Former Sabres dot the 2020 Stanley Cup semi-finals

Nearly every National Hockey League team can lay claim to former players in the NHL's 'final four," and Buffalo is no different. However, the Sabres have the dubious distinction of trading away a player in center Ryan O'Reilly who ended up being a 2019 Conn Smythe winner for playoff MVP while helping to lead the St. Louis Blues to their first-ever Stanley Cup. O'Reilly also won the Selke Trophy for best two-way forward in 2018-19 while the Sabres were extending their playoff drought to eight seasons.

Egg meat face.

It happened. And there's no sense in re-hashing the details as that horse has been beaten to the point of cremation. Yet, as we move along in the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs, there's another player from former Tim Murray's "young-vet" group of acquisitions that is helping power his team to possibly their first Stanley Cup.

Murray took over as Sabres general manager, made sure the Sabres finished dead last in 2015 (guaranteeing either Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel in the Blue and Gold,) and went for a quick rebuild after gutting the entire organization of talent. The process ended up setting Buffalo back years and the organization still hasn't fully recovered. While the Sabres are stuck in the bottom third of the league, closing in on an NHL playoff drought-tying record, some of the players Murray counted on to speed up the rebuild process have advanced with their teams.

The 2015 NHL Draft was a whirlwind of activity for the Sabres as not only were they planning on drafting Eichel second-overall, but also had Murray working the phones and pulling off trades for O'Reilly from the Colorado Avalanche and goalie Robin Lehner from his former team, the Ottawa Senators. 

Lehner actually kicked off the day for the Sabres as Buffalo traded the 21st-overall pick for a 23 yr. old goalie who was caught up in a three-way battle to man the crease in Ottawa. Murray called Lehner "high-end competitive" and believed he would become "a No. 1 starter...on a good team, on a contending team, on a playoff team."

True words, but not in Buffalo where he went 42-61-22 with a 2.77 goals-against average and .916 save percentage before the Sabres. It was a tumultuous time in Buffalo as not only was Lehner battling inconsistencies in front of him on the ice, but he was also, as we would come to find out after the Sabres let him walk in 2018, battling debilitating demons within. He finally landed with the Vegas Golden Knights after a 2018-19 season with the New York Islanders and a partial 2019-20 season with the Chicago Blackhawks who traded him to Toronto before the Leafs moved him to Vegas. Lehner would win the trust of Golden Knights head coach Peter DeBoer in the playoffs and wrestled the starters job away from three-time Cup-winner, Marc-Andre Fleury and just led Vegas to a Game-7 shutout win over the Vancouver Canucks last night. He heads to the semis with an 8-4-0 playoff record, a 1.99 GAA, .918 sv% and three shutouts.

Was Murray right in trading for O'Reilly and Lehner back in 2015? Yes and no. Right players (albeit a a premium,) bad timing might be the best way to look at it.

Another Murray-trade that turned out poorly was trading defenseman Brayden McNabb (2009, 66th-overall,) along with two second-round picks and F, Jonathan Parker to the L.A. Kings for Nicolas Deslauriers and prospect Hudson Fasching, whom he acquired as "heavies" for the team. Although this wasn't a direct egg-in-the-face trade, embarrassment came later. The Kings left McNabb exposed to the 2018 NHL expansion draft, the Knight's plucked him and McNabb has been a mainstay on their top-pairing displaying definitive chemistry with top Vegas d-man Nate Schmidt.

Another member of Vegas who was once in the Sabres organization is forward William Carrier, whom Buffalo left unprotected at the expansion draft. New GM Jason Botterill made a deal with Vegas GM George McPhee sending a 6th round pick to Vegas to protect goalie Linus Ullmark. McPhee took that pick and Carrier who has now played in 162 regular season and 32 playoff games over three seasons for the Golden Knights.

Carrier and Vegas recently agreed to a 4yr./$5.6 million contract extension.

Staying out west, the veteran laden Dallas Stars will take on Vegas with two former Sabres patrolling the blueline in lesser roles. 

Defenseman Andrej Sekera was a 2004, third-round pick of Buffalo and at 34 yrs. old is doing that journeyman thing. Sekera left Buffalo after the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season and has had stints in Carolina, Toronto, Los Angeles, Edmonton and now Dallas. The Stars have him in a lower-pairing role with heavy penalty killing duties. As a player who was much maligned in Buffalo by a fan-base that over-emphasized his short-comings while de-emphasizing his positive qualities, it would bring this writer some pleasure seeing him skate around the ice with the Cup in his hands.

Taylor Fedun is another former Sabres d-man playing for Dallas. The undrafted free agent initially signed with the Edmonton Oilers out of Princeton University, and played for the San Jose Sharks and Vancouver Canucks before landing in Buffalo in 2016. Botterill traded Fedun to the Stars in November, 2018 where he's been contributing as expected in a reserve role.

The NY Islanders have no former Sabres on their team as they head to the Eastern Conference Championship series but their opponent, the Tampa Bay Lightning do.

Defenseman Zach Bogosian was another young-vet, Murray acquisition and though he wasn't the primary piece received in a blockbuster deal with the Winnipeg Jets in 2015 (winger Evander Kane was the key player,) he was expected to, at the very least, be a top-four defenseman who would be with Buffalo a long time while Murray worked young players through the system.

Bogosian was in Buffalo for a relatively long time, six years, but only played in 243 games for the Sabres due to a rash of injuries that hit like clockwork on a yearly basis. The former first round pick (2008, third-overall) was drafted as a big, gritty defenseman with excellent skating and some real good offensive touch but little of that showed in Buffalo as he was either playing injured, on injured reserve or recovering from injuries. Eventually it came to the point where the Sabres wanted to trade him, but his $5.14 cap-hit made him immovable. 

When he came back from his latest injury, head coach Ralph Krueger gave him a shot and made him a healthy scratch (for the first time in the defenseman's career) prompting Bogosian asked for a trade. With no takers the 29 yr. old was waived, failed to report and was given his unconditional release. Bogosian hooked up with the Lightning on an NHL-minimum salary.

Like O'Reilly before him, Bogosian walked into a situation where the team was set and he had his defined role within that setup and he's performed well with nearly all of his advanced metrics either at the top amongst Tampa Bay defensemen or in top-three.

Odds are that at least one former Sabre will be skating around with a big smile on his face while lofting the Stanley Cup high above his head. Which one will it be?

We shall see.

Fortunate twists of fate keeps Sabres out of deep cap-trouble and may help in Sam Reinhart negotiations

The fates may have once again worked in favor of the Buffalo Sabres to keep their impending cap problems manageable as the effects of Covid-19 has put the National Hockey League, and all other sports, in a precarious situation. The NHL is slated to finish the 2019-20 regular season and playoffs in a bubble without fans to fulfill television obligations. Gate-receipts, a major source of income to the league, dried up and the NHL is trying to bring in whatever dollars they can. Finishing the season this way at least assures them of pro-rated television revenue. 

It's a situation that's having an adverse effect on the salary cap. The NHL and the NHL Players association have a lot of work to do when it comes to figuring out the logistics of the current salary cap and those of the 2020-21 season as well but right now in general terms, rumor has it that the cap will remain at it's present ceiling of $81.5 million for the next two seasons with a very modest increase into the mid $82 million range for 2022-23. A situation like this is forcing many teams with high payrolls and little, if any, cap wiggle room into a huge bind but won't have a daunting effect on the Buffalo Sabres as most of their roster consists of free agents. They have a projected $34 million in cap-space heading into the off season, according to CapFriendly.

However, that $34 million figure worsens a bit as 2019-20 performance bonuses come into play.

