Tobias Rieder was the first announced free-agent signing by the Buffalo Sabres this offseason. He was signed to a one-year deal for the league minimum of $700k. Initially, it seemed as though he may play the role of an AHL/NHL tweener to give the team depth at forward.

Fast forward a few weeks and it appears that Kevyn Adams and Ralph Krueger plan for him to be in their NHL lineup when the season gets started. Rieder has experience playing for Krueger back in 2016 during the World Cup of Hockey for Team Europe. He said that went into his decision-making process when he signed with the Sabres.

The German-born forward could provide some value for the Sabres if he’s put into the proper role next season. He’ll bring speed to the lineup and improvement to the penalty kill.

Penalty Kill

By now we’re all aware of how poor the Sabres penalty kill was last season. They had the second-worst kill in the league at 74.6%. It cost them a handful of games and arguably is the primary reason they missed out on the expanded team playoffs by one point.

Improving this unit was one of the keys to the offseason for Adams. They were aware of this need with the signings of Rieder and Cody Eakin. Not only did the Sabres need to improve the system, but they needed to add a certain style of player. The unit lacked speed and puck pressure last year. It allowed teams to feel comfortable and execute their power plays.

Rieder brings that style of play they need on the penalty kill unit. He’s one of the quicker skaters in the league and brings an offensive threat while shorthanded.

I went back and watched some penalty kill shifts from his time with the Calgary Flames last season. One thing that stood out to me is how he continually pressured the puck when he was on the ice. Not only in the neutral zone, but in the defensive zone as well.

Let’s look at some video clips so you can understand what I’m talking about.

This first one against the Anaheim Ducks is an example of his ability to disrupt the play in the neutral zone on the penalty kill

Here’s another example against the Winnipeg Jets.

Only seconds after the clip above, he pressures newly acquired forward Cody Eakin in the neutral zone. Eakin is forced to dump it in. The Flames defender recovers it gets it off the wall. The puck gets by the Jets defender and Rieder is gone with his speed.

In this last clip, he puts pressure on John Klingberg at the point and then more on the puck at the wall. It forces a turnover and the puck goes into the neutral zone. Rieder beats Klingberg in a race for the puck.

5v5

At 5 on 5, you’re not going to get much from the 27-year-old forward at either end of the ice. He likely won’t kill you when he’s on the ice and they may be what they want in their fourth line players this season.

The interesting part about Rieder is that he does get quality scoring opportunities, but doesn’t have the shooting talent to finish consistently. In the last five years, he has strong individual shot quality numbers at 5 on 5. According to Moneypuck, he has finished with the highest individual shot quality per 60 minutes on his team in three of the last five years. Including last season with the Flames.

As you can see above in Evolving Hockey’s RAPM chart, his scoring impact (GF) is so poor due to his poor finishing ability. If he does improve on that next season, he can bring some offensive production to the Sabres. You’ll see below in the twins shot chart that he gets to the middle of the ice.

This is a look at his shooting at 5 on 5 over the last two years. In the twins’ model, this shot quality translates as 15.2 expected goals. Yet, he only scored two. Meaning he shot 13.2 goals below expected the last two years. Gives you a good glimpse at his lack of shooting talent and potential if he does have a strong season.

We’ll see how Krueger decides to use Rieder next season and where he slots in the lineup. At the contract he’s under there isn’t a risk in the Rieder signing. If anything he has the potential to exceed expectations and give the Sabres some depth scoring.

Data via: Evolving Hockey and Moneypuck

Photo Credit: Christian Petersen/Getty Images