Buffalo Sabres 2020-21 individual stats leaders--January

Record

--January:  4-4-2

The Buffalo Sabres started out the season with six new forwards in the mix:  Taylor Hall, Eric Staal, Riley Sheahan and what turned out to be a completely new 3rd line to start the season, Cody Eakin, Tobias Rieder and 19 yr. old rookie forward Dylan Cozens. Hall and Rieder have made their presence known through 10 games with Rieder being a pleasant surprise as he's showing speed and scoring as well as a strong 200' game while carrying the bottom-six and helping the penalty kill on the second unit. Although Staal has contributed offensively and looks to be having a positive effect on Cozens, the 37 yr. old has looked his age as he tries to get that heavy Chevy rolling while gaffes in his own zone have been detrimental and still more turnovers have made things extremely difficult on the team. 

As for Cozens, he came straight from the 2021 World Junior Championships and hit the ice flying. Although he's made some rookie mistakes and is still getting a feel for the NHL, the game itself doesn't seem to be too fast for him and he's really impressed thus-far earning second-line minutes next to Staal. 

Buffalo has really struggled with 5v5 scoring and find themselves near the middle of the pack so far. Considering six of their first 10 games have been one-goal affairs, with two others being losses by two goals via empty-netters against, every goal counts and 5v5 scoring needs to improve or they'll end up on a road that's all too familiar. The Sabres rode two hot streaks early in each of the last two seasons with a similar formula only to fall apart when it mattered.

Right now every game matters as there are only 56 games in the season meaning every point counts. At 4-4-2, Buffalo is right in the middle of the eight-team MassMutual East division despite efforts that have been mostly sketchy save for a couple of good games and one impressive one where they beat the Philadelphia Flyers 6-1. Special teams have been carrying the Sabres as they have the eighth-best powerplay and 10th-best penalty kill, but when it comes to 5v5 they mostly look disjointed.

Head coach Ralph Krueger has some soul-searching to do when putting his lines together as he's caught between a hard-headed belief in players following his system and fashioning his team to his players strengths. Such is the case with winger, Jeff Skinner.

Skinner was a 40-goal scorer before the arrival of Krueger last year and he was noted as much for his 5v5 scoring (191 goals, 5th-most in the league from 2010-11 to 2018-19) as he was for his less-than-stellar defensive game (minus-96, 4th-worst in that same time period.) Since the new coach arrived, Skinner has been Krueger's doghouse under the ruse of wanting balanced scoring amongst as many lines as possible. It hasn't worked out as Skinner scored only 14 goals in 59 games last season (all of them at even strength placing 3rd on the team) and has yet to twinkle the twine this season while playing bottom-six minutes almost exclusively.

These two rams are butting heads and it's not doing anybody any good. However, common sense demands attention to Skinner's 29 goals/82 games career scoring average, his contract which has seven more years at $9 million/season and the fact that he has a no-movement clause. Krueger has resisted giving in thus far but he really needs to do something fast as Skinner looks close to taking the money and running with 46 games to play. I highly doubt the word 'kapitulieren' is in Krueger's motivational book, Teamlife--Beyond Setbacks to Success, but for as worldly as Krueger is, and he's a magnificently well-rounded and intelligent individual, this is the National Hockey League where the salary cap is extremely important, talented players are well-paid and managing egos is the betriebsart in North American professional sports.

In addition, the Sabres are in a division that's widely regarded as the toughest division in the NHL and they have the league's longest playoff drought at nine years, just one shy of the league record. Krueger may need to entertain the thought of Stolz schlucken to give his team the best chance to make it to the playoffs. If he's gonna do it, he needs to do it fast. Though his Sabres are struggling, the race for the fourth spot in the East could be a dog-fight and he'll need to get everything he can out of every player he's got if he wants them to remain in it.

Another thought Krueger might want to entertain involves Skinner taking the top left wing spot next to Eichel (where he had his career-high 40-goal season) and dropping Hall to the second line. In addition to hopefully maximizing what's left of Skinner flailing confidence, the Staal line needs more skill, speed and experience. Victor Olofsson is trying to hold his own 5v5, and he's made great progress in his sophomore campaign, but he's not there yet. Having him move to the right side to help create a third scoring line a isn't bad idea as he can still kill it on the powerplay while providing a top-nine scoring threat. Also in play with that move is the separation of Hall and Eichel. Sure, it looks deadly on paper especially with Reinhart on the right side, but those two love the puck on their stick and we haven't seen a consistently strong, complimentary relationship yet with only one 5v5 goal between them (Eichel.)

Perhaps this might work:

Skinner - Eichel - Reinhart

Hall - Staal - Cozens

Rieder - Lazar - Olofsson

Sheahan - Eakin - Okposo

And we should also keep an eye on Okposo and Casey Mittelstadt with the former looking way past his prime and the latter looking like he's on the upswing. 