Buffalo was looking at cap-overages for this past season which the league will tack on as a penalty in 2020-21. Prior to the stoppage the Sabres may have had 2019-20 cap-overages totaling over $3 million, according to a piece from Joe Yerdon of The Athletic. Yerdon wrote that because the pandemic ended the regular season the Sabres saved $2 million in cap penalties as defenseman Rasmus Dahlin finished just outside the top-10 in assists by defensemen. Had he hit that mark, which was a definitely possibility, his bonus would have been $2 million. As is right now, Dahlin will receive a $850K bonus and fellow d-man Henri Jokiharju will get and extra $425K bringing the Sabres overage to $1.25 million which is slated to come off of next year's cap-ceiling as a penalty for going over. 

Although having a full $81.5 million to work with in 2020-21 would have been ideal, working with over $80 million is better than the possible $78.225 million had the season not come to it's early conclusion for Buffalo and Dahlin hit the mark. It's also the third time in the past 18 months that the Sabres have gotten lucky with their cap.

When former general manager Jason Botterill was hired by Buffalo in 2017, he was perceived as a salary-cap guru, among other things. Botterill had been in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization as an assistant to Jim Rutherford and amongst his tasks was trying to fill the roster around five players who took up about 50% of their cap space. In both 2015-16 and  2016-17 Botterill was at the forefront working through that situation and Pittsburgh wound up winning back-to-back Stanley Cups. However, his cap-acumen never really came to fruition in Buffalo, as we see by the cap-overage that new general manager Kevyn Adams inherited. 

Although he was saddled with some bad contracts when taking the job, Botterill did himself and the team no favors with some of his trades and signings. The optics of the Ryan O'Reilly trade were bad enough on the surface as Botterill traded away a player for a second-rate package that featured quantity over quality and the player he sent packing ended up helping the St. Louis Blues win their first-ever Cup while claiming the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP. O'Reilly also won the Selke Award as the league's best two-way player that season.

Two of the players that Botterill got in return for O'Reilly were forwards Patrik Berglund and Vladimir Sobotka, a pair of mid-bottom roster forwards who combined for a cap-hit of $7.35 million (just $150K less than O'Reilly.) This was on top of the bloated cap-hits he inherited in Kyle Okposo and Zach Bogosian ($11.143M,) both of whom were also playing in the bottom of the roster, as well as two players Botterill traded for--Jason Pominville and Marco Scandella, who combined for $9.6 million. Add in that Jack Eichel was pulling in $10 million and former Carolina Hurricane Jeff Skinner at another $5.725 million and you had a 2018-19 Buffalo Sabres team that was headed towards a cap-overage.

But a funny thing happened while on the way to an impending cap-crunch, Berglund decided he'd had enough and walked away from the remaining three-plus years of his contract worth over $13 million. With Berglund's $3.85 million cap-hit off the books, the Sabres finished just $2.8 million under the cap. 

It was the second time under Botterill and then head coach Phil Housley that a player was disgruntled in Buffalo and ended up leaving. O'Reilly famously said he'd, "lost his love for the game" at locker cleanout in 2018, just before he was traded and less than a year later Berglund, who never recovered from being traded to Buffalo, walked away from that huge guaranteed contract. Fourteen months after Berglund's departure, Bogosian voiced his displeasure and was on his way out.

Bogosian came from the Winnipeg Jets in a blockbuster 2015 trade and after initially looking like he could be in the top-four or even a top defensive pairing for Buffalo, he faltered, mostly because of injury. In the six full seasons between the Sabres acquiring him and his departure, Bogosian played in only 249 of a possible 492 games or barely half the potential games all the while sucking $5.143 million/season away from the Sabres cap. 

As 2019-20 rolled around Bogosian once again would start the season on injured reserve and when he came back, he didn't feel as if he was getting a fair shake with head coach Ralph Krueger. After being a healthy scratch, he asked for a trade. Buffalo tried to trade him, then they put Bogosian on waivers, but nobody would touch him and his contract. After Bogosian failed to report to the Rochester Americans the Sabres suspended him before putting him on unconditional waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract. His accumulated cap-hit for this season was $3.8 million saving Buffalo his remaining hit, about $1.3 million, in potential overages for 2019-20.

Although new GM Adams has the cap-overage against him this season, Covid-19 and the effects it's having on the league's revenue and salary structure over the estimated next three seasons comes into play when with the possible contract extension of Sam Reinhart.

The 2014 second-overall pick came off of his entry-level deal and signed what turned out to be a very team-friendly 2yr./$7.3 million deal in 2018 and proceeded to post the best numbers of his career with a combined 115 points (44+71) in 151 games (0.76 points/game.) At 24 yrs. old, and dependent upon how he plays it this off season,  Reinhart could either be on the road to unrestricted free agency in a couple of years or could cash in on a lucrative long-term deal, dependent upon what he and the Sabres want to do. 

As a restricted free agent with arbitration rights, if the proper deal didn't satisfy Reinhart and his agent, they could file for arbitration and take the one-year settlement. He could do that once again after the following season then become an unrestricted free agent in 2022-23. Covid-19 wreaking havoc has the potential to change everyone's thinking as social distancing could effect gate receipts next season with a domino effect making life difficult at least a couple years beyond that. Or at least that's what the NHL seems to be planning on.

Prior to the stoppage in play, the general thought on a Reinhart contract was that of a long-term, 6-8 yr. deal somewhere in the $7 million/season range. Now we're not so sure. With uncertainty hovering over the league, he and the Sabres might be better off with a 3-4 yr. deal and with the salary cap expected to be virtually flat for the next three seasons, a $6 million cap-hit might not be that far off. Reinhart could go the arbitration route, which is brutal for both player and team, and probably come away with that $6 million figure. He could do it again for 2021-22 and maybe come away with a little more or he could sign that 3-4 yr. deal and  he could hit unrestricted free agency smack-dab in the middle of his prime.

It's a situation that not only effects Reinhart but all free agents.

Post-NHL trade deadline, Sabres add, subtract and hit the road.

Buffalo Sabres general manager Jason Botterill had the difficult task of walking a tightrope at the 2020 NHL trade deadline. His Sabres team hadn't really given him a clear direction as to where they were headed this season and prior to the trade deadline they posted a 7-6-1 record in 13 games between the All-Star break and the deadline. The beginning of that stretch started out rough with two home losses against very beatable teams and had everyone leaning towards selling at the deadline. It ended with two very diverse and convincing wins against two playoff teams. In the middle there were highs and lows.

Moving forward Buffalo will need to put together an impressive final 20 games to land the only spot they have a shot at. The Sabres are 29-25-8 right now which puts them on a pace for 87 points. They'll need to up that pace as 96 points might be the benchmark they'll need to shoot for to land the third spot in the Atlantic Division, which is somewhere akin to a 14-4-2 record.

Should Sabres fans get excited about this recent stretch enough to get our hopes up?

Buffalo Sabres fans have been through this movie before. A team left for dead just past the midway point of the season makes a valiant run for the playoffs only to fall just short. It's nothing new. In fact this trend dates back to at least the Lindy Ruff years from 2007-2013. Ruff's Sabres generally struggled through the first half of the year only to make that run save for the 2009-10 season when they took the Northeast Division crown after being at near the top of the division the entire season. In the other years during that span Buffalo was in the middle to back of the pack and ended up finishing third in the division three times and fourth on one occasion. They closed out that span with a pre-tank fifth-place finish in 2012-13. In those six years they made the playoffs twice getting bounced in the first round both times.

