What the Buffalo Sabres can expect from Sam Lafferty

The Buffalo Sabres were looking for a good third-line center after Dylan Cozens and Tage Thompson. They may have found it in Sam Lafferty. Lafferty spent last season with the Vancouver Canucks before hitting free agency. His contract with Buffalo is a two-year deal worth $2 million.

In addition to his move to center, he will provide much-needed depth after the Sabres decided to part ways with Jeff Skinner and others. Lafferty played his first NHL season in 2019 with the Pittsburgh Penguins and played for four different teams before signing with the Sabres.

Last season, while with the Canucks, he played in 79 games, scoring 13 goals and totaling 24 points. Sam finished the season with a +4 differential. In those 79 games, he won 42.1% of his faceoffs. In the playoffs with Vancouver, Lafferty had 27 hits in just 11 games. Sam also won 44.4% of all faceoffs during the playoffs.

By comparison, no Sabres player had a positive plus/minus last season, with the exception of Peyton Krebs. Most centers had a better faceoff percentage than Lafferty, but no center still on the roster had more hits than Lafferty all season, as he finished the year with 137 hits.

His experience will be key for a young team. The longest-tenured player on Buffalo’s roster is currently Rasmus Dahlin. Lafferty has played 21 postseason games in his career with Pittsburgh, Toronto and Vancouver.

Lafferty has played center the past two seasons and last year it was clear the Sabres were seriously lacking depth at the position. It may not be a spectacular signing, but it could be the right one for head coach Lindy Ruff and his teammates.