Better Luck Next Year: Buffalo Sabres edition
As NHL teams are officially eliminated from Stanley Cup contention, theScore NHL freelance writer Katie Brown takes a look back at the highs and lows of their season, along with the biggest questions ahead of 2018-19. The third edition focuses on the Buffalo Sabres.
The Good
High draft pick. While the Sabres' 2017-18 performance fell well short of even the low expectations for improvement, they’re guaranteed a high draft pick once again; Buffalo has picked in the top 10 in the past four drafts. And if the Sabres win the lottery, they can take defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, the no-doubt No. 1 selection who could be a building block along with Jack Eichel.
Adding Dahlin to a defense corps that includes Marco Scandella and Rasmus Ristolainen would suddenly make a mediocre unit look a whole lot better.
Eichel's progress. Ankle injuries cost Eichel a large portion of this season, but he's still put up 54 points in 57 games (0.94 points per game) and his team-high 32 assists have already matched his career best.
Eichel is without a doubt the Sabres' franchise player, and the cornerstone that general manager Jason Botterill should build around.
Young, rising talent. Drafted second overall in 2014, Sam Reinhart leads a pack of talented, young players ready to take over in Buffalo. The 22-year-old center is third on the team in scoring with 42 points (19 goals, 23 assists). Meanwhile, goalie Linus Ullmark played 20 games with the big club in 2015-16 and could be ready to take over next season after an impressive campaign in Rochester.
Botterill's progress. As part of the Penguins' front office, Botterill had a hand in the team's success for the better part of the last decade. He specialized in mining talent from the minors, something the Sabres desperately need to do if they want to surround their best players with complementary pieces. Most of their current key players have come via trades or high draft picks, and there's a noticeable lack of organizational depth.
Botterrill hasn’t been shy about expressing his displeasure with this year’s group, referring to it as "a team that's just not working." His only move at the trade deadline was sending Evander Kane to San Jose, but he's got an opportunity to make a lot of improvements once the offseason begins.
End of the Kane era. Kane was shipped off to the Sharks at the deadline in a trade that returned a conditional first-round pick in 2019, a conditional fourth-rounder in 2020, and forward prospect Dan O'Regan - and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Hopes were high when former Sabres GM Tim Murray initially acquired Kane in a 2015 blockbuster trade with Winnipeg, but things soured quickly.
Kane did produce, recording 68 goals and 118 points in 196 games, but he was in the news one too many times for his off-ice behavior. His trade signaled Botterill's commitment to making the necessary moves for an overall culture change and more individual accountability.
The Bad
The team's record. The Sabres - who had just 16 points at the end of November and never recovered - are set to finish with the worst home mark in the league, sitting at 11-21-5 with just four matchups remaining. They're also going to miss the playoffs for a seventh consecutive season, the second-longest drought in the NHL behind Arizona.
The issues are at both ends of the ice. Buffalo is on pace to finish as the third-worst defensive team and the worst offensive club in the league this season.
Injuries. For the last couple seasons, the Sabres have seemingly been plagued by endless ailments - and this year was no exception. With 10 games remaining, the team ranks third in man-games lost to injury. For a team that's trying to rebuild for the second time in three years, that kind of attrition has made it difficult to even reach mediocrity.
Another rebuilding year. In 2014-15, the tanking was intentional, at least. And things seemed promising when Botterill and coach Phil Housley were hired last summer. But it became evident early on that things weren’t going to end well and now Buffalo is back in the draft lottery again. Sure, rebuilds don't happen overnight, but it seems like the Sabres take three steps back every time they take one forward. The situation should improve, however, especially if they land Dahlin in the draft and work some magic during free agency.
The Questions
Who stays and who goes? Botterill moved Kane at the deadline, but couldn’t do much else. It’s setting up to be a busy offseason, with 14 contracts expiring this summer, including seven unrestricted free agents. Eichel should really be the only untouchable player on the roster, while Botterill has had a whole season to evaluate who fits best in his plans.
Will Casey Mittelstadt leave Minnesota? Buffalo’s top prospect hasn't signed yet, but Minnesota's failure to make the NCAA Frozen Four could help lead the 19-year-old center to bolt for the NHL next season. Drafted eighth overall in 2017, Mittelstadt could follow the same path as Clayton Keller and Tyson Jost, who both moved on to play professionally after their freshman years of college.
In his first year with the Gophers, Mittelstadt was second in scoring with 30 points in 34 games, and was a standout during the world juniors in Buffalo, where he was named tournament MVP.
Per the CBA, bringing Mittelstadt on board before the end of the 2017-18 season for even one game would burn a year of his entry-level contract due to his November birthday, so the Sabres will most likely sign him during the offseason. However, Mittelstadt could still return to Minnesota.
Is Housley a good coach? The Sabres were such a mess this season that it's hard to accurately gauge Housley's capabilities. What will he be able to do with a better roster and a clearer organizational direction under Botterill? We may just find out next season.
(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)