We're now well into the 2020 portion of the season and once again the Sabres are in a position where they'll need to make a near miraculous run to get into the playoffs. Coming into the new year Buffalo found themselves in a tough position being five points out of third place in the Atlantic Division, eight points out of the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. A 5-3-0 record prior to their "bye-week" and the All-Star break gave fans hope for the team as they would be coming out of the break with nine of 10 games at home.

Five-game Sabres recap Jan. 2-12

You couldn't have ended 2019 on a worse note. The Buffalo Sabres rang out the old with a very disappointing loss to the surging Tampa Bay Lighting by the score of 6-4. Tampa scored an empty-netter for the final which capped off a five goal run that erased a 4-1 Buffalo lead.

The set-up to the Tampa game had some weird circumstances as the Sabres didn't forget what Nikita Kucherov and Eric Cernak did to their players in previous meetings. While over in Stockholm, Sweden for the 2019 Global Series, Kucherov submarined an unsuspecting Vladimir Sobotka and sent him to injured reserve. He probably won't be back this season. Just over two weeks later, a high elbow from Cernak connected with Rasmus Dahlin's head resulting in a concussion for the 19 yr. old defenseman. Neither hit was penalize and neither was taken care of on the ice by the Sabres. The Kucherov hit wasn't looked at by the NHL Department of Player Safety while Cernak received a two-game suspension for an illegal hit to the head on Dahlin. 

Wake up ya sleepyheads, there's a 1 p.m. matinee today

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 12-14-2019



Three wins in a row. That's what the Buffalo Sabres have going for them as they resume play today with a 1 p.m. game against the NY Islanders. Those three wins came against the Western Conference (at Edmonton, vs. St. Louis and Nashville) and they'll be facing off against an Islanders team that shut them out 1-0 in Buffalo on November 2. The loss against the Isles was loss No. 2 in a particularly rough November slide where they went 1-7-1 through the first three weeks.

However, since pulling off a solid win in Florida against the Panthers, Buffalo has put together a nice little streak that includes a 6-2-3 record, the three-game winning streak (their first since October 17-22,) and a four-game points-streak.

Speaking of streaks, the man behind the Sabres resurgence is their, Jack Eichel. The 23 yr. old Buffalo captain is riding a career-best 15-game points streak (14+13) and has scored two-goals in back-to-back games. During that span, beginning November 17, Eichel's 14 goals, 27 points and plus-18 rating leads the league. Through 33 game this season, Eichel has 22 goals (which is second in the league) and 46 points T-fifth.)

Only one blemish on an otherwise great Aud Night.

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 12-13-2019


For those of us who remember the old Memorial Auditorium, seeing the old gold, red, blue and orange section motif brought back some fond memories. Props to the marketing department for draping color T-shirts over the seats to rekindle those memories.

My first memory came via my sister who took me to my first-ever game back in the early 70's. We had standing room only tickets and there was a wall up to that you had to get to fast so that you could see the ice. So up we ran on those ramps all the way to the top and we got ourselves parked on that wall next to the men's rest room. Included in that memory of basically looking straight down on the ice was the smell of cigarettes, stale beer and urine. For those of you looking for a Hallmark memory moment, sorry, that's the way it was and they lost to Vancouver that night as well. There were other memories, mostly of concerts and the treacherous stairs in the orange section during concerts where altered states was the norm from the mid-70's through the early 80's but last night was about hockey and it was Aud Night, a tribute to that grand old building's legacy.

About the only thing better for this particular night would have been for the Sabres to be squaring off against the Boston Bruins as nothing reminds me more of the old Aud than The Buffalo/Boston matchups featuring the French Connection going up against the Big, Bad Bruins. However, it the Sabres organization put on a good show and their hockey team followed it up with a solid 4-3 win in front of a very appreciative crowd at KeyBank Center.

It's time to ride Linus Ullmark, more. Plus...

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 11-30-2019


Prior to the Buffalo Sabres road trip in Florida, some of what we'd like to see out of this team to help them turn it around centered around little steps. The Sabres had just come off what might have been their best game of the season in Boston but lost to the Bruins 3-2. Both Buffalo goals were scored by defensemen that game and it continued a bad trend that has been haunting the Sabres all month as secondary scoring from forwards through nine November games had almost dried up. Only three Sabres forwards outside the top line had goals (Jeff Skinner, Johan Larsson and Curtis Lazar, all with one each) in that span.

That has slowly begun to change as Zemgus Girgensons (two goals vs. Florida,) Jimmy Vesey (goals in now three consecutive games beginning in Tampa,) and Casey Mittelstadt (first goal in 17 games last night vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs) have joined the usual suspects of Jack Eichel, Skinner, Victor Olofsson and Sam Reinhart in scoring goals. After beating the Leafs last night, the Sabres are 2-1-1 in their last four games and have lit the lamp 15 times, all by the forwards and all at even strength.

Even though the powerplay has been all but non-existent with only one goal all month (by Rasmus Ristolainen vs. Boston) in 35 opportunities (3.5%,) it is a good sign that the Sabres have been able to tally at even strength these past four games.

That was...interesting. Krueger is mad scientist in win over FLA

Publised by hockeybuzz.com, 11-25-2019


The lineup to begin last night's game in Florida against the Panthers was somewhat of an eyebrow-raiser to begin with as it featured 11 forwards and seven defensemen. Yes, we've seen it before and other teams have used it before, including the Tampa Bay Lightning last season, as mentioned by Buffalo Sabres head coach Ralph Krueger post-game, but still, that set-up is a little difficult to wrap your hands around. Especially when you're accustomed to Krueger religiously sticking to his lines and pairings this season.

Last night, however, the hockey coach became a mad scientist after forward Evan Rodrigues went down with an injury during his first shift on the ice. Krueger did some juggling on the blueline to start the game as he tried to work in seven defensemen while double-shifting able bodies up front. But after Rodrigues went down he let it all hang out and rolled with various concoctions up front that were full of surprises, including defenseman Brandon Montour taking a regular shift at left wing.

"The way we play," said Krueger to the media after their 5-2 win, "it's about finding your role in the group. Sometimes d-men will be up in the front, forwards will be back and vice-versa. I think it's an easy style of play that you can step into that."

There's been no fun in the Florida Sun for the Sabres

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 11-24-2019


Let's get this out of the way right now.

Since the 2013-14 season, the Buffalo Sabres have a combined 5-15-2 record against the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning in a two-game, Florida road trip and they've been swept out of the state in seven of those 11 duals.

If that isn't enough of a downer for Sabres fans, heading into this evening's matchup at the Panthers, Buffalo is 1-7-2 in their last 10 games while Florida is 7-2-1.

Most of the focus in Sabreland for today's matchup with Florida centers around the defense and which NHL-caliber defensemen will be in the press box. The order of pairings as relayed by those at Buffalo's practice yesterday are:

Ristolainen - McCabe
Dahlin - Bogosian
Miller - Montour
Scandella - Jokiharju

Sabres Notes

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 11-23-2019


There's not a Sabres writer out there who enjoys writing something akin to the following:  The Buffalo Sabres played an excellent game against the Boston Bruins and did everything but win. Buffalo outshot Boston 38-27 at TD Garden on Thursday night including a first period where they pumped 14 shots on goal before the Bruins registered their first shot (to a Bronx cheer from the home crowd) 12:11 into the game. The Sabres boasted a very robust 62.22% CF percentage with no individual player below 50% and totaled 69 shots directed at Boston goalie Tukka Rask (38 on-goal, 17 blocked, 14 missed) compared to the 44 shots (27+11+6) sent Linus Ullmark's way.

This was a game they should have won and would have won except for...Rask. The Boston netminder, and the game's deserved first star, stole one for the Bruins and the Sabres were left with this from defenseman Brandon Montour, "We played a little better," he said to the gathered media post game, "but in the end, it's another loss.

