32 in (roughly) 32 Season Preview: Buffalo Sabres

Sabres hope small changes are enough to put them over the edge and win 2nd cup in 3 seasons

Team: Buffalo Sabres

GM: Ian Thornton

Power Ranking Placement: 8/32 in league, 1/8 in division, 3/16 in conference

Significant Additions:

Evgeni Malkin, C/W - 86 OV

Gustav Forsling, D - 83 OV

Craig Anderson, G - 81 OV

Zdeno Chara, D - 79 OV

Significant Subtractions:

Mattias Ekholm, D - 85 OV

Kevin Lankinen, G - 85 OV

Dominik Kubalik, C/W - 81 OV

Erik Gustafsson, D - 78 OV

Pekka Rinne, G - Retired

Offseason grade: B+

The Buffalo Sabres had a very quiet off-season. However, they didn’t need to be loud. This is for two reasons. The first is that they’re in the Atlantic division. The second is that they’re already a pretty stellar team without having to do anything, so there isn’t really a need to make any drastic changes. One respect where I think more could have been added was in nets. They got an alright backup in Craig Anderson, but if Shesterkin has to miss a significant amount of games for whatever reason, issues could arise for the Sabres. I also believe that they gave up a bit too much for Malkin and Forsling, but Buffalo’s playoff window is dwindling as Atlantic teams begin nearing the end of their rebuild, so by all means the trade makes sense. I’m also a big believer in “get your guy even if you gotta overpay a bit,” so if they believe that Malkin is the guy that’ll make a difference, then great, they got their guy. Overall, Buffalo’s offense and defense have improved for the upcoming season. Shesterkin has become a star after his MVP-calibre season. Still, they’ve lost both Rinne and Lankinen to retirement and trades respectively, so I’d say their goaltending has gotten weaker, though only because there will be a lot more pressure on Shesterkin this year coming off of a season where it was more of a 60/40 situation and going into a season where he will likely play the maximum amount of games that he can. I have no doubt that Shesterkin is capable of carrying his team, however as I’ve already said, it could become a problem if he has to miss any extended period of time.

Projected Lineup: 

P. Kane - Malkin - Hyman

Meier - Backlund - Perron

Motte - Hinostroza - Terry

Mayhew - Engvall - Pezzetta

-

Toews - Forsling

Petry - Gavrikov

Schmidt - Chara

-

Shesterkin

Anderson

Quote from the GM:

When asked about the upcoming season, GM Ian Thornton had this to say: "I am pleased with where my team is at heading into the season and even if they underperform, a playoff birth should be within reach in the Atlantic.  I'm tight to the cap, as a lot of teams are, so any retooling will require creative cap management. Hopefully, Kane can generate some chemistry with somebody on my team (ideally Malkin) early on in the season and not have a repeat of his dismal season and playoffs last year.  Shesterkin is also being given the net full time and hopefully he can prove that he is up for the challenge. Ultimately, the success of my team and the distance they could go in the playoffs depend on both those factors working in my favour."

Season Expectations: Cup Favourites

The uncontested number 1 team in their division,  a top 3 team in the entire Eastern conference, and a top 10 team in the league, Buffalo should be viewed as favourites to win it all this season. We’re only a year removed from Buffalo’s DCHL Cup win back in 2021. Many of the tools from that roster are still here and have only gotten better. Malkin should be a great addition to their top line and hopefully, as GM Thornton said, helps Kane get back to his former self. I don’t have much more to add here, there weren’t many changes and the ones that were made were mostly lateral moves. Buffalo will look to be a lock for the playoffs and after a bunch of rating boosts from last season to this one leading to improvements at offense and defense, could be even better.

Tomorrow, we’ll be taking a look at the Calgary Flames. Thank you for reading, and have a wonderful day!

Previous entries:

Anaheim Ducks: https://dchl.ca/articles/senators/32-in-roughly-32-season-preview-anaheim-ducks

Arizona Coyotes: https://dchl.ca/articles/senators/32-in-roughly-32-sesaon-preview-arizona-coyotes

Boston Bruins: https://dchl.ca/articles/league/32-in-roughly-32-season-preview-boston-bruins