The Buffalo Sabres have one of the NHL’s best offenses, with a 3.8 goal per game average (a league 3rd). However, their roster includes plenty of young players, who lack the experience older hockey veterans can provide.
It’s not surprising that the Sabres signed forward Tyson Jost, who recently came off waivers from the Minnesota Wild. The 24-year-old is in his 7th NHL season and previously played with the Colorado Avalanche as well as the Wild. Jost boasts a career 48 goals, 65 assists and 113 total points.
While No. 17 only had one goal in his last five games, he’s shown a level of aggressiveness the team’s lines need more of. As Sion Fawkes of SabreNoise pointed out, Jost crashed the net in Buffalo’s loss to Tampa and scored on a rebound from Kyle Okposo to give the Sabres a 3-2 lead in the second period.
Usually paired with Okposo and Zemgus Girgensons, the Sabres’ captain is impressed with Josts’ abilities. Head coach Don Granato also likes what he sees from the team’s new forward. “He’s got perspective and career experience and he’s only 24. He brings all of that in here with a sense of objective.”
Sabres GM Kevyn Adams revealed why he went after Jost, when other teams including the Ducks, Blue Jackets, Coyotes and Senators passed on him. “When you look at Tyson individually…skates well, a lot of talent, makes plays at top speed. He can kill penalties…I just felt like this was an opportunity to bring talent into our organization.”
Buffalo needs players who can kill penalties. The team is terrible at the PK, ranking an NHL 27th and only stops opponents from scoring 70.59% of the time.
Bill Hoppe of Buffalo Hockey Beat feels that Jost offers the Sabres “intriguing talent” that could work out well for Buffalo. The forward was part of a Colorado Avalanche team that started at the bottom in the 2016-17 season and worked its way up into an NHL playoff contender. While he wasn’t there for the Stanley Cup victory in 2022, Jost played a role in the Avs’ rise.
Jost didn’t do as well with the Wild and got only two goals and nine points in 39 games playing for Minnesota, including six playoff appearances.
Tyson Jost has only been a Buffalo Sabre for a few weeks, but he’s quickly jelled with the other players. It’s a long season and many of the Sabres’ gambles haven’t worked out in recent years. Even so, if Jost can keep developing and performing well, there’s reason to hope he’ll be part of Buffalo’s long-term solution instead of part of the problem.