"We have to start winning some hockey games."

True dat.

Impressions of, and questions concerning--D, Zach Bogosian

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 4-28-2019

Defenseman--Zach Bogosian DOB: July 15, 1990 (Age, 29)
Draft: 2008, third-overall, Atlanta Thrashers
How acquired: Acquired in a trade with Winnipeg, February 11, 2015
Last contract signed: July 29, 2013, 7yrs./$36 million
Final year of contract: 2019-20

2018-19 Stats:  65 games | 3 goals | 16 assists | 19 points | -5 | 21:38 ATOI

Buffalo Career Stats:  224 games | 12 goals | 50 assists | 62 points | -49 | 21:43 ATOI

What we wrote preseason:  Dependent upon how things shake out at camp, 28 yr. old veteran defenseman Zach Bogosian will probably be the first one to hit the ice as a d-partner for Buffalo Sabres rookie phenom Rasmus Dahlin. That is, of course, if nothing happens to Bogosian along the way, which unfortunately is always a possibility.

Last year because of injury Bogosian's season didn't start until December 1 and it ended 18 games later as he and the rest of his season was done in by a hip injury. Bogosian underwent hip surgery in early February and with a 4-6 month recovery time now past, he's ready to go for the upcoming season.

As a veteran who's never made the playoffs in his 10-year career, and as a player who's missed a lot of time due to injury, one would think that any role, especially alongside a franchise defenseman would suit him moving forward. One should have every reason to believe that Bogosian will take on that role and relish helping Dahlin, just as he did with  Jake McCabe.

However, maybe it's best to entertain more modest goals for Bogosian like a 70-game season in a second-pairing role for a team that's a playoff contender for at least a good portion of the season. And even that might be asking too much.

What we wrote mid-season:  Once again, Bogosian was injured this season and didn't play his first game until October 16. However what we've seen from him since his return has been very, very good. Bogosian was drafted third overall because he could skate very well for his size and had a skill package that netted him 18 goals and 76 assists in 127 OHL games. And he had a mean-streak in him as well. In 21 games after being traded for, Bogosian at least piqued our interest with his game but for the three years after, nearly half of his time was spent on the injured list. He had hip surgery back in January and started out a little slow this year but has really been playing well. There's a lot of leadership emanating from him and he can be like a mean big brother on the ice protecting his siblings. Bogosian's been logging big minutes for the club and lately he's been paired a lot with Dahlin. The 6'3" 226 lb. Massena, NY native has been getting up ice and shoving the opposition around while registering seven points (2+5) in 32 games. All of those traits have contributed to Buffalo's early season success and we'll just leave it at that as we don't want to jin...

Impressions on his play this year:  Bogosian's play this season was reminiscent of his play when he first came to the Sabres four years ago--a rugged defenseman who can defend the crease and work the boards in his own end while getting up ice to contribute offensively and on occasion, deliver a cannon of a shot. 

With his days of being a big, two-way d-man with enough skating to consider him an offensive threat long gone, Bogosian has settled into more of a defensive defenseman role for Buffalo logging a team-high 2:46 minutes on the penalty kill with 58% of his starts in the defensive zone. Two years ago he mentored a young Jake McCabe and this past season he had a positive effect on Dahlin, who was free to roan while Bogosian held the fort. 

As with anything Bogosian, staying healthy is key to his effectiveness and he managed to play 65 games this season, tied for the most he's played since 2011-12. Bogosian is in the final year of a contract that paid him over $5 million annually but he only played about 50% of the games while donning the Blue and Gold and in 2019-20, either at the trade deadline or at the end of the season, the Sabres can part ways with him. However, the NHL is still a pretty tough league despite the predominance of highly skilled players taking the ice on a nightly basis and Buffalo might need a player with his rugged style of play in a third-pairing/penalty kill role, dependent upon the dollars and term of a future contract.

Questions moving forward: Did he show enough this season to warrant the Sabres keeping him around on another contract? What would said contract look like? How does he fit into their plans moving forward? Can he play in some 50 games before the trade deadline? If the Sabres are in the playoff hunt, would they keep him? If they're out, what will his value be to a playoff team or Cup-contender? Would he consider re-signing for a short-term, reduced salary in a reduced role? Should Buffalo just move on from everything Tim Murray?

Contract info via CapFriendly, stats via sabres.com and hockey reference.com.

Of Zach Bogosian and Mike Babcock

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 4-24-2019


Zach Bogosian underwent hip surgery and will be out 5-6 months, according to the Buffalo Sabres. The rugged, 28 yr. old defenseman just finished his 11th season in the NHL and his 65 games played matched the most he's played since 2011-12. In the seven seasons in between Bogosian has played in 288 of a possible 574 NHL games, or just a hair under 50%.

That's not a good percentage by any stretch of the imagination.

In addition to his 65 games, the 6'3" 225 lb. Bogosian also had a solid 2018-19 campaign with 22 points (3+19) while skating an average of 21:38/game. He anchored the Sabres penalty kill and was also paired with rookie d-man Rasmus Dahlin for large chunks of the season as his mentor. Bogosian had opted for hip surgery in the middle of the 2017-18 season after playing in only 18 games. His recovery went well but he still started out this past season on the injured list and missed the first five games and bookended the season by missing the last seven games.

Housley likes the way his skaters played in SoCal plus Bogosian and other notes

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 10-24-2018


Phil Housley is one of many in a long line of Buffalo Sabres head coaches dating back to Lindy Ruff that has been talking about (sometimes pleading for,) his skaters to play as a five-man unit in all three zones. Unfortunately for the team, it hasn't happened very often.

After losing to the Vegas Golden Knights and the San Jose Sharks, Buffalo headed to Southern California for the final two games of a season-long five-game road trip. The Sharks game was a disaster in that the Sabres just couldn't stay out of the penalty box and it cost them dearly in a 5-1 loss. But something clicked for the Sabres after Housley blew apart his entire lineup and powerplay units. The result was a convincing 5-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings and a 4-2 come from behind win over the Anaheim Ducks.

"Our execution was very high in both of those games," said Housley on WGR550 radio yesterday, "but it's five guys coming back together to help each other. It's the forwards getting in the way of the opposition when they're trying to forecheck and buying time for the [defense] and those little plays of five to 10-foot passes coming out of our zone."

The Sabres looked like a completely different team in those to games as Housley's skaters provided support all over the ice, but especially in their own end. "It just seems like when we're a block of five back there and we get the easy exit, we have this push up ice," he continued. "When we're not connected and our forwards are up too high, there's no support coming back into our zone.

"We're trying to transition quickly, and when you have good puck movement and everything's on the tape and crisp, it seems like we're a faster team and we execute that way."

Now that they've seen the positive results from playing the game the right way, their next task will be to do it consistently. The Sabres aren't an uber-young team thanks to a number of vets in the lineup, but their core, their future driving force, is very young. Includes 21 yr. old captain Jack Eichel, 18 yr. old defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, 19 yr. old center Casey Mittelstadt and 22 yr. old forward Sam Reinhart and like nearly every player, they'll have bouts of inconsistent play.

The Sabres play a very fast, albeit small, team in the Montreal Canadiens tomorrow night and they'll need to stick to their guns, even if it means having difficulty scoring against Carey Price, one of the best goalies in the league.


*****

Buffalo got a bit of a schedule break when the league gave them three days off between the end of their road trip and their next game tomorrow night. Teams always have issues their first game back after a long trip and hopefully the Sabres won't have that problem.

