The Buffalo Bills stormed into south Florida Sept. 27 and thrashed the favored Miami Dolphins 41-14. Buffalo fans always have high hopes for their Bills, and with new head coach Rex Ryan at the helm and new quarterback Tyrod Taylor under center, their hopes are now higher than ever. However, the Bills aren’t the only team Buffalo fans should be excited for.
The Buffalo Sabres have improved dramatically between the end of last season and this offseason. Key additions include forward Evander Kane (acquired from the Winnipeg Jets at last year’s trade deadline along with defenseman Zach Bogosian, in exchange for defenseman Tyler Myers, forward Drew Stafford, two prospects and a first-round draft pick), forward Ryan O’Reilly (acquired from the Colorado Avalanche during the 2015 NHL Entry Draft along with forward Jamie McGinn in exchange for forward Nikita Zadorov, two prospects and a second-round pick) and center Jack Eichel (selected with the second overall pick in the last year’s entry draft).
These key additions, along with the acquisition of goaltender Robin Lehner from the Ottawa Senators and the signing of new head coach Dan Bylsma, lead me to believe that the Sabres will compete this year.
I’m not saying they’ll make a deep playoff push. I’m not saying they’re guaranteed a playoff berth. However, due to the vast improvements the Sabres have made, and the overall weakness of the Eastern Conference, I firmly believe they will hover around the playoff bubble by the end of this season.
These new-look Sabres, to me, remarkably resemble the young Colorado Avalanche of 2013-14. They came off an ugly 2012-13 season, drafted a budding star (Nathan MacKinnon) first overall in the entry draft, hired a “new” coach (Patrick Roy) and thrived immediately in the NHL’s newly realigned divisions.
The Avs finished third in the NHL’s overall standings that year with 112 points, and won the fiercely competitive Central Division (beating out the Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild).
Before the start of the 2013-14 season, nobody questioned the offensive firepower the Avalanche had at its disposal. However, most analysts predicted the Avs would not succeed due to their lack of defense.
This year’s Sabres face similar criticism. Nobody can question the scoring might that Evander Kane, Ryan O’Reilly, Tyler Ennis, Matt Moulson and Jack Eichel bring to the table (much like Colorado’s 2013-14 offensive corps of Matt Duchene, Ryan O’Reilly, Gabriel Landeskog, Paul Stastny and Nathan MacKinnon). Let’s now take a closer look at each team’s defensemen.
Colorado’s starting six defenders at the start of the 2013-14 regular season consisted of: former No. 1 overall draft pick Erik Johnson (criticized for never meeting expectations), youngster Tyson Barrie and veterans Nate Guenin, Cory Sarich, Andre Benoit and Jan Hejda.
Buffalo’s (projected) defensive corps to start the 2015-16 season is former No. 3 overall pick Zach Bogosian (often considered an underachiever in the NHL), youngsters Rasmus Ristolainen, Jake McCabe and Mark Pysyk and veterans Mike Weber and Josh Gorges.
In reality, neither of those two sets of d-men looks all that great. With that being said, I prefer the younger, more mobile Sabres defense to that of the slower Avs defense. Many may say that the experience on the Avalanche defense is more valuable than the youth of the Sabres. I would argue that while Cory Sarich’s 14 years of NHL experience is an invaluable asset, speed and mobility on defense becomes more important each year.
When the Avs went on their unexpected run a couple years ago, Semyon Varlamov produced terrific numbers in net. At the young age of 25, “Varly” posted 41 wins, a .927 save percentage and a 2.41 goals against average, en route to becoming a finalist in the Vezina Trophy race. This year, the Sabres will call upon the 24-year-old Lehner to take charge as goaltender — a position that has been understaffed since the departure of Ryan Miller.
Another important factor in predicting the success of the Sabres this year is predicting the success of other teams in the Atlantic Division. Last year’s Eastern Conference Champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning, are obviously the early favorite to win the Atlantic Division.
The Montreal Canadiens have only missed the postseason twice since 2003-04, and, as such, are likely candidates to make it back again this season. Additionally, the Detroit Red Wings have not missed the playoffs for a remarkable 23 years. With young guns Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Tatar proving their worth last season, and the addition of Mike Green on defense, the Red Wings seem poised to make their way back into the postseason again. The fourth spot in the division (and quite possibly a wild-card playoff berth), though, at this point in time, is up for grabs.
Last year’s Cinderella story, the Ottawa Senators, went on a historic run late in the season to pave their way into the playoffs. They were then disposed of by Montreal in the first round. At this point, though, they hold a slight edge over the other members of the division.
The Florida Panthers have made next to no moves this offseason to improve from their 91 points last season. The Boston Bruins’ roster is much weaker to start this year, with key departures from Milan Lucic and Dougie Hamilton. Lastly, the Toronto Maple Leafs always seem to find a way to lose. Their roster always looks like it could compete for a playoff berth. But, simply put, they very rarely do.
To conclude, I don’t think the 2015-16 Buffalo Sabres are going to run away with the Atlantic Division like the 2013-14 Avalanche did with the Central Division. But, they’re ready to compete for a playoff spot this year. They’ve rebuilt faster than I ever could have imagined, and I’m excited to see how they can continue to improve.
