The Bleacher Report released their list of final offseason grades and they were completely off the mark when grading the Buffalo Sabres.
Someone at Buffalo Sabres headquarters needs to call into The Bleacher Report to give them a lecture on how to properly build an NHL team. According to their Final Offseason Grades article, the Sabres received a resounding D.
"“The Sabres are bringing back mostly the same team that extended Buffalo’s current playoff drought (and was not even close to ending it) and did not make a single meaningful addition to the roster.” – via Adam Gretz of The Bleacher Report."
So much for praising the team’s current player development that came from the likes of Rasmus Dahlin, Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch, Owen Power, Mattias Samuelsson, Peyton Krebs, Rasmus Asplund, and Dylan Cozens. So much for simply glossing over the rebound seasons Kyle Okposo and Jeff Skinner enjoyed.
To be fair, Gretz at least mentioned them, but instead proceeded to castigate the Sabres for opting not to bring in a prize free agent or two given their cap space. Once again, so much for instead choosing to use that space to sign young players to long-term deals. Tage Thompson, anyone?
The Buffalo Sabres are (rightfully) building through the system
Yeah, and thanks for forgetting to mention the strong prospect pool that will help not just end the Sabres playoff drought; but will keep the team relevant for the next five to seven seasons. Know who tried to draft a few studs and stack the roster via trade and free agency? Tim Murray.
Where is Murray these days, anyway? Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m sure he’s been out of the league since the Sabres fired him. Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it, and Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams smartly learned from recent history, building one of the league’s best prospect pools and saving money to extend playmakers like Tage.
But according to the article, to have a successful offseason, you need to string a bunch of guys together even if they have no familiarity playing alongside one another. Yeah, that might work. No guarantees…
Other teams who used similar offseason tactics to the Sabres also earned clunkers. Teams like the Arizona Coyotes. So who cares about the three first round picks, or the immediate success of guys like Jiri Kulich? Not that Kulich will see time in the NHL this season, but he’s been ahead of the curve nonetheless.
Just about everyone else (rightfully) praised the Buffalo Sabres offseason. No, they didn’t sign any big name free agents. But that’s because Adams has a plan in place to avoid the mistakes of past general managers that drove the team into an 11-year playoff drought in the first place.
Article Source: Final Grades for Every NHL Team’s Offseason by Adam Gretz