Buffalo Sabres 2020-21 Individual Stats Leaders

Points

--January:  Eichel 11;  Olofsson 10;  Hall 9

Goals

--January:  Olofsson 4;  Lazar, Staal, Rieder, Reinhart 3

EV Goals

--January: Lazar, Rieder 3; Staal 2; eight with 1

Powerplay Goals

--January:  Olofsson 3,  Reinhart 2;  seven with 1

Assists

--January:  Eichel 9;  Hall 8;  Olofsson 6

Powerplay Assists

--January:  Eichel 6;  Olofsson 5;  Hall 4

Primary Assists

--January:  Hall 6;  Olofsson 5;  Ristolainen 3

Plus/Minus

--January:  McCabe, Ristolainen +2;  Lazar, Sheahan, Cozens +1; Asplund, Skinner 0

Plus/Minus (Bottom)

--January:  Dahlin -9;  Miller, Reinhart -7;  Eichel, Olofsson, Hall, Montour -6

Goalies

Linus Ullmark

--January: 3-1-2;  2.56 GAA;  .914 Sv%;  0 shutouts

Carter Hutton

--January:  1-3-0;  3.05 GAA;  .895 Sv%;  0 shutouts

Jonas Johansson

--January:  0-0-0;  3.15 GAA;  .889 Sv%;  0 shutouts

Primary Assists

Olofsson----5

Cozens------1

Eichel-------2

Hall----------6

Sheahan-----1

Staal---------2

Skinner------1

Ristolainen--3

Reinhart---- 2

Eakin--------1

Dahlin-------1

Blue and Gold scrimmage, part II tonight. Jeff Skinner w/Curtis Lazar

 First, let's get this out of the way...

WAY TO GO BUFFALO BILLS!!!

(my did that feel good to write in January)

With the main event already done in Buffalo, a 27-24 Bills win over the Indianapolis Colts for their first playoff win since 1995, we can turn our attention to the ice at Key Bank Center for the second Blue and Gold scrimmage of this abbreviated training camp. Players will hit the ice at 7 pm for a contest that will be streamed at Sabres.com and on their social media platforms.

Sabres head coach Ralph Krueger will be in the stands once again and he'll get his first opportunity to see free agent signee Taylor Hall skate along side Buffalo captain Jack Eichel, who missed the first scrimmage with an injury. In addition to that, Victor Olofsson will see his first game-style action as well as fellow Swedish countrymen Linus Ullmark who will be in goal.

With less than a week to go before the Sabres host the Washington Capitals for a back-to-back at KeyBank to kick off the 2020-21 season, Krueger is working his way through the forwards to find four lines he can count on. "We believe it's going to be necessary for us early in the season to be able to play with four lines," the coach said after yesterday's practice, which saw some line-juggling from the previous session. "We're going to need to spread the ice-time out [and] we'd like to have every line to have a strength offensively and defensively."

Krueger got into offensive pairings during yesterday's Zoom call with the media pointing out how much he liked Eric Staal, who was acquired in a trade with the Minnesota Wild, with seventh-year pro, Sam Reinhart. We already know how much everyone in Sabreland is looking forward to seeing Hall/Eichel, and Krueger has been keeping a line together featuring free-agent signee center Cody Eakin and veteran winger Kyle Okposo. But what about the fourth pairing?

At Friday's practice the coach dropped Jeff Skinner down to a spot with center Curtis Lazar due to "a combination of decisions," according to Krueger while also mentioning that the two "had some success" last season. He stuck with that theme today as he talked about that forward pairing and talked about Lazar's progress later in the call. 

"Lazar and Skinner had some interesting synergy last year together with [the since departed Wayne Simmonds," said the coach today, "and we wanted to take another peak at that. They really feed off of each other, there's just a natural support.

"We are expecting another level of offense from Lazar," he continued, while also reminding us that the 25 yr. old was a top draft pick (17th-overall, 2013.) "He definitely had extreme offensive skills with Team Canada and in his whole development offensively," said Krueger. "Last year was a critical point where he was sent down (to the Rochester Americans) and sent down with a message that his pathway to the National Hockey League would be in a defensive role, in a penalty-kill role and a character role.

"He needed to readjust his thinking and wait for his opportunities offensively but not force them. He went down and worked on it and when he came back he completely and totally embraced what we needed in the minutes he was giving us. He's come back at another level of fitness (this year,) his foot-speed is looking good and we see him as somebody who's now. potentially, going to be able to develop his offensive side again with his defensive side as his foundation, whereas it was the other way around before."

