Total Season Stats: 2-12-14 in 68 games played
Age: 29
Contract Status: Signed through 2023-24, $2,750,000 AAV, will be UFA at the start of the 2024-25 season
Despite getting off to a bit of a tough start during his first season in Buffalo, Ilya Lyubushkin ended up becoming a fan favorite on the blueline to close out the 2022-23 campaign. Fortunately for Sabres fans, the 29-year-old from Moscow, Russia was signed to a two-year deal last summer, so he’ll have another season to show that he belongs.
While “Boosh” may not necessarily be a bonafide top four defenseman, he certainly proved his worth this season, and would be a great fit on the third defensive pairing for the Sabres next year. Although he didn’t put up Dahlin or Power like numbers during this season, Lyubushkin did show flashes of offensive playmaking, with multiple chances he created leading directly to goals for his teammates.
On the goal scoring side, Boosh drew the attention of fans through his selected goal song at the beginning of the season, “I Am A Gummy Bear”, but unfortunately the song never echoed throughout the arena at KeyBank Center. However, despite both his goals coming in away games, Lyubushkin did have one of Buffalo’s most iconic game winners of the season. Let me paint the scene…
In a late February matchup with Tampa, after the Bolts had come back from a two-goal deficit in the third, Buffalo was shorthanded to start overtime. Emotions were high, after a missed elbow to the face of Kyle Okposo, and the Sabres needed every point they could get to stay alive in the race. Towards the end of the Lightning powerplay, Stamkos bobbled the puck, and it was right there for Lyubushkin to take, with nothing but open ice in front of him.
The rest is history.
On the defensive side of his play in 2022-23, Lyubushkin was solid overall, but has room to improve his game in some areas. There were a few instances of turnovers that lead to goals throughout the season, along with poor awareness at times in the defensive zone. However, one of Boosh’s strongest assets that he brings to the blueline is his physicality. Lyubushkin did a great job wearing down opponents in almost every game, and laid multiple bone crushing hits during the year, including this one against Edmonton.
Overall, Boosh played well and had a successful first season with the Sabres, but will need to improve on a few areas of his defensive play in order to take his game to the next level. If he can work on that, Lyubushkin should have no problem slotting into a permanent role in Buffalo’s third defensive pairing. And maybe, if we’re lucky, the Gummy Bear song will finally make an appearance in front of Sabres faithful.
Season Grade: B-