Total Season Stats: 9G | 17A (26 PTS), 78 total shots, and 93 hits in 74 games played
Age: 22
Drafted: 2019, 1st Round, 17th Pick (17th Overall) by Vegas Golden Knights
Contract Status: Signed through 2024; $1.275 million AAV
Peyton Krebs will likely continue to improve in bottom six
Peyton Krebs has shown growth in varying ways as he completed his first full season with the Buffalo Sabres this past year. At just 22 years old, perhaps his most notable – and fun – quality to watch has been the scrappiness he brings to the ice. Is Krebs more of a pest to the opposing teams than our beloved Jeff Skinner? Probably not, but who cares.
Here he is fighting Connor Clifton of the Boston Bruins and loving every second of it:
Additionally, he has displayed an immense amount of maturity both on and off the ice at still such a young age. That being said, Krebs is a joy to watch in interviews as his thoughtful responses really give fans some perspective on where his head is at following a game. Here, he explains how important it is to trust each other and stick up for his teammates – which is exactly the type of player the Sabres have been missing for well over a decade (remember Milan Lucic’s hit on Ryan Miller?).
His positive mindset and work ethic are top-notch, too, which are refreshing traits he possesses that make him a great teammate.
Like some of his fellow youngsters on the team, though, he certainly struggled offensively as he recorded a mere three goals through the first 34 games of the season. This resulted in being taken out of the lineup a few times. There was obvious improvement in the second half, but Krebs will want to work on being consistent in the upcoming 2023-2024 season. This consistency will hopefully include a solid spot on either the third or fourth line so he can take the time to gel with whomever his wingers end up becoming and get into a rhythm quicker than he did this year. He found his stride centering linemates Zemgus Girgensons and Kyle Okposo, but their forthcoming role with the Sabres is a question mark.
However the future plays out for him, the kid definitely has the potential to score more than nine goals per season. The following grade may seem a bit harsh, but it is only because he has the ability to improve drastically next year, especially in the goals column – and, quite frankly, he has to if he wants to be on this team for the long haul.
Season Grade: C+