Krueger did mention that things were still in flux a bit, save for the forward pairings he really likes already, and did point out that we shouldn't "overvalue" the moves he made for practice, and presumably tonight's Blue and Gold scrimmage.

According to @NHLdotcom's Heather Engel, Skinner and Lazar will have Riley Sheahan (who signed a one-year deal yesterday) on their right. The other lines for Team Blue:

Hall-Eichel-Tage Thompson 

Brandon Biro- Artu Ruotsalainen-(rookie) Dylan Cozens 

C.J. Smith - (Eichel) - (rookie) JackQuinn

Team Gold lines:

Olofsson - Staal - Reinhart  

Tobias Rieder - Eakin - Okposo 

(rookie) Rasmus Asplund - Casey Mittelstadt - Steven Fogarty/(rookie) Brett Murray

Sabres streaming tomorrow's scrimmage plus IIHF WJC notes

Good news, Sabres fans, the Buffalo Sabres announced today that they will be streaming tomorrow's Blue and Gold scrimmage. The 1pm start is available on Sabres.com and also the team's Facebook and Twitter accounts, according to the press release, and will feature three 20-minute periods giving fans "the first chance to see some of the newest Sabres take the ice for their first game action."

Dan Dunleavy will have the call with Rob Ray doing the color while Brian Duff and Martin Biron offering their analysis throughout the broadcast.

This is the first of two scheduled scrimmages leading up to Buffalo's January 14 season opener versus the Washington Capitals at KeyBank Center.

On his just completed Zoom call with the media, Sabres head coach Ralph Krueger said he'll be watching from the stands and expects "the principles" they've been stressing at practice "to start showing up." Although it's unlikely that Jack Eichel and Victor Olofsson, both of whom are out with injuries, as well as goaltender Linus Ullmark (fulfilling a quarantine in line with Covid protocals,) will participate, Krueger said he expects to have a full team after their scheduled day off on Tuesday.

Krueger also said that they will have an overtime tomorrow, regardless of the score, and that they'll also have a shootout in the scrimmage.

**********

And if that wasn't enough to whet one's hockey appetite for the upcoming season, Sabreland can continue to follow three prospects in their quest for gold at the 2021 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championships on Monday. Buffalo has three of four prospects remaining in the tournament's final four teams, two playing for Team Canada and one for Team U.S.A.

Canada sports an impressive lineup of some of the best U-20 prospects in the world and is lead by Sabres prospect Dylan Cozens. The 2019 seventh-overall pick has been getting plenty of praise for his play as he leads the tournament with seven goals and a plus-10 rating. Cozens is second in points with 13.

Forward Jack Quinn (2020, eighth-overall) has also been getting noticed for his solid two-way game and some deft stickwork for Team Canada, who will be meeting Team Russia in the first of two semi-final games tomorrow beginning at 4pm local time from Edmonton, Alberta.

The second game of the evening begins at 7:30pm with the Americans taking on Team Finland. Sabres d-prospect Ryan Johnson (2019, 31st) has also been receiving plenty of plaudits for his steady game on the blueline.

A fourth Buffalo prospect, forward J.J. Peterka saw his tournament end as Team Germany was ousted by the Russians. Peterka (2020, 34th) skated next to 2020 3rd-overall pick Tim Stuetzle and turned some heads with his two-way game and scoring touch. He finished his tournament tied with Stuetzle for third in scoring with 10 points (4+6.)

Krueger and the rest of Sabres management have been watching the tournament closely while saying he was "extremely pleased" with Peterka and really liked he brought to the table against his peers. The head coach also said that the team feels that "patience is needed at the moment" when it comes to the 18 yr. old and indicated that the best path forward with Peterka is to send him back to Germany to "play a man's game" in the country's top league for EHC München. 

However, Krueger did mention that they will have access to players after their seasons in other leagues are finished. 

It might take divine intervention for the Sabres to make the playoffs this year

A very Merry Christmas to all, and Happy Boxer Day to our neighbors to the North!

This blog was planned for yesterday but was put on hold as to not cause any severe depression in Sabreland. Unlike the song Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, the lyrics of which (thanks to a protest by Judy Garland,) were re-written because they were just too sad for that particular scene in Meet Me In St. Louis, we cannot re-write the cold, hard team stats of the Buffalo Sabres when juxtaposed against the 2020-21 Eastern Division.

Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the National Hockey League did some realigning to limit travel as well as run an international league within the constraints of a closed international border between Canada and the United States. The North Division is composed of the seven Canadian teams while the U.S. has the East as well as the Central and Western Divisions. And boy let me tell you, the NHL did the Sabres no favors with this one.

