Buffalo Sabres, NHL Draft, Trades
Good morning, Buffalo Sabres fans! Today is another game day for the Sabres, who are in Edmonton to take on the Oilers at 9:30 p.m. You’ve got to love these Western Canada road swings that push games back a few hours.
First up in the Buffalo Sabres world this morning: defenseman Nikita Zadorov will remain out of the lineup for tonight’s game in Edmonton after being suspended by the team earlier this week.
Zadorov failed to report in time for the Buffalo Sabres’ team flight to Calgary; travel issues meant he was delayed in the Dominican Republic, where he had been during the NHL All-Star break.
Zadorov reportedly apologized to his teammates and the coaching staff, but it wasn’t enough for head coach Ted Nolan to throw him back into the mix – at least not yet. His playing status for Friday’s game in Vancouver is to be determined.
Speaking of prospects, we’re now officially under the six-month mark until the 2015 NHL Draft in Florida. The Buffalo Sabres could have up to three picks in the first round, including most likely the first-overall or second-overall selection.
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Everyone’s heard of Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel; those are the big-name guys heading into the upcoming draft. But what about some of the others? Bleacher Report takes a look at some of the NHL Draft prospects OTHER than those two, including some players who could go in the first round, just not at the very top.
Heading back to the NHL season, Tip of the Tower this morning has an update on some of the Buffalo Sabres’ trade rumors, including talks about Drew Stafford, Tyler Myers and Torrey Mitchell.
Rumors notwithstanding – with there even be any trades involving the Buffalo Sabres?
According to general manager Tim Murray, the trade market in the NHL is “very quiet” right now.
No trades appear to be imminent, though people are more than willing to throw around seemingly unfounded rumors. Though the Sabres are still expected to be sellers at the trade deadline, it’s unclear what the return would be like for guys including Jhonas Enroth, Michal Neuvirth and Chris Stewart. [Sportsnet]
Moving on — there’s good news for you if you’re a fan of “fancy stats” when it comes to the Buffalo Sabres and the NHL.
NHL.com announced Wednesday that it is adding several advanced stats categories to its website in the next month or so.
Possession stats including Corsi and Fenwick, PDO and average shot distance are among those things that will be added to the website.
A note about this: the stats will be coming from game sheets, not player tracking devices such as the ones tested at the NHL All-Star Game. But it’s definitely a start as the league begins to embrace some of the “fancy stats” that have been supported more by the hockey writing community lately, and once the player tracking takes more of an effect in the league, the NHL would be even better able to tabulate some of these statistics.