BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo Sabres were the youngest team in the NHL this past season, and that age gap likely won't change heading into next year with 41-year-old goalie Craig Anderson announcing his retirement last week, bringing down the team's average age.
A core group of young players have signed on to return to the Sabres for the long run, including 23-year-old Mattias Samuelsson, who penned a seven-year contract for $30 million early this season.
"You know (Tage Thompson) is here for seven years. (Dylan Cozens)'s here for seven years. (Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Powers)... just that many good players and how young we are, how hungry everyone is."
Samuelsson is inspired by the youth movement in the dressing room, especially after the team finished the season playing competitive games throughout April.
"Like talking about (Cozens), this guy scored 30 (goals) this year. Like he's 21. I think it's a scary how good we could be, and a lot of guys in this room know. I think playoff hockey is probably the goal now, every year," Samuelsson said.
Four Sabres scored more than 30 goals this season, with Cozens being one of them. He gave praise to his coach Don Granato during locker clean out for the team's success.
"I think (Granato) is a huge part of that he wants everyone to reach their ceiling and and be the best player they can be," Cozens said.
"He's been so big for for all of us and growing our games and just being able to go out there and play with confidence and, and, you know, we go out there and we play free. We're not scared to make mistakes."