Buffalo just missed out on an expanded playoffs last season and head into a January 13th start date with a league-long, nine-year playoff drought. Barring any divine intervention from Clarence or any other guardian angel, based purely upon statistics, this could be a rough season. Sure, the Sabres added 2018 League MVP Taylor Hall as well as consumate vet, and probable Hall-of-Famer Eric Staal, but there are still many holes in the lineup that will make this season extremely difficult, especially when placed in a division with the likes of the Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals, Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, NY Islanders plus the NY Rangers and NJ Devils.

To add some perspective, I took a peek at the last three seasons and how the Sabres fared against those foes. And it ain't pretty.

Buffalo's record over the past three seasons versus those teams peeks at 50% points-percentage and goes as low as 25% with no more than four wins versus any one opponent (Win, Loss, OT, Pts%):

NJD   4-4-0  50%

PIT    4-4-1  50%

WSH 3-4-1  44%

BOS  4-6-1  41%

NYI   2-4-2  38%

NYR  2-5-1  31%

PHI   2-6-0   25%

When looking at Buffalo's cumulative place in the league over the past three seasons, their overall points percentage ranked last amongst their division foes:

2)  BOS  .682

3)  WSH .642

6)  PIT    .614

12) PHI  .577

16) NYI  .567

22) NJD  .509

24) NYR  .500

29)  BUF  .442

Buffalo was last in goals-for/game:

3)  WSH  3.29

4)   PIT   3.27

6)   BOS  3.21

10) PHI   3.08

17) NYR  2.91

19) NYI   2.90

24) NJD   2.78

27) BUF  2.63

Last in goals-against/game

1)  BOS  2.52

14) NYI  2.91

17) PIT   2.93

18) WSH 3.00

21) PHI   3.03

24) NJD   3.15

27) NYR  3.21

29) BUF   3.27 

The Sabres were better on the powerplay:

2)   BOS  25.2%

3)   PIT   23.8

8)   NYR 21.2

10) WSH 21.0

17) PHI   19.6

19) BUF  19.2

20) NJD  19.1

21) NYI   18.6

However, their penalty kill was second-worst:

2)   NJD  83.7%

4)   BOS  82.6

11-T) WSH 80.5

11-T) PIT    80.5

23) NYR  79.0

24) PHI    78.6

26) BUF   78.0

29) NYI    77.6

Having said all of that, the Sabres look like they've improved this off season, at least on offense. They'll still need to tighten things up on the blue line and in goal, the latter of which is their biggest question-mark heading into the season. But for as bleak as it might look, the belief here is that they should finish ahead of the Devils, and have a good shot at jumping the Rangers. It's also the opinion here that the Penguins are ripe for the picking as they struggled heading into the playoffs last year going 3-8-0 to finish the regular season and were bounced in four games by the Montreal Canadiens in the qualifying round.

For as much hope as that might bring, Buffalo would still need to jump one more team.

Clarence.

Clarence!

CLARENCE!!!

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-NQsuIHMm3w" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

(youtube video via magnalink600)

All stats via NHL.com

What Buffalo's lineup might look like in 2021 w/extra goalie + taxi squad

The National Hockey League is really trying to get things rolling on January 13 and their tentative agreement with the NHL Players Association is a big step in that direction. Yesterday it was announced that plans are in the works for a 56-game season with training camps set to open January 3 for the 24 teams that made the 2020 NHL Playoffs. The seven teams that missed out would open camps on December 31 giving them very little but still very necessary time to shake off nine months of cobwebs. 

That means the Buffalo Sabres can hit the ice on New Year's Eve.

Some other notes via TSN's Frank Seravalli:

--there will be no exhibition games

--the season is tentatively set to end May 8 with the Stanley Cup being awarded the first week in July

--there are still some snags which includes ratification by the NHL Board of Governors and the NHLPA and what will happen with the five Canadian Provinces and any Covid-19 restrictions which will affect the "All-Canadian" division for this season

Also from Servalli, in addition to player escrow and salary deferrals agreed upon by the two sides:

--players may choose to opt out of the 2020-21 season

--no change to the rosters as they will be capped at 23 men with an $81.5 million salary cap

--a maximum of 29 players will be allowed to practice and travel with the club which includes the 23-man roster plus four to six members (number decided by the club) for the team's "taxi squad," which must include a goalie

--taxi squad players will be treated as if they were in the American Hockey League:  they will need to clear waivers to be "sent down" and they will be paid an AHL salary if on a two-way deal

As of now the four divisions remain as laid out pending Canadian decisions on pandemic travel and restrictions. For the Sabres that means a division featuring:  Boston Bruins, New Jersey Devils, NY Islanders, NY Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals. And, from Elliotte Friedman this morning on twitter, "playoffs will be top four in each division -- each division produces a champion for the Stanley Cup Semifinal."

