The Buffalo Sabres feel as though they are in the dawn of a new era. Fueled by a youth movement, the Sabres are fresh off their first playoff appearance in 15 years and looking to build a legitimate contention window. Things are looking up.
As we have seen numerous times in the past, things sometimes don’t work out. A great example in Sabres history is the 1986 NHL Draft. In one of the great “What if?” scenarios in Sabres history, one has to wonder: what if the Shawn Anderson pick worked out 30 years ago?
Shawn Anderson: The Prospect
Going into the 1986 draft, Anderson was considered the top defensive prospect. He had good size and mobility for the Lac St-Louis Lions of the QMAAA, posting 23 goals and 65 points in 42 games before having a solid showing in one season at the University of Maine.
A good skater, many had questions about how his offensive game would transfer to the next level. Still, he was viewed as a top-four staple who would provide support for staples Mike Ramsey and Phil Housley, shoring up a glaring need.
Shawn Anderson: The Player
Anderson was…fine? He suited up fresh out of the draft as an 18-year-old during the 1986-87 season. He would remain with the Sabres through the 1989-90 campaign, a solid defender who didn’t really stand out one way or another, which would have been fine if he weren't such a high draft pick.
In all, Anderson played just 113 games for the Sabres, scoring six goals and 32 points with a plus-five rating. By 1995, he would be out of the NHL entirely. For what he was, he was a decent contributor. For a fifth overall pick? It’s a brutal miss, easily one of the worst in the history of the Sabres.
What the Sabres missed out on
What makes this pick even worse is who else was on the board. In fact, just three picks later, the New York Rangers also took a defenseman: Brian Leetch. The Corpus Christi native would go on to have an impactful career, to say the least: 1,205 career games, 1,028 points, two reigns with the Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenseman, and the 1994 Conn Smythe Trophy.
The Sabres got a guy who barely appeared in 100 games for the franchise and missed out on the greatest American-born defenseman ever. It’s a massive mistake, one that could have propelled an already talented team into perpetual Stanley Cup contention.
The impact Brian Leetch could have had in Buffalo
At this point, the Sabres were in the latter years of the Gilbert Perreault era, but he was still effective. Dave Andreychuck, Mike Foligno, Paul Cyr, John Tucker, Housley, and Ramsey gave the team as solid a core as you could ask for. Adding Leetch would have put them over the top, making them formidable.
Saying they could have won a Cup — especially with the Edmonton Oilers running rampant — may have been a bit much but they easily could have made a Stanley Cup Final. It is one of the worst misses in NHL and Buffalo Sabres history. The Sabres of today are built solidly and are looking to extend their potential contention window through the draft, much like the 1986 Sabres attempted.
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