For the last 19 years (12 with The Hockey News) Dobber has reviewed each team from a fantasy-hockey standpoint and graded them.

The 20th annual review will appear here on DobberHockey throughout the summer/fall. This is not a review of the likely performance on the ice or in the standings, but in the realm of fantasy hockey both for the season ahead as well as the foreseeable future. Offensively, will the team perform? Are there plenty of depth options worthy of owning in keeper leagues? What about over the next two or three years? These questions are what I take into consideration when looking at the depth chart and the player potential on that depth chart.

Enjoy!

Gone – Mark Jankowski, Drake Caggiula, John Hayden, Arttu Ruotsalainen, Will Butcher, Mark Pysyk, Colin Miller, Ethan Prow, Dustin Tokarski, Aaron Dell, Michael Houser

Incoming – Ilya Lyubushkin, Kale Clague, Jeremy Davies, Chase Priskie, Eric Comrie

Impact of Changes – With the sale of Jack Eichel, Buffalo embraced the rebuild and subsequently did not move out any major pieces save for depth players. Likewise anyone that is incoming to the team was brought on to replace those roles.

The most significant impact is likely to be Eric Comrie who signed a 2 year $1.8 million contract and should slide in as a 1A or 1B option to Craig Anderson. This situation should provide him with a career high in starts and he has the potential for more, however on a rebuilding Buffalo squad he will likely not reach that potential here.

Ready for Full Time – Buffalo may not have brought in many players to affect change but it will be their prospects who can make a significant impact to the team. Owen Power signed on with Buffalo in April and played his first eight games at the end of last season. Every indication and prognostication says that Power is ready for the big leagues and so he should hit the ground running, although do temper expectations given that he is a defenseman and it is his rookie season.

Outside of Power the two stud prospects that are expected to see significant time are Jack Quinn and John-Jason Peterka. Quinn especially is projected to make the jump and see a full season or close to it this year. He is an elite sniper who took the AHL by storm and won the Rookie-of-the-Year award last season. Peterka turned heads playing for Team Germany at the 2021 WJC and has one near point per game season in the AHL. He is expected to get a long look at training camp and the potential is there for time in the NHL. However, Peterka is more likely to continue marinating in the AHL for one more season and start in the 2023-2024 season.

Brandon Biro and Linus Weissbach are two left wingers who may see looks with the club this year but are not anticipated to be full-time until 2023-24. Biro is the closer of the two having produced 41 points in 48 games in the AHL during a short season as well as spending time on Buffalo's Taxi Squad where he saw an NHL game. Linus dominated NCAA and transitioned well to the AHL but will need another full season before being considered further.

Fantasy Outlook – The departure of Eichel seemed to signal a long and painful (more painful that is) time for Buffalo but Tage Thompson had other ideas. Easily one the biggest surprises of the season, he blew all expectations out of the water with 68 points in 78 games along with 250 shots on goal. He single-handily dragged Jeff Skinner back from the dead and into the world of fantasy relevance again with 66 points of his own in 80 games. Alex Tuch, coming back in the Eichel deal from Vegas, complimented them nicely with 36 points in 50 games of his own. This top line should stay largely intact for most of the season and can be expected to produce similar results.

Dahlin is finally receiving reinforcements in the form of Owen Power so the defense is improving but being in the gauntlet that is the Atlantic division will not make being a goalie on Buffalo an envious position. With no clear starter between Anderson and Comrie the potential here is likely to be limited starts with poor averages for the pair.

The list of tantalizing fantasy players on this team is growing. It will not be long before we see Peyton Krebs, Owen Power, Dylan Cozens, Jack Quinn, John-Jason Peterka and new acquisition Isak Rosen all permanently on the squad. Excitement is in the air and there are a lot of excellent fantasy options to look forward to, but taper expectations for this season.

Fantasy Grade – C (last year was C- before Jack Eichel was dealt and a D after)