5 free agents the Sabres can sign to get back to the playoffs

3. James Neal

James Neal’s best years are behind him, but he is still a serviceable NHL player. He was able to score 25 goals this season for the Vegas Golden Knights. His fit on the Buffalo Sabres would be on the third line. The Sabres have struggled to get any depth scoring, and adding Neal would help cure some of that problem. The good news for Neal is that if he comes to Buffalo, he will get to play with a strong center. There is overall game-changer Jack Eichel, playmaker Ryan O’ Reilly or young rookie Casey Mittelstadt.

Neal is not the most impactful name on the market this offseason but a team will add him to its line up and get a guaranteed 20 goal scorer that can play on any line. That is the exact type of player the Sabres need. There are a lot of questions in the current forward group. Their top wingers were not consistent and their bottom wingers were nonexistent.

A goal scorer like Neal would take the pressure off of the top line players and create offense for the bottom two lines. With the Buffalo Sabres’ youth movement, they need to make sure they get the contract right. Neal cannot get paid like a top line player anymore. What he can still do is make sure your offense is functional across all three lines. The Sabres need to get better players in terms of scoring to make the playoffs and James Neal is one of those players.