Buffalo Sabers: Kevyn Adams must admit big mistake Buffalo Sabers general manager Kevyn Adams has had many ups and downs so far, but he made a terrible mistake with the roster.
In 2022, the Buffalo Sabers brought in Victor Olofsson on a two-year deal with a $4.
75 million AAV, but the winger failed to live up to those expectations.
Last season, Olofsson at least scored and he finished with 28 goals, but no one, not even Olofsson’s biggest critics, saw the disaster that was coming in the 2023-24 season.
Of course, other players struggled early in the season, including Peyton Krebs and Connor Clifton.
But Krebs had enough time to turn the tables, so he got the benefit of the doubt.
Clifton is still new to the system and he’s essentially in the same position as Jordan Greenway was last season – in the adjustment period, so there’s no reason to worry about him right now.
As for Olofsson, he is 28 years old, has experience playing 271 games in the NHL and has played 4 complete seasons.
He’s had plenty of opportunities to succeed, including this year, even though he’s been held out of a few of them.
Buffalo Sabers general manager made a mistake re-signing Olofsson
Olofsson is nothing more than a good scorer for a team that ranked third in goals scored last year.
This year, in 8 matches played, Olofsson has only 1 point and his average playing time is the lowest in his career (11:.
25 per match).
It’s clear that Olofsson is running out of opportunities, but look at this quote from The Athletic’s Matthew Fairburn and tell me that’s not true: “The Sabers seem determined to find a way to keep him off the rails.
” out of alignment.
.
That’s not ideal for a player making $4.
75 million, but with so many teams under cap pressure, it’s hard for the Sabers to find a solution at the moment.
Source: Sabers Thoughts: Matt Savoie is making his NHL debut, Jiri Kulich dominates the AHL and more Although Olofsson has come a long way since Adams re-signed him, it’s important to note he’s gone three months without scoring a goal this 2021-22 season.
That said, it’s not like we don’t know that Olofsson is extremely inconsistent at best.
This also doesn’t mean the signing looks like a bad deal, as it could go either way given Olofsson’s late-season resurgence.
But in retrospect it was a mistake, and fortunately for Adams, his Buffalo Sabers had enough talent in the lower leagues to replace Olofsson once his contract expired and he could go elsewhere.
(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)