That's a huge "ouch!" for the Sabres as they're trying to break a league-long, nine-year playoff drought in what might be the toughest of four divisions.

With that said, hockey's coming and Buffalo will be icing a team and this is what the roster and taxi squad might look like:

Taylor Hall - Jack Eichel - Sam Reinhart

Jeff Skinner - Eric Staal - Dylan Cozens

Victor Olofsson - Cody Eakin - Kyle Okposo

Zemgus Girgensons - Curtis Lazar - Tobias Rieder 

Rasmus Dahlin - Henri Jokiharju

Brandon Montour - Rasmus Ristolainen

Jake McCabe - Henri Jokiharju

Linus Ullmark

Carter Hutton

Those are the 20 givens with training camp and/or waivers-eligibility deciding the other three roster spots and the four to six man taxi squad.

We'll begin filling out the roster with Tage Thompson who is no longer waivers-exempt so he'll be on the 23-man roster and add in Rasmus Asplund who played one and a half seasons in Rochester plus 29 games for the Sabres last year. Asplund also played for Vasteras IK in Sweden's second-tier professional hockey league. Buffalo signed veteran defenseman Matt Irwin to a one-year deal.

The taxi squad will be interesting as the team will probably opt to keep young players in the NHL for proper development. If we start with the mandatory third goalie, the Sabres will probably assign 31 yr. old Dustin Tokarski to the taxi squad. The veteran goalie is on a two-year, two-way deal and should easily clear waivers. That would allow 25 yr. old Jonas Johansson another year in the minors to further develop.

Center Artuu Routsalainen was off to a roaring start for Ilves of Finland's top league, Liiga. The 2019 free agent signee has 27 points (16+11) in only 19 games and should be making a strong push for a roster spot during camp.

Andrew Oglevie is set to begin his third pro season after two partial seasons with the Rochester Americans. The 25 yr. old forward is on a two-way deal and produced 39 points (20+19) in 83 games for the Amerks over two seasons. He is waivers-exempt.

Defenseman Casey Nelson has been in the Sabres organization since he signed a free agent deal coming out of college in 2016. Nelson has played in 151 AHL games and 93 NHL games and is signed to a two-way deal. He will need to clear waivers again.

Buffalo could stop there as they fulfilled NHL requirements and leaving it as so gives them room to expand should a player or two have an impact at training camp.

Many saw 24 yr. old defenseman Will Borgen as set to make a strong push for a roster spot this season. The rugged 6'3" 196 lb. righty has made marked progress in Rochester for two seasons and with a strong camp he could displace Irwin on the roster. And even though Sabreland has counted out forward Casey  Mittlestadt, a good camp and/or a move to the wing could be his ticket to the NHL this season. Mittelstadt came to life in the second half of last season for the Amerks and was showing very good improvement before the season was halted. Having either or both of those two make the roster would be a huge plus for Buffalo.

One final possibility for either a spot on the roster or as a reserve is left wing C.J. Smith who's done yeoman's work since signing with the organization in 2017. Smith most of his time with the Amerks (57 goals and 129 points in 169 games) and didn't look too far out of place in 13 games for the Sabres (2 goals.) With left side in Buffalo is loaded up front, a one-way deal and a probable leadership role in Rochester, Smith may not be in the Sabres plans. However, a strong camp and the fact that he's not waivers exempt could put him in the conversation come January 13.

Sabres news, some good and not so good.

First off, some really good news for NHL fans as the league is targeting a January 13th start to a 56-game NHL season. Whether or not there will be fans in the seats in any capacity remains to be seen as Coronavirus vaccine manufacturing and distribution is just beginning but there is light at the end of a tunnel and even though it's long and dark, the first steps back to a sense of normalcy have been taken.

The National Hockey League has been hit hard by the pandemic and with that we'll lead into the not-so-good news for the Buffalo Sabres this long off season before ending on some happier notes.

Financial health of the NHL and Sabres

NHL franchises took a tough hit in the Spring as the normal season was cancelled in March, but the league managed to scrape out some TV revenue with an alternative end to the regular season and a full slate of playoff games in two bubbles. The toll it took on some franchises, including the Buffalo Sabres, was pretty harsh. In it's annual listing of team values Forbes outlined the impact of the pandemic on the league:

--the average team value dropped by 2%

--the $4.4 billion in revenue from a season that was 85% completed was 14% below the prior year

--operating income was down a whopping 68% ($250 million)

The rich/poor disparity was glaring as well in a pandemic-ravaged 2019-20 season. "The league’s five most valuable teams—the New York Rangers ($1.65 billion), the Toronto Maple Leafs ($1.5 billion), the Montreal Canadiens ($1.34 billion), the Chicago Blackhawks ($1.085 billion) and the Boston Bruins ($1 billon)," wrote Forbes, "accounted for almost a quarter of the league’s revenue. Without them, the league would have lost $50 million."

