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Buffalo Sabres: Is there a changing of the guard in the Atlantic?

By Sion Fawkes

Dec 31, 2022; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Buffalo Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson (23) and Boston Bruins center Pavel Zacha (18) go down battling for the puck during the first period at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 31, 2022; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Buffalo Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson (23) and Boston Bruins center Pavel Zacha (18) go down battling for the puck during the first period at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports /
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For what will be 13 years, the Buffalo Sabres have been one of the NHL’s most trying franchises. But that’s about to change in 2023-24. 

In case you missed it, the Boston Bruins, the best regular season team in NHL regular season history, saw their hopes of winning a Stanley Cup vanish, losing four games to three against the Florida Panthers in what was a historical meltdown. So how does this affect the Buffalo Sabres? Well, keep reading and you’ll get a rundown.

For one, Puck Pedia reported the Bruins have $4.5 million of cap overage, nearly four times the amount of the second team on the list, the Philadelphia Flyers. The Bruins also have a plethora of unrestricted free agents, and one look at Cap Friendly confirms that.

Here are the players Boston, somehow, needs to figure out how to re-sign if they want to get anywhere close to repeating their success this past season:

  • Nick Foligno
  • Patrice Bergeron
  • Tyler Bertuzzi
  • Tomas Nosek
  • Garnet Hathaway
  • David Krejci
  • Dmitry Orlov
  • Connor Clifton

Yeah, so it’s safe to say Boston has their work cut out for them. And it’s likely Foligno, Bergeron, and Krejci are gearing up for retirement. If Boston can’t get creative in retaining this team, and they probably won’t, then Buffalo has a major power play against their heated rivals next season.

Buffalo Sabres could surpass two major division rivals in 2023-24

When the Tampa Bay Lightning lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs, you saw them salute the fans, signifying a potential end to one of the greatest eras in NHL history, and the greatest in team history, is coming to an end. And looking at Tampa’s list of unrestricted free agents and aging players, the idea isn’t farfetched. For 2023, the Lightning have the following players set to leave:

  • Alex Killorn
  • Pierre-Edouard Bellemare
  • Corey Perry
  • Michael Eyssimont
  • Ian Cole
  • Brian Elliott

Like Boston, a few of these players are in their career twilights, and they could hang up the skates for good. As for your Buffalo Sabres, their situation couldn’t be more different.

Buffalo has a young team that could keep getting younger, but ironically enough, more experienced. As the league’s youngest team this past season, they came within one win from earning a playoff berth, and they also had one of the best scoring units in hockey, with 296 goals.

If the Bruins and Lightning can’t keep their respective teams together, or if they decide to start looking for new puzzle pieces to replace aging talent, the Blue and Gold will be a top three team in the Atlantic next season. And with that, a changing of the guard is underway.

Source: Inside the NHL: With cap problems looming next season, Bruins have major issue trying to salvage Game 7 by Mike Harrington, BuffaloNews.com

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