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Buffalo Sabres: Who will be their fifth and sixth defenseman?

By Robert Berger

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 31: Head coach Phil Housley of the Buffalo Sabres speaks to the media following practice at Citi Field on December 31, 2017 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. The team will take part in the 2018 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic on New Years Day against the New York Rangers. (Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 31: Head coach Phil Housley of the Buffalo Sabres speaks to the media following practice at Citi Field on December 31, 2017 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. The team will take part in the 2018 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic on New Years Day against the New York Rangers. (Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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Buffalo sabres Jake mccabe
BUFFALO, NY – FEBRUARY 6: Jake McCabe #19 of the Buffalo Sabres skates during an NHL game against the Anaheim Ducks on February 6, 2018 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Jake McCabe

Jake McCabe is coming off a difficult season with the Buffalo Sabres. Entering his third full season with the club, expectations were high for the former second round pick out of the University of Wisconsin. The year did not pan out as expected though and McCabe’s season ended in February after thumb surgery shut him down for 7 days followed by surgery to repair his ailing shoulder.

McCabe spent the majority of the season skating with Victor Antipin (who has since left for the KHL) as part of the third defense pairing. Remarkably, the two made up the Sabres’ third most consistent defense pairing of the season (another testament to the team’s instability on the back end).

From an offense perspective, McCabe’s production dropped across the board compared to the 2016-17 season. Additionally, McCabe saw his time on the power play almost cut in half. That being said, even though his 12 points in 53 games was the worst of his career, McCabe still had the 3rd highest amount of points for Sabres defenseman.

McCabe played decent minutes on the penalty kill. After Scandella and Ristolainen, Jake McCabe was the go to defenseman when the Sabres were shorthanded. Additionally his GA/60 on the penalty kill of 4.7 was best among the Scandella, Ristolainen, and himself.

Entering the 2018-19 campaign, McCabe is on the last year of his $4.8 million/3 year contract. The left handed defenseman turns 25 when the season starts so there is no reason to think he has hit his ceiling just yet. Barring an injury, there are no expectations for McCabe to be a top 4 defenseman for the Sabres so there will be less pressure this season. Jake McCabe should be a lock for one of the final two defenseman spots.

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