Buffalo Sabres year in review

[yave1964]

PRESEASON  OUTLOOK: They were God awful the year before but had a very nice haul in the offseason, bringing in a real coach in Dan Bylsma, they missed the McDavid tank sweepstakes but Jack Eichel was a nice consolation prize. Ryan O'Reilly came in a trade from the "Lanche and some other nice pieces came aboard. They had hopes for respectability.

 

FINAL RECORD: 35-36-11 81 POINTS a WHOPPING 35 point increase from the previous year. Missed the playoffs.

 

HIGH POINT OF THE YEAR:They were hot as most anyone down the stretch, they finished the season on a 8-3-2 run to set the tone for next year.

 

LOW POINT OF THE YEAR: The Sabres had a six game losing streak in early November but truthfully, they were not expected to win and they did not disappoint. They were never really bad for long, they just lost a little more than they won but they were surprisingly competitive all year. Not competitive in the sense of fighting for a playoff spot but they were in the games more often than not.

 

STRANGE STAT: The Sabres had an unusual amount of day games (11) and Jack Eichel scored 8 goals in 11 games, at night he only scored 16 in 70 games. Sam Reinhart, the other marquee young forward had 12 points in 11 games, but only 30 in 68 at night. Looks like the kids are sleeping at night. Overall the Sabres were 6-3-2 in day games.

 

WHAT WENT RIGHT: Ryan O'Reilly was brilliant (21-39-60) for long stretches allowing the kids to grow at their own pace. He was a faceoff god. Jack Eichel (24-32-56) was solid if not quite brilliant but he showed huge promise. Rasmus Ristolainen was brilliant in the first half but cooled off in the second. Overall a nice breakthrough season. Sam Reinhart came on strong and had 23 goals. Chad Johnson stepped in for the injured Robin Lehner and was solid. Jake Mccabe and Mark Pysyk established themselves as regulars on the back end.Along with Ristolainen they form a nice young trio. Evander Kane scored 20 goals.

 

WHAT WENT WRONG: For a team that jumped 35 points in the standings, a lot went wrong. Little Tyler Ennis missed most of the year and was ineffective when in, only 3 goals in 23 games. David Legwand is absolutely done only 5 goals all year. Cody Franson was a poor signing, he never looked comfortable. Robin Lehner only started 21 games and while his peripheral stats were okay he went 5-14 to run his career record to 35-63. The man is not and never will be a capable true starter. Girgensons had a rotten sophomore season. Matt Moulson is a shadow of his former self and only managed 8 goals. Marcus Foligno took a step back, he only managed 10 goals. Kane makes both lists getting in trouble with management for showing up late after a super Bowl party and while he scored 20 goals only 2 were on the power play and he did not really fit the scheme the team was running.

 

MVP: O'Reilly was the Sabres for much of the year, he carried the kids and allowed them to grow at their own pace in his shadow and the two players the Sabres gave up to Colorado regressed. If he quits the Tim horton 2am doughnut runs, this may be one of the Sabres best trades since Hasek from the blackHawks.

 

FREE AGENTS: Chad Johnson who started half the teams games is a free agent and the talk si they plan on letting him go and hope that Lehner can A) stay healthy and B) start winning more than 1 of every 3 starts. It may backfire.

  Other than Johnson nobody of any import, useless vets like Legwand and Colaiacovo are about it.

 

TOP PROSPECTS FOR NEXT YEAR: Linus Ullmark stepped in for a stretch last year and proved he is capable of at the least being a solid backup goalie. A lot of kids got a baptism of fire this year, but the truth is most are okay at best, Justin Bailey, Nick Baptiste and Hudson Fasching will all be on the Buffalo/Rochester shuttle but at this point in their careers none are more than energy forwards with a bit of upside. The 7 man defense seems set which is good because other than Chad Rehwedel who is a meh prospect there is no immediate help in the minors. It is just not an impressive bunch coming behind what they already have, but they have produced Reinhart, Eichel and Ristolainen who are all still babies so it is easy to give the organization a pass as they regroup and see what they have.

 

OFFSEASON QUESTION MARKS: IMHO the 35 point turnaround was no fluke, the kids were scary good at times, and a ton of vets, Bogosian, Fransen, Lehner, Ennis, Moulson, Foligno and to a certain extent Kane were disappointing. Girgensons took a huge step back. Do they go status quo and go with the assumption that what goes down will go back up and find its level? Or do they shake it up in the trade market and make a move with a couple of these guys for somebody elses problems? If the players listed above had simply played to their level, I am not kidding, the Sabres could have and likely would have made up the 12 points that they missed the postseason by and would have been facing Tampa in the first round. If these guys pick it up and the kids do not hit a 'sophomore slump' but instead continue with their growth, this is potentially a very dangerous team that is only a piece or two away from contending in Hockey's worst division.

 

  This concludes the 14 teams that missed the playoffs, I will start in a day or so on the teams that have so far been eliminated.

[Samifan]

20 hours ago, Hockey Junkie said:

Those three are going to be on the ice during crush time in the future along with O'Reilly in the near future.  

 

20 hours ago, Hockey Junkie said:

I myself, as you know, would bring Ryan Miller back here in a heartbeat.  

 

Is Crush time the same as Crunch time or is Crush time when they play the Kiss-Cam at the arena?

