Jason Zucker’s return is inching closer, and that gives Lindy Ruff something every coach wants and every coach hates: options.
The Buffalo Sabres have been waiting on Zucker since he missed all of training camp and the opening stretch of the 2026-27 season after offseason surgery. His absence has been felt. Over the past two seasons, he’s been a major piece for Buffalo, especially on the power play, where he’s piled up more than half of his 20-plus goals in each year.
Now the question shifts from when he’ll be back to how the Sabres should use him.
With the forward group already crowded, Zucker’s comeback forces Ruff to make choices. It also opens the door to a lineup reset, and based on how this season has unfolded, Buffalo probably should not be afraid to shuffle things around.
One good place to start is at the top, where Peyton Krebs, Jiri Kulich, and Tage Thompson have shown real chemistry in limited action. This isn’t the sort of first line people may have pictured before the season, but it has worked.
Thompson, in particular, has looked strongest when paired with either Krebs or Kulich, and the numbers back that up. According to Natural Stat Trick, the trio has logged a little more than 12 minutes together, produced eight scoring chances for and only three against, and generated four high-danger chances while allowing just one.
There’s also a simple reason to keep this look intact: Kulich in the middle can take some of the load off Thompson and let him do what he does best, which is finish.
The Sabres’ most important line decision may actually be an easy one. Zach Benson, Noah Ostlund, and Jack Quinn should stay together no matter what happens with Zucker.
That group has been Buffalo’s best line and, by some measures, one of the best in hockey. Moneypuck has them third among lines with 80 or more minutes of ice time in xG percentage at 65.3%, trailing only one line featuring Connor McDavid and another with Jack Eichel.
Breaking that up would be asking for trouble.
The trickier part comes lower in the lineup, where Buffalo has more moving pieces and fewer obvious answers. Zucker, Ryan McLeod, and Konsta Helenius make sense as a starting point.
Helenius was supposed to provide more this season, but his start has been slow. Putting him between two veterans could help stabilize things and maybe spark his game.
There’s a practical reason to pair Zucker and McLeod, too. They’ve already spent a lot of time together, including nearly 500 minutes over 62 games last season, when they posted an xGF% of 51.03%. Zucker returning after a delayed start should make it easier to slide him next to someone he knows rather than forcing him into something brand new right away.
The fourth line is where the uncertainty gets loud. Josh Doan, Josh Norris, and Beck Malenstyn are the names that fit there for now, but that unit has not been productive and hasn’t found any kind of rhythm.
It would have sounded strange a month ago to see Doan and Norris on a fourth line, but both have struggled enough that, at the moment, neither belongs in the Top 9 and maybe not even the Top 6. Combined, they have just three points in eight games.
That leaves Sam Carrick, Justin Danforth, and Tyson Kozak on the outside looking in. And with Zucker needing a spot, the last two could be in danger of being waived to clear room.
For Buffalo, the roster crunch is real. But so is the chance to get more out of a forward group that has been searching for the right mix. Once Zucker is ready, the Sabres have a clear path to a lineup built around familiar pairs and a few hard decisions.
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