Buffalo Sabres report cards for a much improved season
With the Buffalo Sabres season officially over, it’s time to recap the positives and negatives of what was a much better season for the franchise.
The Buffalo Sabres 2021-2022 regular season is in the books and it was a fun one. Despite the franchise having another losing season and missing the playoffs for an 11th straight year, there is a lot of optimism for this team going into the offseason. With that being said, it’s time to recap the season and give Buffalo a grade.
The Sabres got off to a hot start in October, posting a 5-2-2 record. Then, injuries and COVID-19 decimated the lineup, leading to four straight months of subpar hockey. Between November 2021 and February 2022, the Sabres limped to a 11-28-7 record (29 points).
Yet again, they had no realistic chance of making the playoffs and they looked as though they were about to prove pundits right as one of the NHL’s bottom-tier teams. Then March 2022 rolled around and the Sabres posted an 8-3-3 mark, good for 19 points.
Things looked like they were headed south again come April. Especially following tough losses to the Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, and Tampa Bay Lightning. However, the Sabres rebounded and won six of their final eight games.
The most exciting moment of the season arguably came on April 29th at the KeyBank Center. It was longtime announcer Rick Jeanneret’s last call and you couldn’t have written up a finer script. With the teams trading blows, the game went into overtime before our unlikely hero, Casey Mittlestadt, sunk a game-winner, giving the Sabres a winning record for the month of April.
Now that we got a snapshot of the season out of the way, let’s check out the report card, starting with the negatives.
Negatives
Aside from missing the playoffs which was expected from this group, goaltending was the biggest issue this season and they definitely need to address. The Sabres had to use a total of 7 goalie’s because of injuries and COVID.
Even when healthy, Buffalo’s goaltending had bad games which is expected but their goalies were very inconsistent. The tandem of Craig Anderson and Dustin Tokarski were inconsistent but were brought in to righten the ship. Even though they weren’t the best at times, they weren’t awfully bad and had some good moments.
We talked about goaltending as an area where the Sabres need to improve but the other area where they should improve is defense. The team already has Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power and Henri Jokiharju but they should try and trade/sign a defenseman or two during the offseason.
General manager Kevyn Adams should improve the defense and goaltending. Because if he does, it’s definitely possible Buffalo is a playoff team next season.
Positives
The negatives are out of the way, so let’s talk about the positives. Buffalo was MUCH BETTER than people expected them to be.
Especially after losing core players such as Sam Reinhart, Jack Eichel and Linus Ullmark. Everyone thought it was going to be another terrible season for the Sabres and they would be a bottom 5 team once again.
To their credit, they were so much fun to watch. Even in the games they lost, they were for the most part competitive which is something Sabres fans haven’t seen from them in a long time. Fans are so optimistic going into the offseason and haven’t felt this good about the team since 2011.
Another positive is the core they have in place is perfect for what they are trying to build. Head coach Don Granato has won over the respect of his players and the system he has is great for the team. Going back to the core, players like Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch, Dahlin, Owen Power, Jeff Skinner and Peyton Krebs are just a few names of the core pieces this team has in place.
To wrap up the positives, the leadership this team has is refreshing. Guys like Kyle Okposo, Zemgus Girgensons and Alex Tuch have changed the culture of the locker room and it seems like everyone who’s on the roster wants to be in Buffalo.
Report Card: B-
The reason why the Sabres get a B- is mostly good. From the management to the players, this is a brand new Buffalo Sabres. As for the minus, goaltending and defense are areas for improvement. Missing the playoffs and having another losing season plays a factor as well.
Overall, it was a good season depending on where you stand. With all of this being said, the Sabres need to have a good offseason. If they build around this core and improve in a couple of positions, Buffalo could for sure make a push for the postseason next year.
They ended the 2021-22 season with a lot of momentum. And don’t be surprised if they attract a solid free agent or two during free agency. It will also be interesting to see what they do with their draft picks, and whether those picks will make an impact sometime next season.
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The Sabres also need to prove that they can win consistently throughout an entire nine-month campaign. So we will see if they can rise to that challenge come October 2022.