Unfortunately the Sabres aren't amongst those big-market, money-machines even though they have big-money ownership in Terry and Kim Pegula. The Pegula's saw the current value of their team drop 4% to $385 million on an initial investment of $189 million in 2011. There were seven other teams in Buffalo's boat at -4% and five who fared worse at -5%.

According to Forbes, revenue for the Sabres last season was $120 million with only 10 teams below them (the NY Rangers led the league with $225 million in revenue) while operating income for Buffalo was $-11 million, which was seventh-worst in the league (the Montreal Canadiens led with $87 million on revenue of $215 million.)

Possible NHL realignment for 2020-21

Those are some big losses for Buffalo but in a tribute to the commitment the Pegula's made at their 2011 introductory press conference, management has been given the financial resources to ice a roster that will hopefully end their league long, nine-year playoff drought.

Unfortunately for the Sabres, the pandemic has forced the NHL to temporarily realign their divisions. International travel restrictions are probably giving us an all-Canadian division with the league leaning towards three regional divisions in the States. Preliminary indications has the Sabres in a group with Boston, New Jersey, NY Islanders, NY Rangers, Philadelphia and Washington along with Pittsburgh or Carolina. Only two of those teams, Buffalo and New Jersey, failed to make the expanded playoffs last year while Boston, Washington and Pittsburgh have been perennial playoff teams. Add in the Islanders, Philadelphia and Carolina as teams on the upswing and the Sabres are in a bit of a pickle.

Should the league be looking at another expanded playoff scenario of 24 teams (six from each division,) the Sabres will need to get into the top six. Boston hasn't missed the playoffs since 2015-16 and have a Stanley Cup finals appearance since then while Washington has the 2018 Stanley Cup and hasn't missed the post season since 2013-14 so putting those two at or near the top of the division isn't much of a reach. The NY Islanders made a run to the 2020 eastern conference finals while Philadelphia lost a seven-game, second round series to those same Islanders and either Pittsburgh, with their long history of making the playoffs during the entirety of the Sidney Crosby-era (2006-present, including three Cups) or an upstart Carolina franchise (two consecutive playoff appearances,) seem poised to take the fifth spot.

That leaves three teams vying for one playoff spot--the New Jersey Devils, NY Rangers and Buffalo Sabres.

Does Buffalo have the wherewithal to take that spot? Adding 2018 league MVP Taylor Hall helps, and so does trading for top-six center Eric Staal but they may need to upgrade goaltending and/or their defense corps if they want to make it.

Three Sabres make IIHF World Junior Team Canada and Team USA  squads

On a positive note, Buffalo's prospect pool is getting stronger. As noted in the previous blog their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans, should see a sizeable influx of homegrown talent this upcoming season and behind them is another group that's making it's way through the system.

Center Dylan Cozens leads the way with the 2019, seventh-overall pick set to make his second consecutive IIHF World Junior Championship skating for Team Canada. Cozens posted nine points (2+7) in a subdued role for the tournament champion Canadian team last year and will play a larger role this year. Joining him on the squad is Buffalo's 2020, eighth-overall pick Jack Quinn. There were questions concerning Quinn and whether or not he'd make the team but he did and early projections have him skating in a top-six role for the high-profile, talent-laden Canadians.

In addition to those two forwards, it was announced today that defenseman Ryan Johnson has made Team U.S.A. Johnson, a 2019 first round pick (31st-overall) plays in the NCAA for the Minnesota Golden Gophers. 

Sabres scouting staff growing incrementally

Those three draft picks were from an amateur scouting staff that was definitively hacked in the spring as management decided to get more efficient and/or rebuild the scouting department. After going through the 2020 NHL Entry Draft with a skeleton crew, The Buffalo News reported yesterday that Anders Forsberg will rejoin the Sabres as their scout in Sweden. Forsberg had been a scout for the club from 2015-17 and is back in the fold, albeit in more of a "consulting" role, according to the News, while the also wrote that "his work will have a heavy emphasis on video."

Forsberg is the second scout brought in since the spring purge bringing their total to eight. He joins Tristan Musser, who was hired October 7 as both an amateur and pro scout, as new adds under director of scouting Jeremiah Crowe and assistant director Jason Nightingale. 

Has the cavalry finally arrived for the Sabres and their prospect pipeline?

It's been a long time since the Buffalo Sabres have been relevant on the ice. In fact one could say that they really haven't been since they came out of the 2004-05 NHL lockout with back-to-back runs to the eastern conference finals. Since then they've tried a number of avenues back to relevancy only to find themselves spinning their wheels as they slid from a middling track of mediocrity into a ditch of desperation that they still haven't been able to fully wrest themselves from. 

