The Optimistic Road Of The Buffalo Sabres
By Sean McGrath
This is the year, this is truly it, we are going to be one of the best teams in the league.
I can’t begin to tell you how many times I have said this line. Every year, at one point or another, I, as a fan, truly believe in this line. It started right when I began to obsess with the sport, and I even catch myself saying it today. But, no matter the year, I still end up like a dog with its tail between its legs, regretting ever having the optimism to say that line.
But now, as I stare at NHL.com as it prepares itself for, what I believe, will be an absolutely incredible Stanley Cup Final between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Chicago Blackhawks, I sit with this pit in my stomach, a yearning for wanting that spotlight. To be one of the last two teams still playing in June. June.
To play hockey on a 60-70 degree day is one thing the Buffalo Sabres haven’t been able to do since 2011. That is four years since Buffalo has made the playoffs and eight years since they extended their season past the first series.
Yet, I caught myself saying it one more time just a few days ago.
This is our year…for change.
Let’s be honest, Buffalo is nowhere near a Stanley Cup team. To match up with either Tampa Bay or Chicago would prove to be disastrous on so many levels.
But, it doesn’t mean the optimism isn’t still there.
It has been an interesting offseason so far for Buffalo. The relieving of head coach Ted Nolan, who was seen by some as the coach who would bring this team back to relevancy, and by others as just as good as fired as soon as he was hired.
A bit of that optimism took a hit last week, when former Red Wings coach Mike Babcock opted to go with the Toronto Maple Leafs after he was nearly done completing the deal with Buffalo.
But, that was quickly healed, when former Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma got the call and has officially been named the head coach of this team.
In point versus counter-point, Buffalo has secured the same coach, but just eight years younger than the one that was making the headlines just a few weeks ago. Bylsma has one Stanley Cup, the first Buffalo Sabres coach with a championship under his belt since Scotty Bowman. He has Olympic experience, being the head coach of the U.S. National team that placed fourth in the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
He then was an assistant to the U.S. team that earned bronze in the World Championships just a few weeks ago. Yes, the same team that was led by Jack Eichel, the very same player that could don the Sabres sweater in the NHL Draft.
Since his firing from the Penguins after the 2013-2014 season. He didn’t float around while hoping to land a job. Instead, he used his remaining contract money that expires in 2016 to study each and every team in the NHL, knowing that at some point, he would inherit a team and restart his career.
In short, he knows what he is working with, and he loves it.
So much so, he met with future Sabre Evander Kane for three hours to gauge him and just see what he is working with. Assuming that he will meet with other players, here’s to a head coach who is already instilling himself as a boss to work with.
Speaking of Kane, Buffalo could be on the receiving end of a road to redemption.
Kane is known for being a hothead and arrogant, as “shown” by an unnamed person’s article last week. In reality, Kane might have some issues, but it’s nothing that can’t be looked at and solved by the time camp and preseason starts.
Kane scored 22 points this past season before going into a surgery to fix his shoulder in February. In his first four seasons, this was the first one that he scored under 30 points, Buffalo had only four players who finished above that mark this past season.
Next point, Buffalo is getting faster and more skilled.
It’s no surprise that Buffalo has talent, the only thing it lacks is the combination of skill, coaching leadership and veteran presence that comes with championships.
Jack Eichel is the likely candidate to be picked at number two in the Entry Draft. While the arrival is nothing short of exciting, the thought of him plus Sam Reinhart on the roster next season just adds to the hype that comes.
He’s young, but even Bylsma knows that this kid has something. Add Reinhart and you have one of the top youngest one and two centers in the league, just waiting to explode.
Defense continues to grow, especially with a team like this. While they have taken a beating the past two years, there’s no telling what a team like this could have in store for defense. The only thing they need to fix is the amount of shots they let through, because less shots equal less chances for a team to score. But you don’t need me to tell you that.
But the real wild card is who will sit in net for the next season? Any legitimate chance at a decent season relies on the ability to have a goalie in the net who will be able to turn aside 30+ shots a night if the defense allows it.
Anders Lindback is a free agent and will garner interest after a decent run at the end of the season since his arrival from the Dallas Stars. Buffalo could try an ink a deal, or rely on the free agency to try and pick up the likes of Antti Niemi out of San Jose or Karri Ramo from the Calgary Flames. Though it’s likely that one of these players will sign in the offseason, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility one makes a stop, hopefully permanently, in Buffalo.
Add in the ever-growing prospect pool that is one of the top in the league and out of all of the negativity behind the past few years, you can begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel.