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Buffalo Sabres Links: Mock Draft, Offseason

By Melissa Kania

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Good morning, Buffalo Sabres fans! The NHL playoffs are fully in swing, the AHL’s regular season has ended, the NHL draft lottery is complete and the offseason continues for Sabres fans.

One of the most-talked about sporting events being talked about in Buffalo at the moment is, of course, the draft and the draft lottery. The Sabres will pick second overall, which means they’re likely to select BU freshman Jack Eichel.

With the draft just about two months away, this is the time when mock drafts start popping up all across the Internet. Today, we begin with NHL.com, where the top four selections were a consensus for both writers. [NHL.com]

It seems to be a no-brainer that Connor McDavid will almost certainly be selected first overall, with Jack Eichel going behind him. Both writers also agreed that defenseman Noah Hanifin will be picked third by the Arizona Coyotes, with center Dylan Strome going to the Toronto Maple Leafs. That’s where the similarities end, as each writer has the rest of the top 14 picks going a little differently.

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Back to some Buffalo Sabres talk — check out this piece from Bleacher Report about the offseason for the Buffalo team.

There are a lot of questions heading into this summer for the Sabres organization. Just a few of the questions: goaltending, coaching and free agency. I won’t spoil the rest of the BR piece — go read it for yourself — but suffice to say that there should be a lot of news over the next few months.

The NHL expansion talk seems to have quieted down for now, but things could stir back up again as soon as June, at least according to this Puck Daddy post.

The Vegas expansion process could begin in June, according to that piece. This wouldn’t be the time when a final announcement comes or anything like that, but it could be the quiet beginnings of something.

Meanwhile, a study done by the American City Business Journals has found that Seattle may not be the best city to sustain an NHL franchise right now.

This piece from the Seattle Times has the details, but basically: it would be more financially sustainable for Seattle to hold an NBA team, and the city right now is considered to have a “borderline capacity” to support an NHL team.

Does that mean we won’t see a team in Seattle? Not necessarily, as over the years, things change, finances move, etc. But right now, it seems less than likely, and talks in Seattle may quiet down for the time being.

Finally, this piece from The Hockey Writers this morning about the top six NHL playoff traditions around the league is a good read.

Playoff time is the most wonderful time of the year, after all.

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