The Curious Case of Zemgus Girgensons: Where does he fit on the Buffalo Sabres roster?
No, the former 14th overall pick from the 2012 NHL Entry Draft is not aging in reverse. Nor is he Brad Pitt. But of all the question marks facing the Buffalo Sabres in the upcoming months, and there are a lot of them, the Latvian forward may have the most difficult answers. Even as of now, no one can be quite sure what role Zemgus Girgensons will play for the Buffalo Sabres, if he is even on the team for the 2016–17 season.
His fate is in the hands of everyone but him.
One of those aforementioned questions facing the Sabres was answered on the first day of free agency, when they added former-Islander winger Kyle Okposo into the mix of an already crowded forward unit.
Another question coming up is the decision of reigning Hobey Baker award winner, Jimmy Vesey. The Sabres traded for the rights of Vesey, who is set to hit free agency on August 15. As of now, the Sabres are the only team the highly coveted forward can speak to, and he is apparently warming up to the idea of playing in Buffalo.
That brings us to the players that are already on the roster. The top six forwards are becoming more and more clear, and as it stands now, the projected lines for the Sabres would go as follows:
Evander Kane-Ryan O’Reilly-Okposo
Sam Reinhart-Jack Eichel-???
That last spot on Eichel’s line is where the question remains. If Vesey indeed signs with the Sabres, then the line would look like this:
Reinhart-Eichel-Vesey
If Vesey spurns the Sabres for, say, his childhood favorite and hometown team Boston Bruins, then that spot may belong to Tyler Ennis. Ennis missed most of last season due to concussion, but when healthy, he is one of the more creative and talented play-makers in the NHL.
Whether or not Ennis is even on the Sabres next year is a whole different story, but for the sake of this argument, let’s assume he will be. If Vesey does sign, that pushes Ennis down to the third line. And with the fourth line all but set in a Brian Gionta-Johan Larsson-Marcus Foligno combination, that leaves two forward spots remaining for recently extended Nic Deslauriers, Justin Bailey, Hudson Fasching, Matt Moulson, along with Girgensons.
Now Girgensons, who scored 15 goals two seasons ago in only 61 games, and is regarded as a good two-way center, is probably the most talented of that group of guys. He also just turned 22 years old in January. So why is he the potential odd-man out? There was his play on the ice last season under new Sabres coach Dan Bylsma, where his basic offensive production dropped drastically, which is odd given the teams head-and-shoulders improvement from the season before.
Although, his advanced metrics tell a bit of a different story.
He was still a minus possession player, but there was definite improvement, which is what is expected from a guy who is just 22.
Although him being a bad fit is an argument for him being the odd man out, the better case is that they could get the most for him in a trade. He would be the most desired player of that group, as other teams see his potential as a two way center.
In short, the Sabres could keep him on the roster and have a very good player in what is a crowded group of forwards. Or, they could try to trade him for a defenseman, like a Cam Fowler from Anaheim, to bolster a slightly inferior defensive unit and fill more of a need. This is not a knock on Girgensons. This is simply an up-and-coming team with an asset that they no longer have a space for.
