While the Atlantic Division got better, the Buffalo Sabres all but sat out free agency unless you want to count a few low-key signings. And, unless the organization is seeing something that I'm not - and maybe you're not, it foreshadows a long season of headaches for the Blue and Gold once October rolls around.
As for the rest of the division? They got better. Even the lowly Boston Bruins. Wow, it's still strange to say that. Tanner Jeannot was the prize for Boston. And while Don Sweeney may've overpaid for Jeannot, and it's easy to make the argument, a deeper dive shows otherwise.
The guy's a sledgehammer who logs quality fourth-line minutes, and there's a logic to what Sweeney was doing here. He's an energy piece, and is one of two major additions alongside Viktor Arvidsson.
As for the Detroit Red Wings, Steve Yzerman stuck to the good old "Yzerplan," and added a couple of depth pieces who could overperform. One of whom was a player a lot of Sabres fans thought they'd see back in Buffalo this year.
Buffalo Sabres did little to make themselves a better team this offseason
Maybe a trade will come across the wire that will render this article useless, but at this point, I doubt it. One team that made a big trade before free agency (and the NHL Draft) were the Montreal Canadiens. They did little in free agency, but the Noah Dobson trade was all they needed to transform into legitimate contenders.
As for the Ottawa Senators, retaining Claude Giroux was a classy move. They also brought in Lars Eller, who can log quality middle and bottom-six minutes for a team that was more than a surprise last season.
The Tampa Bay Lightning didn't need to do much to run it back, but Pontus Holmberg is a nice addition to the fourth line. While the Toronto Maple Leafs lost Mitch Marner, they gained a good middle-six forward in Nic Roy. But, bringing back Matthew Knies to a long-term contract means the Core Four isn't losing a step as Knies steps in for Marner.
The Sabres needed to do a whole lot more to contend
You may've looked at the above list and said, "Todd, you left out one team." Ha! That was by design. It should go without saying that nobody played the summer better than Bill Zito and the Florida Panthers. He's creating a dynasty in Florida, and the Sabres are a far cry from that.
And some teams only needed to make a couple of smaller moves to get better, like the Lightning. Or, they brought back their own, like the Maple Leafs with Knies or the Senators with Giroux - who can still play. He's not the player he was, but Giroux's still a top-six player who can win face-offs who also received Selke votes.
As for the Sabres? Zachary Jones never fully broke into the New York Rangers lineup. Justin Danforth is basically taking over for Sam Lafferty, who hardly did a thing in Buffalo. Josh Doan and Michael Kesselring didn't even come close to compensating for the JJ Peterka trade. And Alex Lyon's a replacement for James Reimer.
For the sake of Sabres fans, I'm saying, "Thank goodness they inked Ryan McLeod to a new deal, and a four-year extension at that. But McLeod and these low-tier signings aren't making the team better. McLeod returning is great, but right now, the Sabres look like the eighth-best team in an eight-team division.
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