The Sabres are giving Jacob Bryson one last chance in the 25-26 season

The Sabres signed defenseman Jacob Bryson to a one-year contract extension worth $900,000 right before the trade deadline. It came as a shock to many, as Bryson was struggling, and it seemed like he would hit the free agent market this offseason.

The 27-year-old was set to become an unrestricted free agent. Instead, Bryson is still here in Buffalo, as Kevyn Adams has given him one last chance for the 25-26 season. If this is a depth move for the Sabres, I love it. If Bryson is on one of three defensive pairings every night, I hate it.

Grade: C

Bryson didn’t have a bad 2024-2025 season, but it also wasn’t good. Bryson has been with the Sabres now five years, and hasn’t made any sort of leap in improvement. His points have stayed the same, and his plus-minus is still below average.

Throughout his career so far, Bryson has registered four goals and 43 points in 254 career NHL games. Although his blocked shots and his takeaway numbers went up, his giveaways also increased this past year.

It seems like every time Bryson takes a step forward, he takes two steps back. Bryson’s time in Buffalo will be running thin if he can’t get things figured out next season.

Will a new role help Bryson improve?

The Sabres defense still has a lot of what-ifs heading into next season, but as of right now, these are how all the lines will look in my opinion if nothing changes.

Dahlin-Byram
Power-Samuelsson
Clifton-Bernard-Docker

Even if Byram is traded, I could see the Sabres bringing in another defenseman who is better than Bryson. Therefore, that would leave him as the 7th D-man. If Bryson can take on the role that Dennis Gilbert played last year, then I think he can make some solid strides.

Gilbert played with a nothing-to-lose mentality and took every game as an opportunity to improve and seek more playing time. Eventually, he found himself in the lineup more often than not before being traded to the Senators.

Bryson, I think, can do the same and hopefully turn his career around as he enters year six in Buffalo. Depth is an important part of a playoff team, and the Sabres need Bryson to step up his game if they want to make a run next year.