It's been five years since the 2015 draft that netted the Sabres Jack Eichel and since that time they've missed the playoffs every year with the reverberation of those two scorched-earth rebuild/tank year reaching down to Buffalo's farm system. Their AHL affiliate, Rochester Americans, did not qualify for the Calder Cup playoffs in the two years after the 2015 NHL Draft, they got swept in the first round the next two years and Covid-19 put an end to the 2019-20 season. Down in the ECHL, the "single/double-A" of an NHL farm system, the Elmira Jackals missed the Kelly Cup playoffs two years post-Eichel, then folded. Buffalo moved it's affiliation to Cincinnati where the Cyclones went to the playoffs two years running before Covid-19 cancelled the season.

When former general manger Darcy Regier started a rebuild late into his long tenure in Buffalo beginning with the trade of Paul Gaustad on February 27, 2012, expectations in Sabreland was that picks and prospects would roll in as each of his "core players" were peeled away from the organization. Regier was masterful at getting prime returns for his group as Gaustad yielded a 2012 first-round pick, Jason Pominville got the team a 2013 first and a 2014 second rounder, Andrej Sekera a 2013 second, Thomas Vanek a 2014 first and a 2015 second while GM Tim Murray, who replaced Regier, turned Ryan Miller into a 2015 first round pick and a 2016 third. 

In July 8, 2014 blog here on hockeybuzz, the tally up to that point, which included the Miller trade by Murray, was four first round picks (2012, 2013, two in 2015,) three second round picks (two in 2014, one in 2015) and two third round picks (2014, 2016) for Regier's core players 

Regier did some solid drafting in his final two seasons and as we look at the 2012 and 2013 draft, the fate of those picks (18 total) are all determined by now. Four have been regular NHL contributors for the Sabres (Zemgus Girgensons, Jake McCabe, Linus Ullmark and Rasmus Ristolainen,) two were traded away and are NHL regulars for other teams (Nikita Zadorov, J.T. Compher) one was traded away and is set to make his mark in net after a long developmental period (goalie Cal Petersen,) one has been bouncing around from league to league which includes AHL, NHL and KHL but is back in the NHL (Mikhail Grigorenko,) two had a good taste of the big time but look like NHL/AHL tweeners at best (Justin Bailey and Nick Baptiste,) and one had a cup of NHL coffee before being relegated to the AHL and various leagues around the globe (Brady Austin.)

Although that group lacked high-end impact players, having eight NHL regulars out of 18 draft picks (close to a 50% clip) is still some very solid drafting. Regier, who was noted not making a deal unless it was favorable to his team, was hell bent on developing his prospects and really didn't make many trades prior to him purging his core, which was a far cry from Murray, his successor.

GM Murray hit Buffalo with a lot of "Murrancy" built up by his predecessor in terms of draft capital but unlike his predecessor, he had a quick trigger and had designs on rebuilding the team quickly after the complete scorched-earth tear-down from 2013-15. 

Without much left in Rochester or Elmira, Murray headed into the 2015-16 season using vets atop a group of youngins in the minors as a way to bridge a void left the tank years. Young players like Girgensons, McCabe and Ristolainen, who'd spent minimal time in the AHL were filling roles in Buffalo and there was a gap between that group and Murray's own draft picks that were at least a year or two away from beginning their pro career. The Amerks went into that season with Bailey and Baptist, both 20 yrs. old, who had legit shots at an NHL career and a few players from previous drafts (Daniel Catenacci, Justin Kea and goalie Nathan Lieuwen) to go along with Austin all of whom were long shots to make the NHL. The following season would be a bit different as a wave of drafted players, including 2017 eighth-overall pick Alexander Nylander, headed to Rochester to officially start their pro careers. Nylander had top-six skills and more upside than any player in the Sabres system, but he was only 18 yrs. old.

In the ensuing seasons Murray, along with his successor, Jason Botterill, would use the same formula of heavily relying on AHL vets to lead the Amerks while the farm system tried to catch up. By the 2018-19 season, the last year of Botterill's tenure and four years removed from the 2014-15 tank season, the Sabres had seven NHL regulars on their roster, only two of which were drafted by Murray--Reinhart  and Eichel, both second-overall picks--while Regier's picks of Girgensons, McCabe and Ristolainen were joined by two first rounders from Botterill--Casey Mittelstadt (2017, 8th) and Rasmus Dahlin (2018, 1st.)

Things were also looking a bit brighter in Rochester for the 2018-19 Amerks as Victor Olofsson (181st) came over from Sweden and fellow 2014 pick Jonas Johansson (61st) entered his first full pro season. The Amerks roster also included Rasmus Asplund (2016, 33rd,) who joined Nylander from that draft class as well as Will Borgen (2015, 92nd) and Brendan Guhle (2015, 51st) who were apart of Eichel's draft year.

