastern Conference Finals no morning for the Sabers today but I am here to go over at least one story line to keep an eye on
Not only entering this game but the Sabers game in Tampa Bay on Thursday as well is Payton Krebs of course the Sabers acquired Krebs as part of the Jack eel trade a few years back played most of his time on the fourth line while breaking into the NHL not a whole
Lot of American Hockey League experience not only before the Sabres brought him to Buffalo but really the the only time we saw him with the AMS for any extended period was the playoff run in 2022 so now that KBS is out of that fourth line role he is centering Zack Benson and JJ
Peta which leads the question that I think a lot of fans are asking what took so long one reason of course according to Don Granado at least is that KBS need to develop a defensive Foundation uh a highly skilled player in the Western Hockey League Krebs of course was known
Mostly for his playmaking incredible Vision uh tenacity there are several reasons why he ended up being a first round draft pick well now that he spent quite a bit of time next to Kyle looso and zus Genson the Sabers thought now was the time to see what Krebs can do in more of
A we’ll say a scoring role and I’m not just saying that because of his line mates but because of opportunity when you’re with JJ Peta and back Benson you’re going to be used in different situations you’re going to be facing different sorts of players than you would if you’re playing with for example
Kyok poso and Zen garens since and so far the results have been extremely promising for Krebs since he moved up to with Benson and petka at five on five according to Natural statc that Trio while on the ice the Sabers have approximately 60% of the shot attemps they have it approximately
60% of the expected goal share which of course is shot quality that will goes to show you that that Trio when they’re out there for the sabes the team is controlling play offensively they are testing the other goalie now only three goals at five on five that group has
Been the on the ice for since they’ve been United you’d want that number to be higher especially since you’re spending so much time in the offensive zone but hey the the chances have been there the Zone time has been there if you look back at Sunday night when the Sabres
Defeated the Carolina Hurricanes in a shootout the tying goal was a great example of what those three can do despite their age and relative lack of experience compared to most of their competition they had a very smart shift to help the Sabers tie that game Zack Benson well knowing that he’s facing a
Man-to-man defense not only does he get the puck deep but he goes to the net to draw multiple Defenders to him which created room for not only pton Krebs to make the pass the power but for the Sabers defenseman to have the room to take that shot that he ended up using to
Score that tying goal we’ll see where this goes in terms of Payton Krebs and how he’s used is this an opportunity for the Sabers to evaluate him he’s a restricted free agent this summer of course just given where the team is at and the expectation that Kevin Adams is
Going to tweak this roster Krebs is one of those young players that people are questioning or or wondering I should say if he’s going to have a long-term future in Buffalo well well he’s shown the last few weeks that he’s somebody the saber should consider keeping around unlike
Many of the prospects that we see in Rochester or across the globe Krebs has done it in the NHL the scoring hasn’t been there quite yet but there’s no doubt that there’s a a good base there he’s talented and he’s an exceptional playmaker at a time when the Sabres need
To evaluate what are they going to do with Casey middlest stad right now Middle’s on the line with Dylan cousins there’s some flexibility there it gives it gives middlestead a right-handed shot those two can take turns with the face off so you can pick your matchups a lot
Better those two have worked really well with Jordan Greenway so far but is that sustainable is that a line that we’re going to see on the ice for the Sabers Beyond this season middle stat of course is a restricted free agent he is somebody that many teams are
Interested in qu acquiring because he’s going to be cost controlled it’s going to be easier to retain him under the salary cap the next few years years a long-term extension will be needed at some point but when you compare what he’ll cost to somebody on the free agent Market middlestead would
Be quite the bargain and the Sab I’m sure aware that in terms of possible trade pieces middlest stad might be the most valuable one they have you know when it in terms of players they may realistically be able to part ways with to build this roster to be able to
Contend not only in the regular season but once they get to the playoffs Krebs on the power play now we’ll see if he eventually adds penalty killing duties to to his resume but the simple fact that Don Granado trusted Krebs enough to elevate him to the power play speaks to
To where the player is at and how much trust that he’s earned as this season has gone along on the ice in situations late in games where they’re protecting a lead trying to tie the game now the ice time’s been around 15 minutes as of late compared to around 10 minutes previously
It’s a an interesting development in a season where things haven’t gone anywhere close to the Sab expectations but as we go down the rest of the way even if the sabes are are out of it and you know this is more about evaluating for the future it’s notable that a young
Player like Krabs like JJ PKA and we can keep going down the list that these guys are showing promise it’s it’s important information for this front office to have as they decide how they’re going to move forward with this roster and and what’s going to be needed I’m Lance lay
Sski in Sunrise Florida Tuesday night Sabers Panthers I will be there I will also be in Tampa on Thursday night we are still 10 days away from the trade deadline plenty of story lines to watch and of course pton Krebs is one of them thanks again
How building a defensive foundation prepared Peyton Krebs for a new role with the Sabres.
