Team Outlook: Buffalo Sabres

Heading into the 2022-23 NHL season, I’m going to look at every team to see how they are looking going into the season.

(©2022, Micheline Veluvolu) From: buffalohockeybeat.com

2021-22:

The Sabres went 32-39-11 to finish with 75 points and 5th in the Atlantic Division. Surprise player Tage Thompson led the team in points, finishing with 68 in the 78 games he played, both career highs.

Draft:

The Sabres had 3 first round picks where they used all 3 to get forwards. Their best pick by far was picking up Matthew Savoie from the WHL at the 9th overall pick. He spent the past 3 seasons jumping around from the WHL to the USHL and back to the WHL where he got 135 points in 121 games. I also like their very last pick of Linus Sjödin. Sjödin hasn’t scored much in his 2 seasons in the SHL, but he reminds me of Rasmus Asplund of the Sabres. Getting little to no points in the very first season, and then getting into the 20’s while playing 40ish games the second season.

Additions:

The Sabres, like the Bruins, didn’t do much over the offseason. They signed Ilya Lybushkin where the defenseman got 15 points while playing 77 games total with the Coyotes and Leafs. The main signing they got was Eric Comrie. The backup goalie to Hellebuyck had a .920 SV% in 19 games.

Losses:

The Sabres didn’t lose a lot. But it seems like a lot of players. Dustin Tokarski (.899 SV%), Will Butcher (8 pts in 37 gms), Cody Eakin (12 pts in 69 gms), Colin Miller (14 pts in 38 gms), and Drake Caggiula (5 pts in 18 gms). The biggest names on this list are 2 defenseman: Will Butcher and Colin Miller. But it’s not really a big deal with some of the defensive players that they still got.

Who to look for:

Owen Power is definitely the player to watch. He stayed at the University of Michigan for 1 more season after being drafted 1st overall and got 32 points in 33 games as a defenseman. He did play 8 games with the Sabres after the NCAA season was over and got 3 points in 8 games.

Jack Quinn was drafted 8th overall in 2020 and absolutely tore up the AHL last season with the Rochester Americans. Quinn got 61 points in 45 games and 2 assists in 10 playoff games. He also appeared in 2 NHL games with the Sabres and a goal and an assist against the Stars (in only 13:15 of ice time).

Kale Clague is a defenseman that the Sabres signed over the offseason and he has been jumping up and down from the NHL. He appeared in 36 NHL games with the Kings and Habs and got 10 points. He also appeared in 5 AHL games and got 4 points.

JJ Peterka got 68 points in 70 games in his first season in America. He was put on the AHL all rookie team and got 12 points in 10 games during the playoffs.

Goaltender Michael Houser appeared in 2 games with the Sabres last season and won both of them with a .948 SV%. The rest of the time he was in the AHL with the Americans, or in the ECHL with the Cincinnati Cyclones, putting up good numbers there as well.

Prediction:

The Sabres finally have the tools, but now can they put the pieces together? If they can, they will be competing for a playoff spot.

Stats from: eliteprospects.com, capfriendly.com, hockey-reference.com