BUFFALO – As training camp approached and Peyton Krebs remained unsigned, he finally had enough. The Sabres center told his agent he needed a new contract.
“I was just kind of taking my advice from my agent and what I needed to do, and … I just kind of said, ‘I’m done with this. Get something done. I want to be there for camp,’” Krebs said following Friday’s session of training camp.
Krebs, 23, couldn’t afford to miss any time waiting to sign a new deal as a restricted free agent. The Sabres hired a new coach, Lindy Ruff, and added four forwards to their bottom six during the offseason.
Right now, he might rank 13th on the depth chart. Every day is precious as he battles for ice time.
So on Tuesday, a day before camp opened, he signed a two-year, $2.9 million contract. Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams said Wednesday he did not think the deal “needed to take that long.”
“It just came down to the wire,” said Krebs, whose Sabres open the preseason tonight against the Pittsburgh Penguins at KeyBank Center. “I think I decided with the team we have here, I want to be a part of this. I just want to focus on winning. That’s the biggest thing. I kind of harped on getting that two years with my agent.”
While it’s unclear where Krebs fits in the lineup following the additions of Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Sam Lafferty, Beck Malenstyn and Ryan McLeod, the two-year deal illustrates the Sabres still believe in him. A multi-year deal worth just $1.45 million per season could also make him easier to trade.
“It’s a good number for him as a young player that’s played a couple hundred games in the league already,” Adams said. “I think for us, what I like is it gives him the time now to continue to develop into figuring out exactly where he slots in our lineup.”
Former coach Don Granato mostly utilized Krebs in a checking role. His promotions up the lineup never lasted long.
He often served as the Sabres’ fourth-line center over his first three years, producing 20 goals and 65 points in 202 games and occasionally displaying the talent that made him the 17th overall pick in 2019.
Last season, Krebs regressed offensively, recording four goals and 17 points, both career lows, in a career-high 80 games. Defenseman Connor Clifton equaled his goal total and recorded one more point.
Krebs’ ice time dipped 80 seconds per appearance to a career-low 12 minutes, 30 seconds.
He registered just 74 shots on goal. His meager 5.4 shooting percentage and 6.82 expected goals both ranked last among regular Sabres forwards.
Naturally, he said he experienced “a lot of ups and downs” in 2023-24.
“I learned to handle a lot of adversity, for sure,” said Krebs, an asset the Sabres received in the Jack Eichel trade with the Vegas Golden Knights. “I think there was things that maybe didn’t go well, things that went well, and (I) took a lot from it. But coming into this year, I don’t think much is really going to phase me at this point.
“It’s come to the rink every day knowing that there’s a plan, and as long as I work hard and keep getting better, my opportunity will come, and I’m going to make sure I make the most of it when it does.”
Krebs will likely have to make his mark as a checker, a role he has grown into after averaging more than a point per game in junior and the AHL. Following last season, he told Adams he believes he can be a 200-foot, two-way center.
“Coming out of junior, you’re the star-studded guy,” Krebs said. “As I’ve grown and played more games in this league, I got to find a role for myself. And with that, I need to play both ends of the ice. That was kind of the mindset there.”
Over the years, he has developed the mindset of an agitator, sometimes getting under the opposition’s skin and fighting. On Friday, he mentioned Brad Marchand and Sam Bennett, “guys that are feisty that you hate to play against.”
“I just do what you gotta do to win,” said Krebs, whose wife, Erica, gave birth to the couple’s first child August 26, a girl they named Kimberly.
So far, Ruff said Krebs’ work ethic has impressed him. He must, however, improve his decision-making.
“Puck decisions, it’s probably one of the issues that we have to put our arms around because we still gave up some big chances on just poor puck decisions,” Ruff said. “He’s inside that group that sometimes tries too many high-risk or one-on-one type plays, not necessarily on offense, but holding the puck in an area that’s really dangerous and giving up a high-danger opportunity.”
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Ruff said Saturday’s lineup will mostly feature the group of regulars that has practiced together during the first three days of camp. The Sabres also host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday afternoon.
“We’re going to look at the majority of our group playing in those games, maybe two or three guys that won’t play,” he said. “But otherwise get our group ready to play.”
The Sabres on Tuesday fly to Germany and play an exhibition game against Red Bull Munich on next Friday. Another group of players will stay in Buffalo and finish the preseason schedule as the Sabres prepare for their season opener against the New Jersey Devils on Oct. 4 in Prague, Czechia.
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Throughout Friday’s scrimmage, players found little room available to create offense.
“It really had nothing to do with system, it had to do with effort,” Ruff said.
The tight checking frustrated some scorers.
“I thought our top guys got a little but annoyed that there wasn’t much ice to skate around in,” Ruff acknowledged.
Notes: Ruff said defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, who suffered a “mid-body injury” Wednesday, skated on his own Friday. The Sabres don’t expect the Swede to be sidelined long. “Encouraging that he was back out there,” Ruff said. … The Sabres on Friday sent goalie Ryerson Leenders and winger Ethan Miedema back to their respective junior teams. … Tonight’s game will be televised on MSG.