Entering the final year of a 2 year contract with the Buffalo Sabres, defenseman Nathan Beaulieu’s role with the team is still in question.
The Buffalo Sabres traded for Nathan Beaulieu the day before the roster freeze in advance of last year’s expansion draft. The Sabres sent a third round pick in the 2017 NHL draft to the Montreal Canadiens for the rights to Beaulieu who was restricted free agent. The Sabres then signed Beaulieu to a 2 year/$4.8 million contract.
Taken in the first round of the 2011 NHL draft by the Canadiens, Nathan Beaulieu played 3 full seasons in Montreal. Bealieu’s playing time and responsibility steadily increased each season. He arrived in Buffalo after career highs in games played, goals, assists, shots, time on ice, and CF%. In his last year in Montreal, he played primarily on the second and third pairing and regularly played on the power play.
🚨 TRADE: The Sabres have acquired defenseman Nathan Beaulieu from @CanadiensMTL in exchange for a 3rd-round pick (68th overall) in 2017. pic.twitter.com/fGQbT0WG4a
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) June 17, 2017
Although his defensive liabilities were known at the time, he was not a part of the Canadiens’ top 4 penalty killing defenseman, Beaulieu’s offensive upside was enough to create optimism for a climb up the Sabres’ defense ladder, especially under the tutelage of head coach Phil Housley.
2017-18 review
The success he achieved in Montreal did not follow Nathan Beaulieu to Western New York last season. Beaulieu never found a place with the Sabres defense, even though there were minutes to be had, especially with the limited amount of games played by Zach Bogosian.
Beaulieu’s offensive production, the strongest part of his game, regressed significantly. There was a drop in every statistical category. Additionally, Beaulieu only saw time on the penalty kill once after December.
Due to injuries and being a healthy scratch multiple times, Beaulieu only played in 59 games with the Sabres last season. Last season was essentially a failure for Nathan Beaulieu.
2018-19 forecast
So after a year like 2017-18, where does Nathan Beaulieu fit in with this year’s Buffalo Sabres? Beaulieu is competing with 3 other defenseman for the last 2 spots: Brendan Guhle, Matthew Hunwick, and Jake McCabe. Barring an injury or a completely disastrous training camp for one of the other 3 defenseman, I can’t imagine a scenario in which Beaulieu makes, or at least should make the team in October.
The good news for Sabres fans is Nathan Beaulieu has a very manageable and tradable contract and is only 26 years old. There are also numerous teams that need defensemen (hint hint Peter Chiarelli and Edmonton) so Jason Botterill should be able to move Beaulieu instead of wasting a roster spot in either Buffalo or Rochester.
Where do you think Nathan Beaulieu will start next season? Let us know in the comment section below.
All statistics from hockey-reference.com, naturalstattrick.com, and corsicahockey.com.