That headline was a fun to write because it will draw the ire from a number of fans in Sabreland who see Buffalo Sabres defenseman Marco Scandella and forward Zemgus Girgensons, among others, as utter deplorables. Having both players score to help Buffalo overcome a 2-0 deficit at Pittsburgh before the Sabres eventual 3-2 win in the shootout was satisfying in a way. About the only thing better would have been for Vladimir Sobotka to score the shootout winner instead of Casey Mittelstadt, which would have a medal-sweep by "The Deplorables."
Of course, it's only preseason, unless you're talking about 18 yr. old Dylan Cozens whom many believe should have a spot on the Sabres roster based upon one very strong preseason game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Or Rasmus Asplund who performed very well in his role as a two-way forward to the point where a case could be made for him to be in a fourth-line role in Buffalo. Asplund outperformed fourth-line/depth players on the Sabres as well as Mittelstadt and there was a groundswell calling for Mittelstadt to be cut and Asplund up with the big club. Both Cozens and Asplund would be welcome faces to replace a group we've seen plenty of the past two-plus seasons. And they will be in Buffalo, just not now.
As we head towards the final cuts this year, fans in Sabreland are tired of seeing the likes of Scandella, Girgensons, Johan Larsson and Vladimir Sobotka on the team and would gladly throw the likes of Mike Card and Michael Funk in there if just for a change of faces. Last year young players Alexander Nylander and Tage Thompson were pined for as replacements for some in that group even though Nylander wasn't ready. Nor was Thompson, as we found out after watching him for a couple months.
Such is the legacy of an NHL-long eight-year playoff drought which overlapped a NFL-long 17 yr. playoff drought for the hometown Buffalo Bills. To say that Buffalo sports fans have had it tough this century is an understatement as they've watched a parade of general managers and coaches ice and field crap passed off while constantly asking the fanbase for patience until only a thin veil remained. "The process" is almost a cursed term in Buffalo but as the Bills continue to climb in an orderly, albeit painstakingly slow, fashion under a new regime installed three years ago, we find the Sabres at yet another starting point with new head coach Ralph Krueger taking the reigns under third-year GM Jason Botterill.
So how does this relate to the group of deplorables mentioned above?
Despite the fancy charts, years of team failures and incessant, merciless whining on social media from the fan base, every Sabres player that came into training camp this season, from Scandella to Cozens, had a clean slate and will have been judged by what they can do for the team in their roles within Krueger's systems. Just last night Krueger praised Girgensons post-game as "being a player who truly executes within the framework of what we need defensively and is a threat to score." Which is what he wants from all of his players.
The systems he's implementing are contained within an overall philosophy formulated by Botterill which includes a player-development philosophy predicated upon letting a player develop as much as possible before bringing him to the NHL. If one takes everything into consideration while building the roster for this season, it's not hard to see why most, if not all, of that group will be on the ice this Thursday to start the season while the rest are headed to their proper developmental leagues.
Krueger has mentioned that he's looking for puck possession as well as offense derived from sound defense and the forwards mentioned above can contribute to that. Although you won't see Girgensons and Larsson on a heavy cycle in the offensive zone creating scoring changes, you will see them flip the ice as the ditch-diggers of the team. Every team needs players doing the dirty and if Mike Rowe delved into the NHL in his Dirty Jobs TV series, Girgensons and Larsson would have been high on his priority list. Sobotka will probably end up in a defensive role as a face off specialist. Although faceoff-winning percentages are likened to plus/minus in importance these days, a face off win means...puck possession.
What it ultimately comes down to is that the Sabres aren't ready to be the Tampa Bay Lightning or Toronto Maple Leafs yet so they'll need some ditch-diggers. They don' have the overall NHL talent and while players like Cozens and Asplund certainly have the wherewithal and bright futures ahead of them, the team itself isn't ready to provide a fertile, winning environment to foster that development. Botterill rebuilt the Rochester Americans to be part of that fertile ground where players in the system can develop winning ways. Even though the Amerks haven't made it past the first round in the playoffs in his short time, a player like seventh-round pick Victor Olofsson came in from overseas last season, led the team in scoring and now looks to be in a top-line role in Buffalo.
That's development.
While "The Deplorables" are plugging away, players in the system are getting another year of development as the NHL team is formulating the foundation of their future. It might not be great this year and as many have pointed out it's wasting yet another year of Jack Eichel's contract, but it's better than the alternatives which include bringing in high-priced free agents, making a regrettable trade or rushing players through the system, all three of which have occurred in Buffalo and have gotten the team nowhere.
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Training camp has ended for Krueger and the Sabres and cuts still need to be made. One occurred today as defenseman Will Borgen was sent to Rochester. The 21 yr. old Borgen completed a very solid 2018-19 rookie season with the Amerks and looked good in camp this year but it's not his time.
The rest of the Sabres went through a very early practice and are in Orchard Park to watch the Bills take on the New England Patriots.
Buffalo has 25 healthy skaters on the roster right now and here's how they lined up for practice today according to those at the rink:
Olofsson-Eichel-Reinhart
Skinner-Johansson-Sobotka
Wilson-Rodrigues-Okposo
Vesey-Mittelstadt-Lazar
Girgensons-Larsson-Thompson
Elie-Asplund
Dahlin-Miller
McCabe-Ristolainen
Scandella-Jokiharju
Gilmour-Nelson
By the sounds of it, defenseman Brandon Montour won't be ready for opening night as he recovers from a hand injury. Krueger told the gathered media that Montour's "been working with our outstanding rehab staff to get back to us ASAP, but we'd like to see him here within the next few weeks."
One of Henri Jokiharju, John Gilmour or Casey Nelson looks to be the odd man out, although they could very well carry eight defensemen. In that scenario four forwards would need to be cut and we all know who most of Sabreland would like to see cut.
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