PITTSBURGH – This is new for Sam Lafferty. In his previous four stops, the versatile Sabres newcomer was always one of the younger guys. He played his first NHL game barely five years ago.
But these days, Lafferty, 29, looks around Buffalo’s dressing room and mostly sees younger faces. Only winger Jason Zucker, 32, is older than Lafferty, who’s six weeks older than defenseman Connor Clifton.
At an average age of just 25.3, the Sabres are the NHL’s youngest team.
“It’s honestly a little bit weird,” Lafferty said of being one of the team’s older players. “(I’ve) kind of adjusted to it now, but at first, it’s just like, ‘Did this just happen overnight? What’s going on here?’”
Five years have gone by in a flash for Lafferty, who has been traded three times – four if you count his rights getting dealt in June – and also played for the Penguins, Chicago Blackhawks, Toronto Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks.
What he called “a young, up-and-coming team with a ton of potential” helped convince the young veteran to sign a two-year, $4 million contract with the Sabres in free agency.
“That’s what I was really excited about and knew I could be a big piece of helping that,” he said prior to Wednesday’s 6-5 overtime loss to the Penguins in PPG Paints Arena.
The stability a multi-year deal offers – “A little more term for myself and my family,” he said – is also nice.
In the 6-foot-2, 205-pound Lafferty, a mix of speed and grit, the Sabres believe they’ve added a missing piece to a fourth line they’ve made more tenacious.
He began the season centering Nicolas Aube-Kubel and Beck Malenstyn before Aube-Kubel suffered a lower-body injury in the season opener. When center Peyton Krebs moved into the lineup, Lafferty shifted to right wing, a spot he will likely occupy Wednesday in his return to the lineup.
“My strengths are … my skating and energy, physicality,” Lafferty said. “But just having that versatility to play in different situations. (It’s a) long season, (the) team needs different things at different times.”
Lafferty sat out Saturday’s 5-2 win over the Florida Panthers, in part, because Sabres coach Lindy Ruff wanted to keep Krebs in and give defenseman Dennis Gilbert an opportunity to play against a heavy team. Two offensive-zone penalties Lafferty took in earlier games also factored in Ruff’s decision.
“You looked at the roster and you get Denny in,” Ruff said. “I thought Krebs had played really well. His compete was a real high level, was doing a little bit more. We know we’re going to need everybody. I mean, I could’ve taken maybe a younger guy out.
“But the decision to take him out was just based on a couple penalties, on play, what you’re bringing. I think through preseason you saw a lot of good stuff, but we need more.”
Lafferty has a knack for adapting to his teams and finding a role. Last year, after Toronto traded him to Vancouver three days before the regular season started, he set career highs by scoring 13 goals and 24 points.
Pittsburgh remains a special place for him. He grew up about 100 miles away in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, watching some of his future teammates play in the Penguins’ old stomping ground, Mellon Arena, a rink often called The Igloo.
“That was a pretty sweet barn, pretty electric place to play, watch a game, in my case,” said Lafferty, who was drafted by the Penguins in 2014. “Yeah, I just remember a lot of the big games I was at over the years at that place. I just remember your feet kind of sticking to the floor in the stands from all the caked-on beer. Just had an aura about it. It was an awesome place.”
Lafferty, who played 94 games for the Penguins over parts of three seasons, said he smiles thinking about the opportunity he enjoyed playing for his “hometown” team.
“Just getting to suit up for them, I just look back on it with a ton of good memories, a ton of fun times with the team here,” he said. “Obviously, the core (Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin) is still intact. Mainly getting to play with those guys and a lot of the friends you make along the way, the biggest thing I remember.”
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Crosby, 37, is one point shy of becoming the 10th player in NHL history to record 1,600 points.
Meanwhile, Malkin, 38, is one goal short of becoming the 48th player to crack the 500 mark.
Crosby joined the Penguins in 2005-06, while Malkin came to Pittsburgh a year later.
“In today’s game, it’s probably an incredible feat, where a lot of times players are moving around the league,” Ruff said.
Crosby has shown no signs of slowing down. Last year, he scored 42 goals and 94 points.
“There’s special athletes in every sport, and he’s one of them,” Ruff said. “I mean, he’s a physical specimen. To be in that position, it just tells you the amount of time he takes to take of yourself and be able to play the amount he plays and really not lose a step.”