After a day away from the rinks on Monday, Buffalo hit the ice at HarborCenter with some drill work led by former Sabres forward Matt Ellis who runs the Academy of Hockey. Said Housley to the gathered media yesterday, “It was good to have Matt Ellis and his crew out there today, sort of unlocking the bodies, doing a little skills session. Coming back from that road trip, it was a good time in our schedule that they could work on some skills.”

Today it's back to regular practice and according to reports from the rink, Housley hasn't made any changes to a lineup that's 2-0 and has played some excellent hockey. However, according to The Buffalo News' Rachel Lenzi, Housley wasn't very happy with how they were practicing and she tweeted, "Sounds like Sabres coach Phil Housley isn’t pleased with the pace in drills so far this morning. Had some, ah, choice words."

Good for Housley trying to nip this in the bud.


*****

Defenseman Zach Bogosian has been getting a lot of love after joining the team for the final four games of the Sabres recent road trip. Bogosian had hip surgery in January and recovered but had a setback at camp and the team kept him out of the lineup for precautionary reasons.

The 28 yr. old veteran d-man has had a ton of injury problems but when he's on the ice he adds a strong presence and some gritty play. "I think he brings a physical element," said Housley yesterday about Bogosian. "I'm not talking about just dropping your gloves, I'm talking about being hard to play against in front of our net and in the corners. But I like his offensive side of the game. He can jump in the play, he reads the play well defensively, his passing's really good.

"Also, his experience in the room. Guys, when he speaks, they listen. He's done a terrific job since he's been back in the lineup."

Bogosian's stat line through three games:  1 goal, 1 assist and a plus-3 rating in an average of 16:0 per game. He's also been in three fights which matches a career high, according to hockeyfights.com. However, the 6'3" 226 lb. d-man is adamant that he's not looking to do that. "I'm not looking to do it all the time," he said to the media. "It's just kind of spur-of-the-moment. Sticking up for yourself, your teammates is kind of what I've always done my entire career, how I look at it. … I'm not looking to fight every night. I want to play some hockey. I can help out while I'm on the ice."

His presence on the ice is not lost on fellow d-man Nathan Beaulieu either.

You love it," Beaulieu said. "The way he boxes guys out and gets in shots lanes - I remember I used to hate playing against him because as a D-man, you're always trying to get it past that winger to get it on net and trying not to worry about the second layer, but he's always there.

"I mean, this guy will throw his face in front of a puck if he needs to. It's great to see him being back and having fun and playing hockey. It's been a long road for him, so it's great to see him have a smile on his face."

Let's hope Bogosian doesn't throw his face in front of a puck as it would be nice to see him play some 60+ games or so this season for the first time in three years. Then again, with a team-leading 15 blocked shots...

We'll just leave it at that.


*****

Speaking of Beaulieu, an injury caused him to miss the last two games and because of the way the team has been playing, he may have a little more time to recover.

With Beaulieu out and Housley juggling everything with his lineup defenseman Casey Nelson was put in and he's been paired with Dahlin. The duo, like the rest of the team, has played pretty well so it might be a bit before Beaulieu gets back into the lineup.


*****

Eight players got off the schneid and scored their first goals of the season on the five-game/10-day road trip:

Dahlin, Jeff Skinner (ARI)
Vladimir Sobotka (VGK)
Jake McCabe (SJS)
Bogosian (LAK)
Kyle Okposo, Rasmus Ristolainen, Patrik Berglund (ANA)

Eight players are without a goal right now and three are without a point--Nelson and forward Tage Thompson, who've played in seven games so far and forward Remi Elie who's played in three.

Six of Buffalo's seven defensemen have scored a goal this season, with Nelson the odd man out. Last season no Sabres defenseman scored until McCabe did so on December 5.

Skinner followed up his first goal as a Sabres by scoring the hat trick against Los Angeles and added another in Anaheim. His five goals leads the team.

Viva Las Vegas! Zach Bogosian set to return

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 10-16-2018


Game-2 of Buffalo's season-long five-game road trip is tonight in Las Vegas as the Sabres take on the Golden Knights for the second time in just over a week. Buffalo defeated the Golden Knights last Monday and can sweep the season series with a win tonight. Last year in their inaugural season Vegas won both games against the Sabres in overtime.

According to the Sabres twitter page this looks to be Buffalo's lineup for tonight's 10:30 pm ET matchup:

Conor Sheary-Jack Eichel-Sam Reinhart
Jeff Skinner-Casey Mittelstadt-Kyle Okposo
Vladimir Sobotka-Patrik Berglund-Tage Thompson
Zemgus Girgensons-Evan Rodrigues-Jason Pominville

Head coach Phil Housley didn't mess with a winning formula from the previous game as he kept all of his lines intact which includes Mittelstadt centering Skinner and Okposo.

The top four of Rasmus Ristolainen-Marco Scandella and Rasmus Dahlin-Jake McCabe remain intact but the Sabres made room for a returning Zach Bogosian by sitting Casey Nelson.

Bogosian has been out since January and returns to the lineup after recovering from elective hip surgery. The 28 yr. old Bogosian has had an injury-plagued career ever since playing an 81-game season in 2009-10 for the Atlanta Thrashers, the team that drafted him third-overall in 2008. In the five next five seasons playing for the Thrashers and the Winnipeg Jets after Atlanta moved there as well as his first partial season in Buffalo after getting traded, Bogosian played in 286 of a possible 376 game or 76%. The last three seasons things have gotten progressively worse as Bogosian played in 64, 56 and 18 games, respectively, beginning in 2015-16 for a total of 138 games or only 56% of a possible 246 games.

Despite his injury woes, Housley still has respect for the defenseman and showed that by naming him an associate captain, and the coach said that respect is strong in the locker room. The guys really like him and really respect him,” Housley told the gathered media the other day. “That goes a long way. I like the job that he’s done with our younger guys, making them feel comfortable and part of our team. He’s a really good mentor.”

The right-handed Bogosian joins the left handed Nathan Beaulieu on Buffalo's third pairing. Buffalo heads into tonight's contest with a 3-2-0 record and is tied for ninth in the league with a 2.60 goals-against average which is worlds above their third-worst 3.39 GAA last season.

Goalie Carter Hutton had been an anchor in net before getting a day off against the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday night. Linus Ullmark got the start and with the help of his skaters, proceeded to pitch his first-ever NHL shutout with a 3-0 win. In a not to a defined starter/backup hierarchy right now, Housley is said to be going back to Hutton in net tonight. The 32 yr. old is 2-2-0 this season with a 3.06 GAA and .912 Sv%.

Injuries open up spots on the Sabres roster

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 10-1-2018


Sabres forward Johan Larsson is a 26 yr. old young veteran who's played in 258 NHL games in a bottom-six role for Buffalo. Last year, much like the team in general, Larsson had a terrible season and coming into camp he was anything but a lock to make the roster.

Last month as training camp was beginning to roll, head coach Phil Housley told the gathered media he liked what he'd seen from Larsson in camp to that point. "I think he’s had three really good days (of training camp),” Housley said (via Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times) after the Sabres scrimmaged Sunday morning inside HarborCenter. “He’s come into camp in really good shape, probably the best shape that he’s been in. So it’s good to say he took the words in the right way at the end of the year. But he’s been really, really good so far in camp.”

Larsson's performance on the ice during the preseason was good and he showed flashes of his better self but really wasn't standing out from amongst the many players vying for a roster spot. The acquisitions of Conor Sheary added top-nine depth and when the Sabres traded Ryan O'Reilly to the St. Louis Blues they brought back two veterans forwards in Patrik Berglund and Vladimir Sobotka who pretty much passed Larsson on the depth chart upon arrival. In August the Sabres traded for top-six forward Jeff Skinner and he pushed another player down the depth chart probably pushing Larsson out, unless the latter had a helluva camp.

