Beefed-up Sabres in happier place
Buffalo musters collection of solid forwards
Jack Eichel said he could not remember when he was this excited about an upcoming season. For once, you actually believe him.
It can’t possibly get any worse than what we’ve seen over the last three years for the Buffalo Sabres.
As the consolation prize following a 23-win season in 2014-15, the No. 2 overall pick NHL Entry Draft pick in 2015 has been at the centre of a rebuild that keeps pushing the end date further and further back. Eichel, who is 21, still hasn’t played in the post-season. He’s never even played meaningful hockey past January in the NHL.
But this year feels different.
The Sabres might not yet be a playoff contender. But with half a dozen new faces, they certainly don’t look like the team that once again finished with the worst record last season.
“I’m just trying to be super optimistic,” he said. “It’s an opportunity for change.”
There’s change for the sake of making a change. And then there is what GM Jason Botterill did this summer. Gone are Ryan O’Reilly, who said on locker cleanout day that the Sabres had adopted a mentality of “being OK with losing,” as well as goalie Robin Lehner and several other veteran players that Eichel said were walking around with a “sour taste” in their mouths.
In their place are forwards Jeff Skinner, Conor Sheary, Patrik Berglund, Vladimir Sobotka and Casey Mittelstadt, goalie Carter Hutton and 2018 No. 1-overall pick Rasmus Dahlin.
In other words, this was not a case of rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
The Toronto Maple Leafs might have landed the biggest name in free agency with John Tavares, but the Sabres went unmatched when it comes to quantity and quality.
They added a three-time 30-plus goal scorer in Skinner, a goalie in Hutton who had the league’s best save percentage and goalsagainst average among goalies who started at least 25 games.
Add in two rookies (Dahlin and Mittelstadt) who could battle it out for the Calder Trophy.
On paper, it’s easily the best collection of talent assembled since Eichel joined the team. And the players know it.
“Yeah, I’m intrigued,” said forward Kyle Okposo. “I’m excited. I’m excited to get going. It was a busy summer for us … Any time you’ve got a guy who’s had multiple 30-goal seasons, that’s a pretty good add.
“I did think that we did get better. It’s still something where we have to go out on the ice and do it and play well. In this league, you’re not a good team until you are. That’s the long and short of it. We still have to go out and play.”
The signs are this season will be more enjoyable on the eyes than in previous years. This isn’t the Golden Knights. The Sabres are not made up of fourth-line grinders and lunch-pail veterans.
“Well, certainly I think Jason has done a tremendous job with the acquisitions that we’ve received,” said head coach Phil Housley. “I think it’s boosted our talent and skill. It’s great to see. I felt it from Day 1, to tell you the truth, there’s just a really good vibe.”
Sure, there are question marks whether the defence can hold up and how Hutton will fare now that he has to handle a starting goalie’s workload. And then there’s Sam Reinhart’s contract negotiation to worry about, as well as an unfortunate preseason injury to Sheary. But at least the players on Buffalo’s top-two lines are legitimate top-6 forwards.
Housley’s message to the players prior to Tuesday night’s exhibition game against Pittsburgh was simply: “Let our skill take over.”
When was the last time a Sabres team heard that?
“As a player, you want to be around good players. I think the young core is exciting,” said Skinner, who has yet to play in a playoff game during his eight seasons in the league. “A lot of fresh faces here. When you don’t have success in this league, there is a lot of change. That’s the nature of the business. Going into the season, every one feels like they have a fresh start. You have an opportunity to reach your goal.”
The immediate goal is to qualify for the playoffs, something that has eluded the Sabres for the past seven seasons. But the end goal is much greater. It’s not hard to look down the Queen Elizabeth Way and notice what the Maple Leafs have been building towards recently.
The Sabres want that too. And for the first time in a while, it’s beginning to come into focus.
“I don’t have any expectations, but it can be really good,” said Dahlin. “I feel there’s a lot of skilled players. It’s a good team. Of course, we want to win the Stanley Cup. We are going for that.”
I FELT IT FROM DAY 1 ... THERE’S JUST A REALLY GOOD VIBE.