For the month of June, Last Word On Sports will be covering each team in our 30 in 30 series. Once a day, we take a look at an NHL team’s past season, what their off-season looks like, and what they could hope to achieve before the start of their 2015-16 season. Everybody wants to get better and improve upon last season’s success or downfall and NHL’s 30 in 30 gives you that analysis and preview you need to get you by during another long and grueling summer season. 30 days in June, 30 teams to cover. Starting on June 1st we start from the bottom and make our way to the very top.
Today’s team; The Buffalo Sabres. Check out our previous 30 in 30 articles here.
NHL’s 30 in 30: Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres managed to finish dead last in the National Hockey League, posting a 23-51-8 record to end up with just 54 points. Their play at home was slightly better than on the road, where just nine of their 23 wins came from. Lacking any real NHL-caliber talent, the team ended the year with a -113 goal differential, a league low.
The 2014-15 Regular Season
You could say that the last two seasons have been arguably two of the worst in the franchise’s history and you’d probably be right. If Sabres fans were optimistic heading into the first season with new captain Brian Gionta and big name acquisitions in winger Matt Moulson and defenseman Josh Gorges, those hopes were promptly dashed when the team ended the first month of the season with a 2-8-1 record.
The team did go through several injuries to key players, leaving them with many holes to fill as the season went on. Alternate captain Gorges missed the last two months of the season, electing to undergo micro-fracture surgery on his knee, forcing him to miss the final 26 games of the season but by then, the Sabres were fighting for the first overall pick more than a playoff spot. Zemgus Girgensons, who got off to a fine start and was one of the biggest stories out of Buffalo as well as being among their leading scorers, went down for the season on February 26th, due to an ankle injury.
With a depleted roster, the Sabres had to work with several call-ups at a time, and it became difficult to surround them with plausible NHL’ers to properly insulate them. Their depth at the center position down the stretch consisted of Johan Larsson, Mikhail Grigorenko, Philip Varone, Tim Schaller and Matt Ellis. Larsson, 22, played on the team’s top line at times, playing against the opposition’s top talents and making the most of his time.
Despite being shut-out 14 times, including the very last game of the season (a 2-0 effort against the Pittsburgh Penguins), winger Tyler Ennis still managed to hit the 20-goal plateau while playing on the top line with Larsson and Moulson. The Sabres managed just a 1.87 goals per game, the worst average in the league.
As the season looked to be a total loss, general manager Tim Murray pulled the trigger on several trades that looked to be intended for their future. Heart and soul players Torrey Mitchell and Brian Flynn were both sent to the Montreal Canadiens in separate trades in exchange for 5th and 7th round picks in 2016, as well as prospect Jack Nevins. Goaltender Jhonas Enroth was sent to the Dallas Stars for Anders Lindback and a conditional 2016 3rd-round pick, and Michal Neuvirth was also sent packing, landing in Long Island in exchange for Islanders back-up Chad Johnson and a 2016 3rd-round pick. Chris Stewart was also shipped to the Minnesota Wild for a 2017 2nd-round pick.
None of those trades measured up to the biggest blockbuster of the season. The Sabres managed to acquire disgruntled winger Evander Kane, along with defenseman Zach Bogosian and prospect Jason Kasdorf from the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for defenseman Tyler Myers, veteran Drew Stafford, prospects Brendan Lemieux and Joel Armia, and a 2015 1st-round pick (the 25th overall which originally belonged to the St. Louis Blues). It was a trade to bring in a big-bodied defenseman and a top line scoring winger, who both hope to contribute for the future of the Sabres.
The Off-Season and Free Agents
Heading into this off-season, the Sabres have a total of ten free agents on their current payroll, only four of those being restricted to the team. Larsson, Varone, Matt Hackett and Zac Dalpe are those who fall under the RFA category. The remaining six unrestricted free agents are forwards Patrick Kaleta and Matt Ellis, defensemen Andrej Meszaros, Andre Benoit and Tyson Strachan, and goaltender Lindback.
This doesn’t include players who fall under the prospect ruling, such as Mikhail Grigorenko and Mark Pysyk, whom are both restricted free agents.
From the get-go, the goaltending position is a giant exclamation point. Bringing back Lindback is not even a plausible idea at this point, leaving Johnson as your only goaltender with a contract. Hackett should be retained, but it still leaves the Sabres without a starter. There are options in the market, perhaps a trade for Eddie Lack out of Vancouver is a viable thought or they could test their luck on Devan Dubnyk and hope that his turnaround season wasn’t a one-year mirage.
On defense, Bogosian joins with a multi-year contract and Gorges should be fully recovered from his surgery in time for training camp. Mike Weber makes a respectable amount for one more season, while youngsters Rasmus Ristolainen and Nikita Zadorov are on one and two-year contracts respectively, shaping up the current Sabres defensive staff. With a few spots open, Pysyk can jump in to fill out the last spot, but it still leaves a roster spot open for Murray to search for another defenseman, maybe even two to knock down Zadorov and allow him to see time in the AHL.
On offense, you’ll have your usual suspects up front, minus Kaleta, who will likely be searching for a new team that could use his pesky antics. Instead, Kane will be there to make his debut likely as the first line winger that the Sabres have needed. A healthy Girgensons will be a welcomed return and perhaps youngsters Larsson and Sam Reinhart can help fill up the roles at center. A new prospect that the Sabres will likely be adding at this year’s draft, who will be mentioned a little later, can slot in on the Sabres top line and wingers Ennis and Moulson will contribute to Buffalo’s top-six scoring.
With a punch of youth mixed with some veteran experience and skill, the Sabres will hope to remain healthy going into this season in order to improve on last season’s 1.87 goals for average and even then, Murray might want to keep an eye on the open market to see if there are some inexpensive additions he can make to help get his kids going and keep them motivated.
The Draft Table
First up for the Sabres rebuild is the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, where Murray and his scouting staff are primed and ready to get the wheels rolling with four of their seven picks in the first 60 selections, in what is believed to be a very deep draft. None is more illustrious than their 2nd overall pick, however the 21st pick which they obtained from the New York Islanders could end up being a very valuable player that slid in the draft.
With the 2nd overall pick, it’s a no brainer – center Jack Eichel will be selected by the Sabres and will fit in nicely on Buffalo’s top line, with Ennis and Kane on his wings. Speaking of the wing, the Sabres current pool is lacking in that category and with the 21st and 31st overall picks, now is the time to start adding some promising prospects. Names like Jeremy Bracco, Daniel Sprong and Denis Guryanov could all be prime picks with the 21st, while the Sabres could land a Brock Boeser, Jake DeBrusk or Paul Bittner with their 31st pick, should any of these three slip into Murray’s hands.
A prospect pool that is already full of fish is about to get stuffed with more and the one thing Sabres fans can be proud of is the fact that their future is loaded with talent – to the point where you’d have to purposely blow it up and screw everything over in order for it to fail.
Meet The New Boss
And how could we not close without mention of Dan Bylsma, the new head coach of the team?
Hired back in 2008-09 mid-season when Michel Therrien was relieved of his duties, Bylsma coached the Pittsburgh Penguins for the remainder of that year and the next five seasons. Leading the Penguins to the Stanley Cup in his first year with the team, Bylsma became a favorite among fans instantly. The next five seasons would be filled with great regular season performances followed by disappointment in the post-season.
Following their playoff exit in 2013-14, Bylsma was relieved of his duties as head coach. He took the 2014-15 season off, spending the full year without a job, but signed with the Sabres the following season to take over after Ted Nolan was fired, following the end of the regular season.
Nolan coached the team the last two seasons but the Sabres ended both years in last place.
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