You would take Miller back in Buffalo? This is the first time I have heard you mention this......

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Fact of the matter is, this Sabres team DOES have a bright future, and they are on the right track to getting to respectability.

 

That said, it is still a long road as the NHL has proven itself merciless when it comes to 'breaking in' new guys...even if those new guys are outstanding talents. McDavid, Hall, Stamkos (remember when the Bolts were losing tons of games while this guy was learning his ropes?), Monahan, and yes, even guys like Kane and Toews all say 'hello'.

 

NOT having a stable, reliable goalie is huge. And until Buffalo can get that guy in there, they will continue to lose those one goal games and, at worst, be blown out on other nights or give up big leads whenever their forwards have good nights themselves. That's just a fact of life in the NHL.

 

Even a powerful offensive team like Dallas has proven something we all knew: If you don't have the goaltending, you aren't a serious contender, as the Stars had gotten by all year on the strength of their ultra powerful offense.

Well, there ISN'T an ultra powerful offense in Buffalo (not for awhile anyways), so the road to respectability will begin and end with the guy they have between the pipes, along with the entire team's ability to play smart defense, while their young offense continues to simmer.

 

Sabres have come a long way from the complete joke of a franchise they were icing not so long ago.....but still have yet to scratch the surface of what it takes to be a contender.

They are in a division with young and hungry teams like Panthers, Lightning, and I would throw in the Red Wings too if they can get a semblance of a consistent offense.

Also in that division are a battle tested team like the Bruins....and don't be surprised if the new Leafs become more of a thorn in the side of teams than most give them credit for, and even the Senators, under new leadership and with pretty decent young players, have a chance to be 'in the way' of others in the division.

 

Bottom line here is, while I think the Sabres are on the right track, they best not get complacent because they could easily get derailed by some of the teams mentioned. The Sabres do NOT an have NEVER, lived in a 'vacuum' in the division. They NEED to pay heed to what their rivals are doing, lest they have false hope and continue to be a doormat (Edmonton says hello again).

 

As for Miller.....well, all I gotta say is, I am a big fan of VLC still...yet I think bringing him back to the Bolts would be a terrible mistake. I will let the rest of you draw your own conclusions from that.....

 

I really hope the Sabers do well. I actually rooted for this team (with Miller on it!) back when the Bruins were running the show within the division.

Team has the potential to be real players in the Atlantic.

But until they prove it, I will have them in the bottom half of the division as their starting point still.

[J0e Th0rnton]

18 hours ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

Fact of the matter is, this Sabres team DOES have a bright future, and they are on the right track to getting to respectability.

 

That said, it is still a long road as the NHL has proven itself merciless when it comes to 'breaking in' new guys...even if those new guys are outstanding talents. McDavid, Hall, Stamkos (remember when the Bolts were losing tons of games while this guy was learning his ropes?), Monahan, and yes, even guys like Kane and Toews all say 'hello'.

 

NOT having a stable, reliable goalie is huge. And until Buffalo can get that guy in there, they will continue to lose those one goal games and, at worst, be blown out on other nights or give up big leads whenever their forwards have good nights themselves. That's just a fact of life in the NHL.

 

Even a powerful offensive team like Dallas has proven something we all knew: If you don't have the goaltending, you aren't a serious contender, as the Stars had gotten by all year on the strength of their ultra powerful offense.

Well, there ISN'T an ultra powerful offense in Buffalo (not for awhile anyways), so the road to respectability will begin and end with the guy they have between the pipes, along with the entire team's ability to play smart defense, while their young offense continues to simmer.

 

Sabres have come a long way from the complete joke of a franchise they were icing not so long ago.....but still have yet to scratch the surface of what it takes to be a contender.

They are in a division with young and hungry teams like Panthers, Lightning, and I would throw in the Red Wings too if they can get a semblance of a consistent offense.

Also in that division are a battle tested team like the Bruins....and don't be surprised if the new Leafs become more of a thorn in the side of teams than most give them credit for, and even the Senators, under new leadership and with pretty decent young players, have a chance to be 'in the way' of others in the division.

 

Bottom line here is, while I think the Sabres are on the right track, they best not get complacent because they could easily get derailed by some of the teams mentioned. The Sabres do NOT an have NEVER, lived in a 'vacuum' in the division. They NEED to pay heed to what their rivals are doing, lest they have false hope and continue to be a doormat (Edmonton says hello again).

 

As for Miller.....well, all I gotta say is, I am a big fan of VLC still...yet I think bringing him back to the Bolts would be a terrible mistake. I will let the rest of you draw your own conclusions from that.....

 

I really hope the Sabers do well. I actually rooted for this team (with Miller on it!) back when the Bruins were running the show within the division.

Team has the potential to be real players in the Atlantic.

But until they prove it, I will have them in the bottom half of the division as their starting point still.

My biggest gripe over the Sabres really isn't their fault. It's Yahoo's.

 

Freaking give Sam Reinhart Winger eligibility already! He ain't supplanting ROR or Eichel. Over and over I looked at picking him up in 2 different yahoo leagues, but since he neither takes faceoffs(NAHANA), nor is worth dropping guys like Krejci/Barkov/Backstrom(My work league) for when you are already juggling C's.

 

But his scoring was picking up and I was checking every day to see if he would get winger eligibility.