[The Athletic] “I want to be here. That’s something me and my agency and my family have made clear. I want to be in Buffalo, and I want to play here…I want to be part of the solution…” Josh Doan

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1. >Doan’s impact goes beyond points, too. The Sabres have 58 percent of the expected goals during Doan’s five-on-five minutes, the best mark on the team. Sabres coach Lindy Ruff describes him as a “puck hound,” and Thompson said he has one of the best sticks he’s ever played with. He credits Doan’s ability to cause turnovers for why that line has been able to generate so much offense.

   >“He’s just a workhorse,” Thompson said. “He has a motor, and he’s always going.

   >“I’ve been in his shoes early in my career where you’re on the third or fourth line and in and out of the lineup. Then you work and get rewarded for it. That’s what he’s done. He’s a strong kid. He has a heavy stick and goes to the net hard. And he’s got some good touch around the net.”

   >Thompson played with Doan on Team USA at the World Championship in the summer. He also knew him from spending his summers in Arizona. Their fathers played together, and Thompson has skated with Doan during the summer. It makes sense why Ruff said he’s seen a special chemistry between them as linemates. In 228 five-on-five minutes with Doan, Thompson has a 55 percent on-ice expected goal share this season. In 334 five-on-five minutes away from Doan, Thompson’s on-ice expected goal share drops to 48 percent, according to Natural Stat Trick.

   >This has been the pattern of Doan’s career. In junior and college, it took him some time to figure out the game, but when he did, the production quickly followed. The same is happening in the NHL. He acknowledged he’s not one who’s always winning with speed and skill. He tries to win with his brain and habits. That’s helped him adjust quickly to playing with Thompson by winning puck battles and having the hockey sense to make plays.

   >Doan said this opportunity is what has helped him settle into Buffalo quickly. He’s always been the type of person that teammates gravitate toward, and it’s been easier for him to be that guy in the Sabres’ dressing room because of how big a role he’s playing.

   >“It’s one of those things when you get an opportunity to play, you feel a little bit more comfortable in a room, and you feel like you’re needed and helpful,” Doan said. “When you feel helpful and feel like you’re helping your team win, it’s easier to play a little bit harder and produce a little bit more because you feel that urgency that you need to help produce and help those big guys out. It’s one of those things I didn’t really have last year in Utah. It’s not that you’re a passenger, but you’re someone who is just getting in and doing your role. You’re not expected to produce a ton. And you get lost in that at times, which is really hard.”

   >Doan is hoping he’s not going to be packing up his house again any time soon. He turns 24 in February and is in the final year of his contract before becoming a restricted free agent. And after just a few months in Buffalo, he’s confident this is where he wants to be for a while.

   >“That’s something that gets brought up a little bit in your group,” Doan said. “I want to be here. That’s something me and my agency and my family have made clear. I want to be in Buffalo, and I want to play here. The support I’ve gotten since I got here has been amazing. I laugh with my family, where my old man didn’t leave where he was once, and I’ve been on my way three times now. It’s something at the end of the day, though, I do want to be in one place and grow with a group. I think this is the group to do it with. We have a lot of fun and young guys here.”

   >The obvious question is what a long-term deal would look like for Doan. Matthew Coronato’s seven-year deal with a $6.5 million average annual value seems like a fair jumping-off point. But Doan has a chance to best Coronato’s production this season. Peterka inked a five-year deal worth $7.7 million per year immediately after getting traded to Utah, but was fresh off a 68-point season after 50 points the season before. After his rookie season in Carolina, Jackson Blake got an eight-year deal worth $5.1 million per year after a 34-point season as a 21-year old rookie. If Doan keeps this up, $5 million per year should be the floor on an eight-year deal.

   >The important piece for the Sabres is that Doan is open to that type of commitment. New general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen will have some work to do when it comes to figuring out how the pieces fit together under the salary cap. The Sabres are projected to have $21 million in cap space next season, according to PuckPedia. Doan, Alex Tuch, Zach Benson, Kesselring, Peyton Krebs and Beck Malenstyn all need new contracts. So committing big money to Doan on a long-term deal requires some planning on what the rest of those contracts look like. But Doan should be high on the list of priorities for this team.

   >“I want to be part of the solution moving forward and be part of something that can grow here in Buffalo,” Doan said. “It’s easy to look at the Bills as an example with how much the fans love them and how much success they’ve had recently. We want to be part of that. This city has been so welcoming, and it’s a place I want to be for a long time.”

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