In this series we build the 2019-20 Buffalo Sabres roster one by one leading up to the season opener on October 3.
There will be a lot of competition for a role on Buffalo's fourth line as the additions of top-nine forwards Marcus Johansson and Jimmy Vesey push players down the depth chart to where they should be in the first place. Sabres general manager Jason Botterill and new head coach Ralph Krueger have a group of veteran fourth-line players that are interchangeable battling for three spots on the line and they'll be joined by a former goal-scorer who's struggled in that department, some young bucks trying to make a name for themselves and a couple of AHL scorers trying to crack an NHL lineup.
One thing we probably won't see this season are young skilled players/scorers, like first round pick Dylan Cozens or Tage Thompson, skating in a fourth-line role as players will sink or swim with the skills, and within the roles they were drafted for.
Which is a good thing.
As we move through the roster-building, the group of players we'll be tapping into for fourth-line duties will lean heavily towards players who are pending unrestricted free agents. Two of those players have been mentioned by Botterill at various times this off season and are featured as a pairing for Krueger. They're familiar names and inevitably draw the ire of Sabreland for their lack of scoring yet shine in a purely defensive role. For those expecting change, cover your eyes, but by the looks of it these two should be anchoring the fourth line come opening night.
C--Johan Larsson
27 yrs. old
5'11" 211 lbs.
2010, 2nd round (56th, MIN)
Career Stats: 331 games | 32 goals | 47 assists | 79 points | -49
Last season Larsson suffered a foot injury in a preseason game against Pittsburgh and didn't make it back into the lineup until the fourth game of the season. He was coming off of a terrible 2017-18 season but put in the offseason work to claw his way into a spot centering the fourth line.
Former head coach Phil Housley had Larsson in a purely defensive role as his 87.67% defensive zone starts were second-most on the team. His line was also in charge of flipping the ice, which was done very well considering his faceoff percentage went from 54.4% in 2017-18 to 50.6% last season. As a key cog on the Sabres penalty kill (averaging 2:09 of PK ice-time the last two seasons, tops amongst forwards,) Larsson's faceoff percentage also took a huge dive from 56.1% in '17/'18 to only 39.7% last year which really put the group in a hole.
However, through dogged checking they managed to get out of those situations and flip the ice, something Housley touched upon more than once last season. In a recent interview, Botterill acknowledged the progress the PK made last season (going from 22nd in the NHL in 2017-18 to 12th last season) saying Larsson was a big part of it and that the versatile forward wants to take on more than his designated checking role. We'll see how that unfolds, but like last season we can see Larsson anchoring the fourth line and once again being on the top PK-unit.
LW--Zemgus Girgensons
25 yrs. old
6'2" 211 lbs.
2012, first round (14th-overall)
Career stats: 420 games | 49 goals | 70 assists | 119 points | -52
The Larsson/Girgensons duo dates back to their time together with the Rochester Americans late in the 2012-13 season and into the AHL playoffs, although they were in a scorers role for the Amerks. A lot has time has passed and a lot has transpired since then and seven years later they now find themselves battling for a roster spot in the Sabres lineup.
That said, Larsson and Girgensons managed to carve out a role as defensive specialists last season. They got all tough assignments, including top PK duties and were 1-2 in defensive zone starts with Girgensons topping the team at 88.18%. What went for Larsson above goes for Girgensons as well as he's a versatile forward with an acknowledged defensive role. Botterill also sent props Girgensons' way when he said in an interview, "you look at a player like him, he brings an element of being able to get on the forecheck, being able to finish his check. It's an element that we don't have a lot of on our team."
Which is true. The Sabres continue to add skill and as they do, Larsson and Girgensons drop further down the lineup . They're like the garbage men of the team as they're doing the hard, unglamorous dirty work on the club but it's a role they both relished and succeeded at last season.
A side note: Girgensons, a 2012, first round pick is the longest-tenured Sabre on the team.
RW--Kyle Okposo
31 yrs. old
6'0" 219 lbs.
2006, seventh-overall (NYI)
Career stats: 748 games | 187 goals | 300 assists | 487 points | -110
What a boost it would be to have Okposo get back to his three-time 20-goal self playing a top-six/top-nine role. However, we're not sure that's gonna happen in Buffalo and unfortunately the Sabres have him signed for four more seasons. Which wouldn't be bad save for the fact that he's making $6 million/year and is playing bottom-six/fourth-line minutes.
Okposo is one of the good guys on the ice and is easy to root for, especially while recovering from a scary health issue two years ago. The 31 yr. old veteran of 11 NHL seasons and a designated alternate captain for Buffalo just has never gotten it going with the Sabres. He's spent three seasons in the Blue and Gold averaging 16 goals/season, however 20 of those 48 goals have come on the powerplay and with the firepower that Buffalo has added, that powerplay time might diminish to nothing. And where does that leave him and the team?
In a rough spot.
Okposo always has a positive attitude and this year is no different, especially with Krueger at the helm. Can this coach finally get Okposo to produce in a top-nine role? We'll see. The speed of the NHL game seems to be leaving him behind and he's not riding shotgun on John Tavares' line. Nor was he able to keep up with Buffalo's Jack Eichel. If, and it's a big 'if', Okposo can hang in the top-nine, it would be a big boost to the club on the right side. However, he hasn't been able to do that and it looks like Buffalo is stuck with a very expensive bottom-six/fourth-line player getting paid $6 million a season. Eventually they'll need to come to terms with that as cap-space is dwindling but for this year they can get by with that.
***All three of Larsson, Girgensons and Okposo have been in the league a long time and have had limited success in the Blue and Gold and all three have positive traits that have made their way to the fore at one time or another. Krueger is said to bring out the best in his players and as was very successful building highly competitive teams that didn't have the star power that others had. He did that with the Swiss National Team that always gave the opposition a hard time, including a stunning upset of Team Canada at the 2006 Winter Olympics, as well as with Team Europe in the inaugural 2016 World Cup of Hockey as they lost in the finals.
Building the 2019-20 Buffalo Sabres roster:
LW, Jeff Skinner / C, Jack Eichel/ RW, Sam Reinhart
LW, Jimmy Vesey / C, Casey Mittelstadt / RW, Marcus Johansson
LW, Zemgus Girgensons / C, Johan Larsson / RW, Kyle Okposo
LHD, Rasmus Dahlin / RHD, Brandon Montour
LHD, Jake McCabe / RHD, Rasmus Ristolainen
Marco Scandella / RHD, Colin Miller
G, Carter HuttonG, Linus Ullmark
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