Buffalo Sabres Players: Predicting The Top Penalty Minute Man

The Buffalo Sabres are on the verge of entering one of the most important seasons in their history, and it seems like the general roster is in place. Some players may still be on the bubble a little bit, but we all have a general idea of which players will most likely be on the roster. With the preseason close to starting, I thought it would be fun to make some player predictions about the season; to discuss the potential top goal scorer, point scorer, plus-minus player, etc.

I welcome and encourage all to weigh in down in the comments with what you think of my choices and which player you think would be the best candidate.

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For the first piece, I thought we would start with a fun one, the most penalized player. This will be a tough and interesting choice because there are a few really good candidates for it.

Let’s have a look at some of my top candidates: Zach Bogosian, Cody McCormick, and Nicolas Deslauriers.

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Zach Bogosian is a hard hitting two-way defenseman that is not afraid to get his hands dirty. Whether it is dropping the gloves to prove a point, or support a teammate, Bogosian is one of the toughest players on the Buffalo Sabres current roster. Last season, Bogosian put up a total of 78 penalty minutes, which was good enough for most on the team. Those penalty minutes are a good sign that he is willing to step up and do what is needed.

Cody McCormick is on my list for a couple of reasons. The first is the rate at which he acquired his penalty minutes. McCormick only played 33 games for the Buffalo Sabres last season, but still managed 40 penalty minutes. Those numbers are a great combination because it shows that if McCormick played at least 60 games he would have been closer to 80 penalty minutes.

McCormick is one of the toughest and most willing players to shed his gloves to get momentum going, or to prove a point to the opposing players. Should McCormick play more games this season, I would not be surprised to see him at the top of the penalty minute list for the Buffalo Sabres.

Nicolas Deslauriers was not only the second leader of the Buffalo Sabres in penalty minutes last season (71), but he was the only player to play in all 82 games. As he has now found his true role on the Buffalo roster, I expect nothing except further penalty minute production. He will most likely be on the fourth line next year and he will be counted on to keep momentum going for the rest of the team. Deslauriers is one of the most dynamic players the Buffalo Sabres have and I guarantee they will use his tenacity and grit to their advantage as much as possible.

So now I guess I need to make a choice.

For the 2015-2016 NHL season I think that Nicolas Deslauriers will be the penalty minute leader for the Buffalo Sabres. He has the ability to get under the skin of opponents so well that he will not only take a few penalties, but draw a good deal of them in the process as well. That’s the mark of a true pest in the NHL. A player that can irritate opponents into taking dumb penalties, but is willing to back up his play and his mouth with his fists.

Should Deslauriers embrace this role even further, he can be like players similar to Steve Ott, and Zac Rinaldo. I for one would love to have a player like that to balance out all the skill on the team with some gritty play.

Agree or Disagree? Which player do you think will be the top penalty minute player for Buffalo?

Next: Is Legwand or Larsson Better For Sabres Third Line?

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