The Buffalo Sabres did some very-impressive things in the 2025-26 season, earning first place in the highly-competitive Atlantic Division, then winning their opening-round Stanley Cup playoffs series against the Boston Bruins before losing to the Montreal Canadiens in the second round.
That strong season means TheHockeyNews.com’s annual grades for Sabres players will be mostly in the ‘A’ and ‘B’ area. And in this particular “Sabres Grades” file, we’re turning our attention to forward Peyton Krebs.
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Krebs was an RFA this summer, but Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen signed him to a four-year contact extension worth $4.5-million per-season. That certainly raises the stakes and expectations for Krebs, but he’s still only 25 years old and has room to grow his game. But let’s look at his contributions from this past season to understand why we gave him the grade we did.
Peyton Krebs
Position: Center
Grade: B+
The Skinny: Last season, Krebs posted career-highs in goals (12), assists (27) and points (39) in 82 games. They’re modest jumps from his previous career-highs of 10 goals, 18 assists and 28 points, but Krebs has made slow-but-steady improvement. And his 2025-26 ice-time average of 13:46 is just seven seconds higher than his career-average ice-time of 13:39.
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Krebs is never going to be the dynamic difference-maker the Vegas Golden Knights hoped he’d be when they drafted him 17th-overall in 2019. But as a cornerstone bottom-six forward, he’s a smart choice – and one who could look like even more of a financial bargain as the cap ceiling continues to rise exponentially.
One of the intriguing elements of Krebs’ new contract is that he doesn’t have any no-trade or no-move protection in the first two years of the contract – and in the final two years, he has a modified no-trade clause allowing him to veto a trade to seven teams of his choosing. So if Kekalainen doesn’t see enough out of Krebs in the next two years, Kekalainen doesn’t have to deal with any no-trade issues with him.
That’s an article for another day, but the truth is that Krebs had a terrific season – maybe not one that bowls you over because of his sheer force of willpower, but he was an above-average soldier for coach Lindy Ruff, and in the post-season, Krebs generated an impressive four assists and six points in 13 playoff games. For his 2025-26 salary of $1.45-million, that’s great work. And Krebs figures to be an important component as Buffalo tries to ratchet up their game and get to the Eastern Conference final and beyond.
Krebs can be part of the solution in Sabres Land, but it’s important not to saddle him with the weight of expectation you’d have for a more natural scorer at the NHL level. And if Buffalo fans give him breathing room. Krebs could reward their patience by being a fixture for the Sabres for quite some time to come.
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Buffalo isn’t a destination spot for NHLers seeking a new home, but by retaining competent players like Krebs, they can cross certain things off their list and focus more of their attention and cap space on higher-end players. He makes the Sabres harder to play against, and if Krebs comes into the 2026-27 campaign and finds a way to get to the 50-point plateau – something that shouldn’t be impossible for him – he’ll earn an ‘A’ or an ‘A+’ grade this time next summer.
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