Buffalo Sabres division rivals’ 2023 offseasons Part III: Trouble in Boston?
By Sion Fawkes
The Boston Bruins set records in a regular season that also included outscoring the Buffalo Sabres 14-1 over their final two head-to-head matchups.
The Buffalo Sabres have struggled against the Boston Bruins in nearly every season recently, though they’ve scored a couple of triumphs, including an epic win on New Years Eve this past year. However, despite their dominance, the Bruins don’t look anywhere near as hot going into the 2023-24 season.
They already lost Patrice Bergeron, (most likely) David Krejci, Connor Clifton, Dmitry Orlov, and Taylor Hall, among others. Therefore, the infamous “step back” will occur, but let’s not count out the Bruins just yet, as they still have more than enough talent to make a playoff run.
And, though I don’t like to bring it up, they will continue to have the Sabres number until the Blue and Gold prove otherwise. But despite Buffalo’s bleak record against their Atlantic Division rivals, you can’t help but ponder whether this is the year the Sabres finally get the best of Boston.
Buffalo Sabres are growing while the Bruins try to get organized
Looking at Boston’s incoming players, you can’t help but scoff – Milan Lucic is returning, but he averaged a career low 11:18 minutes per game last year, and that was coming off of 12:15 per game the season before. At this point, Lucic is nothing more than a role player who might give you a solid outing every now and again.
Other additions include James van Riemsdyk, Patrick Brown, Kevin Shattenkirk, Jesper Boqvist, and Morgan Geekie. These additions are either uninspiring role players or younger guys who have received little more than lower line minutes.
Okay, cool, but what about the prospects pool? There has to be something going for them, right? Well, unless something drastic happens, the current state of the Bruins prospect pool is also looking rather bleak.