Jason Zucker won't be ready for the start of the season, and the Sabres will have to adjust without him.
Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen said Wednesday that Zucker is working back from a sports hernia and won't be in the lineup for the opener.
No timeline was given for his return.
Zucker put up 45 points last season, 24 goals and 21 assists in 62 games, still solid production for a 34 year old winger.
But his final stretch cooled off. Just four points across his last 10 games, a fade that stings more now that he's sidelined to open the year.
His cap hit sits at $4,750,000, real money for a top six winger the Sabres now have to replace for however long this drags out.
Louis Crevier is out too. Kekalainen confirmed the defenseman had offseason shoulder surgery, a second hole up and down Buffalo's lineup.
Louis Crevier recovering from offseason shoulder surgery
Crevier quietly became a fixture on Buffalo's blue line last season, dressing for 78 games and chipping in 7 goals and 18 assists.
That's a rock solid two-way season for a defenseman still just 25, exactly the kind of depth Lindy Ruff will miss early.
He was heating up before the surgery too, four points in his final five games, exactly the kind of finish that makes this absence sting.
His cap number sits at $900,000, one of the better value contracts on the entire Buffalo roster. Cheap and reliable is hard to replace on short notice.
The Sabres finished last season 50-23-9, good for 109 points and the top spot in their division.
A goal differential of plus-47 says plenty about the identity Buffalo built. Losing a scoring winger and a steady defenseman right out of the gate is a rough break for a team that good.
Buffalo still has options up front and on the back end, but Kekalainen's update leaves real questions about who absorbs the minutes early on.
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How long each recovery takes wasn't addressed Wednesday, and until Buffalo says more, the camp battles up front and on the blue line just got a lot more interesting.
Should Sabres fans be worried opening the season without Jason Zucker and Louis Crevier?
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