As the Buffalo Sabres season grows ever closer and preseason hockey now officially underway, there’s a lot of talk about the Sabres, possibly “tanking” to get a better draft pick, and the hype surrounding players like Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel.
A USA Today preview of the Buffalo Sabres projects that the team will finish last in the Eastern Conference this season. (In contrast, the Boston Bruins are pegged to finish first.)
Puck Daddy posted a blog about the Buffalo Sabres’ supposed “tank” this season in order to get McDavid or Eichel, with quotes peppered throughout the article from guys like Ted Nolan and Drew Stafford who vehemently deny the idea of tanking and insist that the Sabres aren’t going to do it.
Stafford himself said while he can’t guarantee that the Sabres will make the playoffs, he can’t guarantee that they won’t, either. Newcomers like Josh Gorges, Brian Gionta and Chris Stewart all came to Buffalo for a reason, and it wasn’t to help the team lose, as they said in one of the articles linked above.
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In all actuality, there’s no guarantee one way or another. A high-profile team could suffer season-ending injuries to its best players in the midst of the season that could diminish their playoff chances; trades or waivers can happen that will change the game for multiple teams involved. And while predictions are all fun and games right now, you can’t put that much stock in it. What matters most is what will happen on the ice.
USA Today also posted a piece about McDavid and Eichel, two budding young superstars just waiting for NHL teams to pick them in the 2015 draft. Both will get the chance to skate at the First Niagara Center in the next few weeks, with Eichel participating in the All-American Prospects Game this week and McDavid playing in an OHL game at FNC in October.
It’s worth noting that the Puck Daddy piece seems to take these games as some sort of indication that the Sabres are trying to tank. It mentions these games in the middle of the piece and goes on to suggest that the fact that the Sabres are denying a tank is absolutely ludicrous.
This is my rebuttal: No. You are wrong, and this is simply a silly, stupid way of thinking about it.
Buffalo has become a great hockey city over the past few years. We “live” hockey, as some have said — it’s Hockey Heaven. Between the World Juniors from a few years ago, the All-American Prospects Game which has been held in Buffalo in the past and comes to the FNC this year and next, plus the NHL combine…. bringing these events to Buffalo is no indication of the Sabres’ team itself. Rather, it’s an indication of this city and its capacity and thirst for hockey, and excuse me if I think that has nothing to do with tanking.
The AAPG was here in the past and has been pegged in Buffalo for this year and next, and I think it’s great to see USA Hockey really making an investment in this city. Having an OHL game in Buffalo is great for a number of reasons. Yes, it will allow fans to see guys like McDavid and Dylan Strome, etc. It’s also just a great way of bringing a new level of hockey to this city and it’s a great location for both Erie and Niagara.
To suggest that bringing such events to Buffalo has anything to do with the Sabres’ supposed “tank” is just silly. I hate to break it to you, but we just really love our hockey here.