Season Stats: 82 GP | 16 G | 18 A | 34 PTS
Age: 35
Contract Status: Signed through 2018-19
What a start to the season for Jason Pominville, as he marked his much-anticipated return to Buffalo. On opening night, Pominville scored two goals against the Montreal Canadiens, returning to the Sabres with a bang. All was well within the Population of Pominville.
His strong start continued throughout the month of October, where Pominville tallied 12 points (6 goals, 6 assists) in 12 games. Fans were out-of-their-minds with how well his return had been playing out.
Unfortunately, that is where the excitement would flame out. The rest of the season would not be so kind and at times, Pominville was easily forgotten about.
To put into perspective how underwhelming and subpar his season was, let’s take a minute to break it down. Taking out that scorching start to the season, Pominville tallied just 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists) in 60 games.
Digging even a little further, 10 points (6 goals, 4 assists) came in the season’s final 18 games. Adding those numbers up, you’ll have Pominville recording 22 of his 34 points in 40 games. That runs down to 12 points scattered throughout 42 games. Not good.
Often overmatched, Pominville found himself bouncing around the lineup. Towards the end of the season, he did end up finding some success and settled on the third line.
We’ve come to know over the years that Pominville can be streaky like the best of them. With his 36th birthday approaching in November and a 5.6 million dollar cap hit remaining on the books for one more season, something might have to give.
It feels like a disservice to say his season was a failure but Pominville’s season ended up leaving a lot to be desired. It was hard to envision that he would continue to be a point-per-game player but it was also hard to envision he would almost end up being a shell of his former self.
Season Grade: C+
What grade would you give Jason Pominville this season?
| A | 7 |
| B | 67 |
| C | 309 |
| D | 175 |
| F | 26 |