Season Stats: 69 GP | 6G | 8A | 14PTS (49 games with BUF, 17 with DET, 3 with PIT)
Age: 26
Contract Status: RFA
On December 4, Buffalo Sabres general manager Jason Botterill announced that he’d finalized a trade to acquire forward Scott Wilson from the Detroit Red Wings.
Who?
Scott Wilson.
Scott…Gomez?
No. Scott Wilson.
All kidding aside, Wilson boasts three full seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins as a depth wing. In that time, he hoisted Lord Stanley’s prize twice. The cost to Buffalo was a fifth round pick next year and their share of his $625,000 salary. He was cheap and accessible and had playoff experience.
While here in Buffalo, he saw more minutes than he had at any other time in his professional career. Despite scoring only 14 points in his 49 games, he still rounded out the team’s top-10 producers per 60 minutes, with 1.07 P/60. Wilson was in the Sabres’ top-five in primary scoring with .99 P1/60.
Wilson didn’t stand out defensively, which is an anomaly on the 2017-18 Sabres. While many of the players on the team made the types of errors that brought fans out of their seats, arms splayed toward the sky and joined by cries of astonished agony, Wilson’s errors weren’t usually as glaring.
In short, Wilson was an average NHL third line forward.
If Buffalo were to tender an offer to Wilson, he’d be due a raise. Still, it might be worth it for the team to keep Cup experience around at a price of $1 million. It’s evident that the young forwards in the system are nearly ready to make the jump to the NHL, and improved depth at forward could give Wilson the opportunity to return to the 26 point pace he managed in his final full season with the Penguins.
Season Grade: C
What grade would you give Scott Wilson this season?
| A | 14 |
| B | 215 |
| C | 205 |
| D | 38 |
| F | 10 |