Published by hockeybuzz.com, 10-3-2018
Scott Burnside, The Athletic NHL Power Rankings
Buffalo, 25th
"Buffalo has a bonafide top line with Jack Eichel centering for Jeff Skinner and Sam Reinhart. For the first time in a long time, there’s skill on the other lines, too. Conor Sheary (second), Casey Mittelstadt (third) and Jason Pominville (fourth) bring balance. The Sabres could surprise people early with four straight home games, but that’s followed by five in a row on the West Coast. They’ll learn a lot about each other in the opening month." — John Vogl
*****
The Hockey News
6th in the Atlantic
"Buoyed by an injection of youth and new players, the Sabres are hoping to fulfill their potential and take a step towards becoming a playoff contender. (However) The Sabres accomplished the rare feat of scoring the fewest goals and being one of the worst defensive teams in the league last season, and those aren’t the kind of warts that disappear overnight. If there’s no progress made in both of those areas, it promises to be another miserable year in Buffalo.
"Buffalo is on its way to a brighter future, but the Sabres aren’t quite there yet. Look for great seasons out of Eichel and some real promise from Mittelstadt. And don’t count out the possibility that Buffalo battles for a wild-card berth.
*****
Greg Wyshynski, ESPN Power Rankings, Sabres--25th
"The Sabres are everybody's favorite sleeper team after losing Ryan O'Reilly but acquiring so much depth. 'I think things are really heading in the right direction,' Jack Eichel told ESPN this summer. 'I can confidently say that now.' Oh, and they also have the early favorite for the Calder Trophy in No. 1 overall pick Rasmus Dahlin."
*****
Brandon Schlager, The Sporting News
Atlantic Prediction--Buffalo, 5th (81.6 points)
"Sabres GM Jason Botterill entered the summer with a plan to rid the roster of predecessor Tim Murray's remaining influence. Mission accomplished, as perhaps no team in the NHL saw a greater volume of change up and down the roster after another dead-last finish.
Buffalo is another popular pick to make major gains in 2018-19. Time will tell if it all works out, but this is decidedly Botterill's vision now. At least, that's something to believe in."
*****
Dom Luszczyszyn, The Athletic: 22nd in the league, 87 projected points
"The playoffs are still very unlikely, but at 27 per cent the team their chances can’t be dismissed. They’re a step ahead of the other bottom feeders in the Atlantic, but still lag way behind the other four teams."
Luszczyszyn projection model is the most optimistic of the three he posted in his Sabres preview:
Emmanuel Perry, Corsica: 73.9 points, 31st
Rob Pizzola, Semi-Professional Sports Bettor: 81.2 points, 27th
Andy MacNeil, Vegas Stats & Information Network: 85.9 points, 24th
Over/Under Point Total, Bodog: 79.5 points, 27th
*****
Down Goes Brown, The Athletic: The bottom-feeder division (These teams are all sure-things to be terrible next year. You know, like the Avalanche, Devils and Golden Knights last year.) Buffalo--27th.
"Of all the teams in this section, the Sabres are the one that makes me nervous. I mean, they have to break through at some point, right?
"It’s also not hard to imagine a scenario where I am once again kicking myself for thinking the Sabres would ever stop being the Sabres. So I’m sticking them down here with the bottom feeders, if only as a motivating bit of reverse psychology. Prove me wrong, gentlemen."
*****
Larry Fischer, The Hockey Writers
5th in the Atlantic Division
" I was bullish on Buffalo last season, predicting the Sabres to make the playoffs. Instead, they finished last overall and won the Rasmus Dahlin lottery. I was wrong, but I’m still on Buffalo’s bandwagon as a future contender...I do think the Sabres will take a significant step in 2018-19,
Realistically, the Sabres are probably still a bottom-10 team, but I wouldn’t be shocked if they exceeded those expectations and made a little noise by hanging around in the playoff race."
*****
Griffin Youngs, Projecting every NHL team’s chances of hoisting the Stanley Cup in 2019
Buffalo, 27th on the list
Why they could win--The youth movement of the Buffalo Sabres is starting to seriously come together, and this could be the year that they finally break out of the basement and become a team worth notice. Jack Eichel will take another step in his development this season [and] If first overall pick Rasmus Dahlin can live up to the hype of a generational two-way defenseman and produce in his first year, the Sabres will have two of the best young players in the league on offense and defense.
Why they won't win--This team still needs time to gestate and finish their development before serious playoff contention can be considered.
Conclusion--The Sabres don’t really need to tank anymore with how much elite talent they’ve acquired through the draft, so expect a massive improvement from finishing in last. But making the playoffs this season is a bit ambitious.
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