May 28, 2015; Buffalo, NY, USA; Buffalo Sabres general manager Tim Murray (left) with new Sabres head coach Dan Bylsma is introduced at a press conference at the First Niagara Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports
Jacob Strozyk, Editor – SabreNoise
The Buffalo Sabres have made all of the right moves during this year’s draft. They accomplished the most important thing besides the obvious (which was drafting Jack Eichel) which was acquiring a number one goaltender. Robin Lehner is Tim Murray’s number one man, and I feel that he made the right choice. The young goaltender still has contract left and is only 23 so he has more time to develop with the rest of the team.
The second trade made was the one that saw Mikhail Grigorenko and Nikita Zadorov get shipped off to Colorado in exchange for Ryan O’Reilly. I’ve had mixed feelings about this trade over the past few days and I’ll say that my initial reaction to it is the same as it is now. I am not fond of this trade.
I will grant a few good things about O’Reilly before I say why I did not like the trade. O’Reilly is a fantastic two way center that has playmaking ability and defensive responsibility. He is consistent in those areas, but where he falls short is the goal scoring area. When I think of a number one center (which Dan Bylsma has declared him already) I think of a player that can run the offense better than everyone else on the team. Players like Joe Thornton, Nicklas Backstrom, John Tavares, Sydney Crosby, etc all fit that description, but I would not put Orally in that situation.
What the Sabres gave up in Zadorov, Grigorenko, and even JT Compher is elite potential for a good hockey player that can play right now. While that was a smart move on Murray’s part to get more results next season, the key piece given up was Nikita Zadorov as it thins out the defense and decreases the size and intimidation of the Sabres Blue Line even more. Sure we still have Ristolainen and Bogosian, but Zadorov was good enough to play a style like Chris Pronger in a few years if he kept on track.
So I stand by my dislike of the trade for the sake of the defense and what Zadorov could have become. I do not knock O’Reilly’s center playing ability at all, he is a good player for sure, but he is not an elite level center. I assume he will fill the role of the top center until Jack Eichel takes the reigns from him in a few years.
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As far as the rest of the draft, Buffalo went defense heavy, which was a smart play to increase the depth at the position. One particular pick was strange to me. Buffalo’s second round selection of Guhle was a bit strange considering defenseman Oliver Kylington was still on the board. Kylington is a smaller defenseman, but he has much more offensive upside than Guhle does. that was the only pick I was a little shaky on. the rest of the picks were solid and hopefully turn out some good NHL players.
Overall, I’ll give the Buffalo Sabres an A- for their overall draft performance. Great overall, but I only dock them to a minus for the loss of Zadorov and the passing on Kylington. Otherwise It was a great draft for the team as a whole. I cannot wait to see how free agency goes.
Next: Adam Savard, Staff Writer - SabreNoise