Buffalo Sabres division rivals’ 2023 offseasons Part IV: Storm Dissipating?
The Buffalo Sabres looked good against the Tampa Bay Lightning last season, and that trend could continue if the Bolts take a step back.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have had quite the hold on the Atlantic Division over the past decade and the Buffalo Sabres were a frequent victim. That changed last season, when the Sabres finished 2-1-1 against their division rivals, and it could be a trend in the making in 2023-24 and beyond.
Tampa, despite their dominance in the late 2010s and early 2020s, is yet another team in the Atlantic who could backslide this season while the Blue and Gold continue their inevitable rise. Among the players they lost, Alex Killorn and Ross Colton will arguably hurt the most, with Pat Maroon and Corey Perry also being traded to other teams.
Lightning still have Buffalo Sabres beaten in experience category
Despite the losses, the Lightning still have quite a few players remaining to make another playoff run, and they are experienced players. Victor Hedman, Nikita Kucherov, and Steven Stamkos are still effective players despite their advanced ages, and they can still make things miserable for the Atlantic.
Tanner Jeannot is a newer core piece and at 26, he’s a bottom six talent who could make the Bay Area his home for quite some time. Forward Brayden Point and goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy are another pair of players who give the Lightning a couple more younger puzzle pieces under age 30, and they will give their Atlantic Division rivals like the Sabres a tough time, that we can count on.
Besides Point, the Lightning also have Anthony Cirelli and Nicholas Paul locked in for quite a while, so there are still plenty of pieces left. Even if the likes of Stamkos and Hedman could be nearing the end of their time in the Bay Area – Stamkos is in the final year of his deal and Hedman has a pair of seasons to go – the Bolts would still have solid talent in this lineup.
But speaking of blueliners, Tampa also has a pair of youngsters in Erik Cernak and Mikhail Sergachev locked in for the decade. That said, while Tampa could be taking a step back thanks to their aging core, don’t make the mistake in thinking they don’t have enough youngsters entering their primes to compensate.
Source: Cap-Friendly
Breaking down the Lightning’s recent acquisitions
Besides still having a few more than serviceable 20 somethings, the Lightning also brought in quite a few players to try and make up for some of their losses. Conor Sheary is one name that jumps out, who spent the 2018-19 campaign with the Buffalo Sabres. Sheary will fill Tampa’s lower lines, as will the ultra-aggressive Josh Archibald, who logged a career high 195 hits last year for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Sheary and Archibald are both 30 and over, but Logan Brown is a younger player looking to bust into the lineup. However, he has just 99 games of NHL experience since he debuted during the 2017-18 season. Luke Glendening is yet another aging player who will also fill the lower lines and likely be tasked with winning key faceoffs, while Calvin de Haan will man the blue line in at least a rotational role.
As you can see, the Lightning added nothing more than lower liners, most of whom are either at or on the other side of 30. Brown is the only one still in their 20s, but he lacks sound NHL experience. Therefore, you can expect the Lightning to rely mainly on their older and younger core to put up the points, but I wouldn’t underestimate the defensive capabilities of any of the aforementioned players.
Verdict
So far, we have covered the Florida Panthers, Boston Bruins, and Toronto Maple Leafs, and all three teams could be shaky to start off the season. The Lightning are no exception to that, given their key losses over the offseason, so there could be some dysfunction among the bottom six early.
However, as with the aforementioned teams, there is still a lot of talent in the Bay Area, so don’t mistake their losses for taking too many steps back. Will the Buffalo Sabres compete with them the way they did last season? The Blue and Gold will probably be even better against the Bolts, and the same goes for at least Boston and Toronto.
But all four teams we have talked about so far have the Sabres beaten in experience. That will pay dividends for a Lightning team that will meet Buffalo twice (once on February 29th, and again on April 15th) when the playoff race heats up, along with a pair of meetings in October and January.
Sabres division rivals’ 2023 offseasons Part III: Trouble in Boston?. light. Related Story
I’ll tell you this – Tampa will demand that the Blue and Gold match them in intensity. And how the Sabres react will determine whether they can overcome the Lightning when those likely meaningful games occur.
Source: Atlantic Division summer outlook: Leafs will try it again, Tampa Bay looking for one more Lightning strike by Mike Harrington, Buffalo News