That really didn't happen and this past Wednesday Larsson suffered a foot injury. He's listed as day-to-day right now and prior to yesterday, many expected that when he came off of the injured list he'd be waived. However, what looks to be a serious injury to Scott Wilson yesterday during practice may have given Larsson a brief reprieve.

Wilson, whom the Sabres traded for in December and re-signed to a two-year contract extension, looked to be slated for fourth line duties on the wing before getting tangled up with Rasmus Ristolainen yesterday. Word from the rink had him being helped off the ice and not being able to put any pressure on his right foot. It might be safe to say that he won't be ready for the season opener on Thursday and might be out for an extended period of time. 

Oddly enough, Sheary had just returned to practice yesterday after suffering an injury on the first day of training camp.

Another forward who was making a strong push for the opening night roster was rookie Sean Malone who suffered a knee injury in the preseason opener against Columbus. The center is expected to be out six weeks and is expected to got to Rochester when he's cleared to play.

The injuries to Malone, Larsson and now Wilson, in addition to the waiving of winger Justin Bailey and Nicholas Baptiste have combined to allow for winger Tage Thompson and Alexander Nylander to remain with the club. As of now there are 16 forwards listed on Buffalo's roster and only 13 when you take out the injured Malone, Larsson and Wilson.

Buffalo's defense-corps is crowded right now, at least on paper. The Sabres roster on defense stands at 11 players, but three of them are injured and another, Matt Tennyson, was waived on Saturday, cleared, and is presently practicing with the team. Defenseman Matt Hunwick was acquired in the Sheary trade but has been sidelined with a neck injury that caused him to miss all of training camp, Brandon Hickey is also sideline with an undisclosed injury and, as usual, Zach Bogosian is also out with an injury.

That leaves a group of four players that were pegged as starters to begin with--Rasmus Ristolainen, Marco Scandella, Jake McCabe and Rasmus Dahlin--plus two from last year, Nathan Beauleu and Casey Nelson, also in the mix for the top-six. Twenty-one year old defenseman Brendan Guhle, who's had a good but not spectacular camp, is still with the club and may have an opportunity to get into the top six should Bogosian not be ready for Thursday's opener.

Nylander, Thompson and Guhle are all waiver's exempt and when the injured start returning any of those three can be sent down without them having to pass through waivers. And, since Bailey and Baptiste cleared, they can be brought up and sent down if the Sabres want to bring either of them up for the opener.

NHL teams well need to pare their roster to 23 players tomorrow and when six of your 27 skaters are injured, that won't be much of a problem for Buffalo. Plus they can even keep Tennyson around as an extra defenseman, if they so desire.

There will be a lot to watch come opening night including individual players like Jack Eichel, newcomer Skinner and rookie defenseman Dahlin but we'll also be keeping an eye on young players like Nylander, Thompson and Guhle. Injuries have given them opportunities but their performances will dictate where the roster stands when the injured return.

Thoughts on the loss last night

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 9-23-2018


First things first. This Buffalo Sabres team looks a lot better right now when it comes to their passing, breakouts and the speed with which they play the game then they have in recent memory. But there's still a ton of work to be done.

The Sabres saved their big guns for the second of a home-and-home with the Toronto Maple Leafs and lost last night at KeyBank Center by a 3-2 score. Losing is disappointing whether it's preseason or not and doing it with the likes of Jack Eichel, Jeff Skinner, Sam Reinhart, Patrik Berglund, Kyle Okposo, Rasmus Ristolainen, Rasmus Dahlin, Marco Scandella, and Jake McCabe--a group of players who are in the top half for Buffalo--made last night a little tough to take. However it is what it is.

Leafs coach Mike Babcock has been in Toronto for three full seasons and has his systems in place. The Leafs front office, lead by team president Brendan Shanahan the past four years, has been loading the organization up with quality depth that reach down to the bottom lines and pairings of the reining Calder Cup champion Toronto Marlies. They know the system and play it well.

So when the Sabres faced off against a Leafs team that was missing some star power up front in John Tavares, Mitch Marner and Nazem Kadri along with Ron Hainsey and Morgan Reilly on the blueline, the talent-needle leaned a tad Buffalo's way. However, in a tribute to the quality depth the Leafs have developed and coaching Toronto enjoys with Babcock, the Sabres just couldn't get the job done.

The loss drops Buffalo to 2-2 on the preseason with three games to go. Both of those losses came at the hands of their QEW rival Maple Leafs.

Prior to the game last night the Sabres sent forwards Eric Cornel, Vasily Glotov and Kevin Porter, defensemen Zach Redmond and Devante Stephens and goaltenders Michael Houser and Adam Wilcox to Rochester. They have 43 players still on the roster and head coach Phil Housley told the gathered media post game last night that he doesn't "see too many more roster cuts" pointing to three games this week to close out the preseason.

Players up and down the lineup have been trying to gain the attention of the Sabres brass through four games. On Friday night in Toronto, forward Tage Thompson turned some heads as he showed off some deft stickwork and sniping ability on his goal. Thompson, who was acquired by the Sabres in the Ryan O'Reilly trade with St. Louis, was promised by Buffalo GM Jason Botterill a shot in the top-six and he got it last night when he was placed on a line with Eichel and Skinner.

For as much skill as he has, Thompson's defense needs some work. He was on the ice for both of Toronto's early second period goals and didn't see the top line again as Reinhart moved up to Eichel's right wing. Thompson finished with 13:08 of ice time, had five shots on goal (two on the top line) and was a minus-2. He's a minus-5 for the Toronto home-and-home including Tavares' empty-netter on Friday night.

Reinhart taking Thompson's place on the top line worked pretty well as he played extremely well in his first game back after ending a holdout by signing a two-year contract extension. "I thought he was one of our best forwards," Housley said last night. "He looked comfortable, fit right in, was on the puck. He was making plays." Sure enough. Buffalo first goal he got the puck to Eichel after a powerplay draw and headed towards his spot in front of the net. Eichel passed it to Okposo in the circle and he buried it with Reinhart providing a screen.

Reinhart also drove the net and sent a shot on net that was kicked to the stick of a Skinner who was also crashing the net. Skinner pounced on the rebound from in tight and put it home to tie the score 2-2.

Skinner looked real good again and seems to be developing some chemistry with Eichel. He had a goal while Eichel had two assists.

Dahlin had a couple of hair-raising moments last night, most notably when he had his pocket picked by 39 yr. old veteran Patrick Marleau who went the other way for a breakaway. Housley said afterwards that the 18 yr. old Dahlin will need to learn who's on the ice and that he expects the rookie to make mistakes. To his credit Dahlin motored on through the game with a short memory.

Marleau was stopped on his breakaway by Buffalo goalie Carter Hutton which was good to see for Sabres fans. For the past couple of seasons, opposition breakaways had the tendency to end up in the goal. Not so last night as Hutton closed the door. The former St. Louis Blue who signed a three-year free agent contract with Buffalo this summer looks like he's hell bent on solidifying his spot as the Sabres No. 1 goalie.

Hutton has a lot of good qualities and one of his best ones is how he handles the puck. He's very good with his stick and isn't afraid to wing it up-ice to a skater like he did on many occasions last night. For a team that had trouble moving the puck up ice last season, having a goalie who can move it like that is a huge weapon for this club.

It was good to see Zach Bogosian back on the ice. He looked pretty solid considering he hasn't played since January after undergoing back surgery. He was on Buffalo's third pairing with Nathan Beaulieu and came away with a plus-1 rating in over 18 minutes of ice-time.

