Contract: $870,000 cap hit through 2015
Report Card for 2012: N/A
Introduction: The former first round pick of the Sabres in 2010, Pysyk finally made his NHL debut this season after impressing the organization with his play down in Rochester. Although he is no barnburner offensively, Pysyk was expected to impress with his solid defensive style, and that he did. By the end of the season he emerged as one of the teams more solid defenseman.
Key Stat: Oddly enough, despite his strong defensive style Pysyk was a -7 in his 19 games, with Tyler Myers being the only Sabre defenseman with a worse +/-. It was a very different story in Rochester, where Pysyk was a +8 in 57 games.
Thumbs Up: Mark Pysyk showed that he can be a solid NHL defenseman and can be one of the players this team can build their blueline around. With the trading of Robyn Regehr, Jordan Leopold, and T.J. Brennan last season the Sabres cleared a lot of their cupboard, meaning Pysyk will likely get much deserved time in the future.
Thumbs Down: It’s not a huge gripe with Pysyk, but he obviously isn’t a player who is going to score you a lot of points. He can log a lot of ice time, as he was on the ice more and more as he proved himself this season, but in that do or die situation where you need a goal, he’s probably not the guy you want out there.
Voting: Using the good old grade system of A, B, C, D, F, with A representing a great season, C an average season, and F a very poor season, grade Mark Pysyk on his performance this season compared to the expectations you had for him.
What grade do you give Mark Pysyk for the 2012-2013 season?
| A | 42 |
| B | 162 |
| C | 50 |
| D | 0 |
| F | 0 |