Yet missing from the Sabres during that season were a number of players or picks that Murray traded away between February and June 2015. 

Murray went on a splurge that began with him sending 2014 second round pick Brendan Lemieux and a 2015 first round pick to the Winnipeg Jets as part of Evander Kane blockbuster trade in February. Later at the draft in June, he sent another 2015 first round pick to the Ottawa Senators as part of a trade for goalie Robin Lehner. Murray would follow that up with another draft-day trade for center Ryan O'Reilly where he sent prospects Zadorov and Compher, along with Grigorenko and a 2015 second round pick to the Colorado Avalanche. A breakdown of what Murray traded away for players no longer with the club reveals that Lemieux has played 131 games in the NHL and all three players in the Avalanche trade have played in at least 200 NHL games. Ottawa selected Colin White 21st-overall in 2015 and he has played in 155 NHL games for the Sens while the Jets selected center Jack Roslovic with the 25th pick. He has 180 NHL games under his belt.

So what does this all mean? The Sabres are still playing catchup in regards to depth from the big club on down.

Murray was able to land Reinhart and Eichel with the second-overall pick in consecutive drafts while Botterill's "reward" for his club finishing last was drafting Dahlin first overall. Those three represent some very high-end talent, especially the latter two. Yet, because of a dearth of quality talent in the system to surround those three, Buffalo has had to go outside the organization via trades and free agent signings to try and add the appropriate talent. It's usually an expensive ride down a slippery slope.

For this season, in order to fill what seems to be perpetual holes in the roster, the Sabres traded for a No. 2 center in 37 yr. old Eric Staal and signed 2018 league MVP Taylor Hall to a 1yr/$8 million free agent contract, giving them five bona fide top-six forwards. New GM Kevyn Adams also signed a bottom-six center in Cody Eakin to a 2yr. deal to help fill the void at center behind Eichel.  What those moves have done is buy them some time as they'll have another year to develop younger players like Mittelstadt and 2019 first round pick Dylan Cozens while still, hopefully, icing a competitive. playoff-worthy team. 

As we move through Buffalo's draft classes, the verdict is in on 2014 and 2015. Outside of Reinhart in 2014 they have Olofsson who looks like a top-nine/potential top-six winger and Johansson, who has slowly been developing in net and who still looks as if he at least has NHL-backup qualities. Behind Eichel we find only defenseman Borgen, a probable NHL defenseman in a bottom-pairing role. Two other prospects from those draft classes were traded away--Lemieux, as mentioned by Murray and defenseman Brendan Guhle (51st) to the Anaheim Ducks by Botterill. Of the 15 picks made by Murray in those drafts, four are NHL regulars (Reinhart, Lemieux, Olofsson and Eichel with the jury still out on tree others. 

The jury's still out on Murray's last draft class (2016) but it looks like they'll have some contributors at least in Rochester while Nylander was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks for defenseman Henri Jokiharju (2017, 29th,) who's quickly establishing himself as a top-four defenseman. As the organization either integrates or moves on from the last vestiges of Murray's drafting. Players from Botterill's 2017 class have already begun to make their way into the Sabres system beginning with defensemen Jacob Bryson (99th,) who just finished a very productive first full season in Rochester. Goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (54th) played his first pro season last year and defenseman Oskari Laaksonen (89th) just signed his entry-level deal. And from Botterill's 2018 class we have defenseman Mattias Samuelsson (32nd) and winger Matej Pekar (94th) all on entry-level deals set to make their debuts in Rochester.

Adding them to the likes of Mittelstadt, Borgen, Asplund, Brett Murray (2016, 99th,) and Casey Fitzgerald (2016, 86th,) as well as free agents Arturo Routsalainen and Brandon Biro, all of whom are waivers-exempt, plus a directive to cut back on AHL vets, means the Rochester Americans should see a large influx of young, homegrown talent filling their roster. Many of them may end up as serviceable NHL'ers but players like Mittelstadt and Luukkonen have high upsides while any of Asplund, Borgen, Bryson, Samuelsson and Routsalainen could rise above lower/reserve roles on the club. Which is a far cry from where this organization was some five years ago.

It took a while and while nothing's guaranteed, it seems as if the Sabres may have finally been able to overcome stripped-bare farm system and a depletion of quality talent in an ill-advised, short-cut attempt for NHL relevancy at the expense of building and developing through the draft. Where it goes from here remains to be seen, especially with the havoc Covid-19 has wreaked on the NHL, but on paper the Sabres organization/development pool looks better in the near-term and if they stick to drafting and developing, longer-term as well.