The Sabres have a day off before preparing for Tuesday's Kraft Hockeyville USA game against the Columbus Blue Jackets in Clinton, NY just outside of Utica.

Building the 2018-19 Buffalo Sabres roster--RHD, Zach Bogosian

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 9-9-2018


Zach Bogosian
28 yrs. old
6'3" 221 lbs.
2008, 3rd-overall (ATL)
Acquired in a trade with the Winnipeg Jets, February 11, 2015

Career stats: 552 games | 49 goals | 121 assists | 170 points | -82


Dependent upon how things shake out at camp, 28 yr. old veteran defenseman Zach Bogosian will probably be the first one to hit the ice as a d-partner for Buffalo Sabres rookie phenom Rasmus Dahlin. That is, of course, if nothing happens to Bogosian along the way, which unfortunately is always a possibility.

Bogosian, a third-overall pick in 2008, was drafted for his size, skating ability and skill and was thrown right into the fray in Atlanta as one of the Thrashers top defensemen for the 2008-09 season. However, in what would become a harbinger of things to come, Bogosian left a game vs. the Philadelphia Flyers on October 28, 2008 with a broken leg and would miss a big chunk of his rookie campaign. Outside of the 2009-10 season where he would miss only one game, Bogosian was injured for huge chunks for most of the ensuing eight seasons playing in only 424 of a possible 622 games.

Last year because of injury Bogosian's season didn't start until December 1 and it ended 18 games later as he and the rest of his season was done in by a hip injury. Bogosian underwent hip surgery in early February and with a 4-6 month recovery time now past, he's ready to go for the upcoming season.

Other than the 21 games he played for Buffalo in 2015 after being acquired as part of the Evander Kane trade, Bogosian has been the butt of jokes concerning his injury problems and/or his play. However, people tend to forget that he had a good first full (for him) season for Buffalo in 2015-16. Bogosian and the Sabres seemed to be on the rise and that season he took rookie Jake McCabe under his wing with the duo forming a very solid second-pairing. McCabe scored four goals and 14 points in his first full season and lead the team with a plus-6 rating.

Much has been said about the hiring of Phil Housley as coach of the Sabres and what he'll be able to do for mobile defensemen like Bogosian. Housley likes active defensemen who can join the rush and at last year's training camp he said (via Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times,) "[Bogosian] can be part of the rush. I can definitely see him pinching down walls and keeping pucks in, and when you say that, it means you have to get up ice.” Housley also noted that the veteran defenseman was "doing all the right things out there" while helping the young players.

The young player Bogosian might be helping this season is Dahlin, at least until the 18 yr. old Swede gets acclimated enough to take on a top-pairing role.

Dahlin can do everything that Housley wants without a hitch and can do so at top speed but what he and the team might need is a player that can hold the fort while he's getting up ice. During the first Prospects Challenge game that guy was Will Borgen who was said to be punishing players throughout the 6-4 win while Dahlin was busy scoring two goals and adding an assist. Bogosian can play that role. It's something he did for Dan Bylsma when he was the Sabres coach for two seasons, but it's not something he was thrilled with.

As a veteran who's never made the playoffs in his 10-year career, and as a player who's missed a lot of time due to injury, one would think that any role, especially alongside a franchise defenseman would suit him moving forward. Bogosian's spent a lot of time either injured or playing for bad teams but this Buffalo team offers a lot of upside and a reduced role may actually keep him on the ice more.

Sure, Bogosian has the skill set to be the one jumping up into the play and he should have enough veteran experience to pick his spots more judiciously, but at least to start, he may be the one watching Dahlin take control of the ice on offense. It's not to say that he won't be activated, but moreso Bogosian will be expected to cover for the rookie as he gets a feel for the North American game at the NHL level.

One should have every reason to believe that Bogosian will take on that role and relish helping Dahlin, just as he did with McCabe. And who knows, if they click real well and he stays healthy, Bogosian has enough skill and skating to ride shotgun with Dahlin in a top-pairing role.

However, maybe it's best to entertain more modest goals for Bogosian like a 70-game season in a second-pairing role for a team that's a playoff contender for at least a good portion of the season. And even that might be asking too much.


Building the 2018-19 Buffalo Sabres roster:

LW, Conor Sheary / C, Jack Eichel / RW, Sam Reinhart
LW, Jeff Skinner / C, Casey Mittelstadt / RW, Kyle Okposo

LHD, Marco Scandella / RHD, Rasmus Ristolainen
LHD, Rasmus Dahlin / RHD, Zach Bogosian

G, Carter Hutton

Impressions of, and questions concerning--D, Zach Bogosian

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 6-2-2018


Defenseman--Zach Bogosian
DOB:  July 15, 1990 (Age, 27)
Draft:  2008, third-overall, Atlanta Thrashers
How acquired:  Acquired in a trade with Winnipeg, February 11, 2015
Last contract signed:  July 29, 2013, 7yrs./$36 million
Final year of contract: 2019-20


2017-18 Stats:  18 games played | 0 goals | 1 assist | 1 point | -9 | 19:09 ATOI

Buffalo Career Stats:  159 games | 9 goals | 34 assists | 43 points | -44 | 21:46 ATOI


What we wrote preseason:  Bogosian got off to a tepid start in Buffalo after the trade with former head coach Ted Nolan skating him over 26 minutes/game. The following season with a new coach in Dan Bylsma, Bogosian settled in on the second-pairing with rookie Jake McCabe and at times were the best pairing on the ice.

Last year didn't go as well for Bogosian as put up abysmal numbers in another injury-shortened season scoring a career-low two goals and equaling a career-low in points with 11. He missed 26 games while suffering knee and rib injuries and it took a while for him to get up to game-speed. Although Bogosian is only 27 yrs. old, his rambunctious play over the course of 534 NHL games is beginning to take it's toll and he still has a skill-set that can be put to good use.

"Last year and the year before I felt like I was handcuffed back there," said Bogosian. "I don't think I got a chance to play my game in the way I know I can play and I'm just looking forward to a new start and play my game which is jumping up into the play.”

With a good training camp and, of course, barring injury, Bogosian should get the opportunity to use his skating and skill in a top-four role.

What we wrote mid-season:  The 27 yr. old Bogosian was injured to start the season. And in other news, the sun rose today. After a rather poor season last year under a different coach, there was much anticipation involved in Bogosian playing under a coach like [Phil] Housley who's system is predicated on an offensively involved d-corps. Bogosian has the speed, and the shot to be effective, but we've only seen him in eight games this year beginning on Dec. 1. During that time the Sabres went 2-3-3 which, sadly, is one of their better stretches of the season. With him and McCabe in the middle-pairing, the rest of the defense falls into place.

Impressions on his play this year:  There are two numbers above that Sabres fans are keying on when it comes to Bogosian--18 games played this year and 2019-20, the final year of his contract.

Bogosian didn't have much opportunity to play his game this season as he was injured for nearly all of it. At least he had a good look at a highly disappointing Sabres season from afar. "As a group we need to find our consistency," he told the gathered media at locker cleanout, "every single day when you come to work you've got to understand that. To win in this league you have to be consistent."

When he was asked about teammate Ryan O'Reilly's comment about losing being acceptable, Bogosian said, "I wasn't in the room a whole, whole lot but I think as a professional athlete, a competitive person you try not to let those thoughts get into your mind. But when you're in an environment where we were losing quite a bit, it's tough to pull yourself out.

"As a group we have to do it together."

And that includes him being on the ice.

Bogosian underwent season-ending hip surgery in January and should be a full go for the start of the season. A number we also should be looking at is his ATOI which, as mentioned was up to 26 minutes/game at one point. He and McCabe could still be a solid tandem and with the addition of Rasmus Dahlin, the could end up being the team's third pairing. Which is a good thing for him and the team. That is...

