TheHockeyNews is awarding grades for Buffalo Sabres players, and in this file in the series, we're focusing on defense-minded center Ryan McLeod. The veteran pivot had a career-best season on offense, and the Sabres need him to be at least as good next season. What grade did we give McLeod?
Ryan McLeod (Timothy T. Ludwig, Imagn Images)The Buffalo Sabres at long last ended their 15-year Stanley Cup playoffs drought last season, surging to the top of the Atlantic Division in the regular-season, then beating the Boston Bruins in the first-round of the post-season before losing to the Montreal Canadiens in Round 2.
Buffalo’s positive growth in 2025-26 means that, as TheHockeyNews.com hands out our grades for Buffalo’s players, coach and GM, the grades are going to be, for the most part, very positive. An A+ grade is rare, but you’re not going to see any ‘D’ or ‘F’ grades assigned to any Sabres employee this year.
As part of this “Sabres Grades” file, we’re focusing on center Ryan McLeod. Although McLeod was fourth in point-production for Buffalo last season with 40 assists and 54 points in 81 games, he’s going to be looked to for more as the Sabres’ second-line center.
While he didn’t have a bad year in 2025-26, McLeod is still just 26 years old, so his best years could still be to come. But let’s give McLeod his grade and project what could be ahead for him:
Ryan McLeod
Position: Center
Grade: A-
The Skinny: McLeod set new career-highs in assists and points this past season, and his $5-million annual salary makes him a solid financial investment. McLeod also set new career-bests in plus/minus (with a plus-25) and time-on-ice-average – 17:37, up from 16:50 in 2024-25 – and he was Buffalo’s most-utilized forward on a short-handed basis, averaging 2:26 of shorthanded time and scoring an NHL-best five shorthanded goals last season.
Veteran center Josh Norris is the Sabres’ No. 1 center, but he’s had issues staying healthy, so McLeod may see his minutes fluctuate in 2026-27. But the one area of his we haven’t addressed is McLeod’s faceoff-win-percentage. McLeod had an off-year in the faceoff circle last season, winning only 47.7 percent of his draws. That’s well below his career average of 49.5 percent, and that’s well below his 2024-25 faceoff average of 52.3 percent.
We’re nitpicking somewhat, but the bottom line is that McLeod has been well worth the investment Buffalo made in him last summer. With the salary cap rising exponentially for the foreseeable future, a $5-million salary is a relative pittance. Thus, so long as McLeod continues to be a terrific defender, he’s going to get major minutes from coach Lindy Ruff and remain a key piece of the puzzle in Western New York.
The Sabres may eventually trade for a more prominent center, especially if they’re unable to improve on their 2025-26 season. But the status quo may be the road ahead, at least, in the short-term. And that means McLeod will still be an important player for this Buffalo squad. The Sabres don’t need McLeod to do all the heavy-lifting, but he’s signed through the 2028-29 season, and next summer, he acquires some modified no-trade protection at that point allowing him to name five teams he’d reject a trade to.
That said, a lot can happen a year from now. If McLeod again finishes in the top-five of Buffalo’s point-producers, he’ll assure himself of more opportunities. McLeod won’t ever ascend to be a legitimate generational talent, but the Sabres need him to do at least what he did last season. And while he’s still got three years left on his contract, McLeod can lay the foundation for a bigger raise down the road by showing consistency in the points department.
And the more success McLeod generates in the next three seasons, the better off Buffalo is going to be, next season and beyond.
