In 2005, the Buffalo Sabres weren’t supposed to contend for anything except for a top spot in the 2006 NHL Draft Lottery. That didn’t go according to plan.
The 2005-06 Buffalo Sabres transformed from cellar dwelling contender to “scary good” in a matter of months. A young team that was supposed to go nowhere, they ended up narrowly losing out in the 2006 Eastern Conference Finals to the Carolina Hurricanes.
This season, history can definitely repeat itself with the most stable roster we have seen in quite some time. The Sabres have a few players they can identify as either stars or budding stars. They have three rookies capable of contending for the Calder Cup, and even their goaltenders can perform well if they preserve themselves.
So what will land the Buffalo Sabres in the playoffs? Luck, as most critics suggest? Far from it. Let’s look deeper.
A healthy Buffalo Sabres roster is playoff-caliber
While I’ve written off the Sabres a few times this past offseason as most likely not making the playoffs, I also acknowledge that Rule #1 in sports is to expect the unexpected. And the Sabres pulled off the unexpected in March and April when they embarked on a 16-9-3 run to end the season.
It was a healthy team that pulled off some major upsets against the NHL’s best, the most satisfying of which came in their three wins over the Toronto Maple Leafs. This put the Sabres on an 82-game pace to finish with 103 points.
But that Sabres team still lacked stability, with constant lineup changes that eventually saw Alex Tuch move down a line, Owen Power enter the lineup, and uncertainty at goaltender. This season, the Sabres lineup looks set, with Jack Quinn and J.J. Peterka, two rookie sensations from Rochester last year, joining the fray.
Chemistry and roster stability…finally…
Quinn spent the entire preseason making plays, giving himself scoring chances, even capitalizing on a few of those opportunities. While Peterka had his struggles, the same occurred last season in the AHL, and he transformed into arguably their best player in the second half of the season.
This season, the Sabres have more built-in chemistry than we have seen in ages, starting with the dynamic duo that is Tage Thompson and Jeff Skinner. But Quinn and Casey Mittelstadt also worked well together in the preseason, while Rasmus Dahlin and Mattias Samuelsson took over games last year.
Alex Tuch showed that he he could be an effective player on the first and second lines, while Dylan Cozens and Peyton Krebs also showed the ability to create consistent opportunities. Overall, the Sabres don’t look like playoff contenders, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have a roster capable of making the playoffs.
Still a group shaking off its rust in March 2022, they embarked on an inspiring run. Now that they have shaken off that rust here in October, it wouldn’t surprise me if this roster ended the playoff drought. I’m still leaning toward the likelihood that they fall short in 2022-23, but I am also recognizing the fact that anything can happen.
Article Source: Sabres 2022-23 Roster Could Be a Playoff Contender by Matthew Morris