Questions moving forward:  How much time will he miss this season? If his ice-time and 200' responsibility is pared back, will he stay relatively healthy? How much of an affect will his season-ending hip surgery have on his health? Would the Sabres consider buying him out this year? Can Housley finally get enough time with him to bring out his skating and shot? How much of a leader can he be on the ice and in the locker room to help this mix of players develop consistency?


Contract info via CapFriendly, stats via sabres.com and hockey reference.com.

Bogosian's locker cleanout via sabres.com:

Plenty of questions for Jason Botterill when he hits the podium tomorrow.

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 4-10-2018


Buffalo Sabres GM Jason Botterill should have a ton of tough questions to answer about his team at his year-end press conference. A dismal season like the Sabres just went through took it's toll on a number of players and a lot of emotions came out yesterday as the players talked to the gathered media during locker cleanout day. Not only did they clean out their lockers, but some also cleaned out some pretty deep thoughts that lay deep in the recesses of their minds.

The big bombshell came from Ryan O'Reilly when he said there were times he lost his love for the game. That quote and others from him created a firestorm. On the one hand, his brutal honesty was refreshing but on the other, he was roundly chastised him for feeling that way.

O'Reilly accused the team of "being OK with losing."

"It's crept into all of our games. Yeah, it's disappointing. It's sad," he said. "I feel throughout the year I've lost the love of the game multiple times and just need to get back to it because it's eating myself up and eats the other guys up too."

WGR550 radio host Howard Simon offered up a rebuttal and rebuke of the Sabres second-leading scorer and assistant captain, with an opinion piece entitled "O'Reilly needs to suck it up, add him to the list of Sabres problems."

"You are supposed to be one of the leaders of this team," wrote Simon of O'Reilly. "I can’t have one of my team leaders moping around and feeling sorry about the sad state of affairs that is the Sabres franchise.

"No one wants to be on a losing team. I’d imagine coming to the rink these last two seasons hasn’t been much fun for anyone associated with the team, but that’s when you dig a little deeper and find a way to persevere. More so for a player of O’Reilly’s stature since many in the locker room could end up following his lead.

"But as the saying goes, when the going gets tough the tough get going."

To his credit, Simon did not bring up O'Reilly's salary and he did include the positives that the 27 yr. old brings to the table. However, the cliché's were flowing in his piece.

There were a ton of things wrong with the on-ice product starting at the top with an inexperienced head coach and stretching all the way to goaltending, but the overriding theme seems to be the lack of a professional mindset, of bringing it every day, not just on game day, or should we say, occasionally on game day.

Scott Wilson was with the Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins in 2017. Botterill was an AGM with the Pens that year and he traded for Wilson early this season. Both have seen what it takes for a team to take it to that level and the theme of Wilson's interview yesterday centered around the proper mindset.

"We made some strides in the right direction in certain games and playing good teams," he said, "but the (proper) mindset is bringing that every time you're in the hockey rink, not just on the ice either."

Forward Evan Rodrigues played 48 games for the Sabres in the back portion of the season. The second year pro was injured in the preseason and spent eight games with Rochester before being recalled for good and he also mentioned mindset. "When we were committed to doing the right things and playing on the right side of the puck and doing the little things right," he said, "we were successful. And when we played those good teams, we kind of knew we had to do that.

"When we had the right mindset to do those things, I think that's when we won a lot of our games. We just have to find a way to make sure we're bringing that day-in, day-out."

"I think just overall our mindset's got to change," said Jason Pominville, who's on his second tour with in Buffalo. The former Sabres captain struggled to find the best way to put it when he continued by saying, "It's become kind of noticeable, when you lose and you lose so much over the course of three/four years, guys that have been here a while have been accustomed to that.

"I know everyone wants to wing, no one wants to lose, but you kind of have those habits where it becomes acceptable (to lose) almost without realizing it."

The losing aspect of the equation has been brought up numerous times over the course of the season and it's probably best to remember that ownership and management set their team on this course with consecutive tank seasons. Granted, after a season and a half of mostly positives with the team looking like it was headed in the right direction, the losing element pulled this club back into the abyss.

"Nobody's gonna be happy with a losing record or losing night in, night out," said Wilson citing that sometimes negativity rolls through the team. The way to break that cycle, he believes, may center around "just being positive, and coming together (as a team)."

Defenseman Zach Bogosian has played 10 years in the league and never made the post season. The 27 yr. old has never played a healthy season in Buffalo and underwent surgery after only 18 games this year. Bogosian said that he wasn't around the locker room that much this past season but still brought it back to pulling out as a team.

"When your in a losing environment where we were losing quite a bit, it's tough to pull yourself out. As a group we have to do it together."

Wilson echoed those thought when he was asked if they need to learn how to win. "I think it's a big confidence thing," he said. "A lot of guys struggled with confidence issues in this locker room, but we showed signs of good things.

"I think the winning aspect comes when you're rolling as a team and not playing as individuals."

There really are no saviors in a team sport like hockey. You have your great ones, legends who's skill and drive can carry much of the weight, but it's still up to the supporting cast to do their part. For evidence of that, look no further than this year's Edmonton Oilers lead by Connor McDavid, a player who is considered one of the best in the game at only 21 yrs. old. After an playoff adrenaline rush last season, the Oilers fell back to 23rd in the league despite McDavid leading the league with 108 points.

If it's not true in Edmonton, it isn't true in Buffalo either. Eichel was selected second overall behind McDavid in the 2015 NHL Draft. Although he's not quite at McDavid's level, his speed and skill package is up there with some of the best in the league. Eichel has been with the Sabres for three seasons and he hasn't tasted much success on a team basis despite leading Buffalo in scoring the last two seasons and finishing second his rookie season.

After his locker cleanout interview, many consider him to be the next captain of the Buffalo Sabres as he stood there answering all questions in a most mature, thoughtful and respectful way. He knows there are problems with mindset and consistency that have negatively affected the team. It's time to change that and he said it will begin with him.

"What we've been doing as a team hasn't been working," he said. "All you can really do is focus on yourself and changing yourself and I think that's what helps change the culture, change the team. It starts every day at practice, your work ethic, coming to work ready to compete, ready to get better.

"When you look at the good teams, they bring it every night."

Perhaps that drive was there early on a team basis, but with every loss in October, any fire and positivity this group had to begin the season ended up in a downward spiral as their poor start got worse and their playoff hopes ended early. "When you put yourself out of it a lot sooner than you'd like," said Eichel, "it's tough.

"We need to find a way to have a good start, come out in October and not be behind the 8-ball."

That's where Botterill comes into play. He's heard where his players heads have been this season and he knows he needs to add talent. Last off season he focused on the Rochester Americans in order to incubate his prospects in a positive environment. It's working as the team is in the playoffs for the first time in three years.

Of course, it's a lot more difficult doing that in the NHL. Establishing a leadership pecking order may help that and if that's the case, Eichel will probably be atop. Adding talent will help immensely while adding character and mental toughness may also be of supreme importance. They'll also need to bring in a goaltender to work the crease either as a backup to Linus Ullmark or as a starter until he can get himself anchored in NHL play.

Botterill will also need to take a good look at his coaching staff. Although Phil Housley's job as head coach looks safe for now, he may need more of a veteran presence from his assistants.

Tomorrow may be the most important end of season presser in Buffalo and Botterill will have plenty of hard questions to answer about his team. What he says will carry a lot of weight but it will be what he does in the off season that will really set the tone.

It was a long season for everyone, Botterill included, but it's over and time to move on.