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Thursday, October 8, 2015 | BataviasBest.org
Finishing an abysmal 23-51-8 a to finish last season, the Buffalo Sabres will jump into 2015-2016 with a fresh look – hoping for increased success. Having landed a number of new players, as well as a new coach in the offseason, Buffalo is hoping to improve upon their second-to-last place finish – and perhaps even make the playoffs.
New Additions
Sabres General Manager Tim Murray did one hell of a job in acquiring new talent all over the ice since this point last season, including a few top-flight forwards who are certain to make an immediate impact, as well as a young starting goaltender who is sure to provide the Sabres with a chance to improve between the pipes for years to come.
The first of Murray’s new toys acquired through trade, forward Evander Kane was welcomed to Buffalo this past February following a trade that sent sent defenseman Tyler Myers, forward Drew Stafford, prospects Joel Armia and Brendan Lemieux, and a first round draft choice to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for Kane, who was injured at the time, defenseman Zach Bogosian, and goaltending prospect Jason Kasdorf. Immediately following the Kane deal, Murray continued to shake things up as he concocted yet another trade that moved goaltender Jhonas Enroth to the Dallas Stars for which the Sabres received Anders Lindback and a conditional third round pick. Each of these trades set the stage for continued roster movement in Buffalo – which we continued to see over the next few months.
Included in the ongoing shakeup were forward Ryan O’Reilly, forward David Legwand, left wing Jamie McGinn, defenseman Cody Franson, and goaltender Robin Lehner who all headed to Buffalo in one way or another whether it be via trade or free agency. With so many key-additions being intorduced to what was a fledgling roster a season ago, the Sabres are truly set up to make an historic turnaround from what they have been the past two seasons – one of the worst teams in the NHL.
New Coach
To go with the influx of talent which has been inserted onto the Sabres’ roster, they have also seemed to improve behind the bench as well.
Dan Bylsma, hired by the Sabres to become their new head coach in late May, will begin his first season in the navy and gold carrying an impressive résumé which includes a 2009 Stanley Cup Championship. Formerly with the Penguins, Bylsma will be the 17th coach in Sabres history after the 44 year old spent 6 seasons in Pittsburgh. His accolades while at his previous stop include the Jack Adams Coach of the Year award in 2011, the aforementioned Stanley Cup Championship, as well as becoming the youngest head coach to ever reach 250 wins in his career (did so in 395 games). Bylsma carries a lifetime record of 252-117-32 in his jump to the Queen City.
Throughout the process of the Sabres finding a new head coach this offseason, it was discovered that the connection between Bylsma and the Sabres front office ran unexpectedly deep. Buffalo GM Tim Murray, former Director of Player Personnel in Anaheim, served as such during two seasons that Bylsma was a member of the Ducks’ roster, where the two likely formed somewhat of a relationship that aided the process of hiring the head coach. Including his time spent in Anaheim, Bylsma played 429 games in the NHL from 1995-2004 as a member of the Ducks and the Los Angeles Kings – during which he earned the nickname ‘Disco Dan’ for his reputation as a locker room dancer.
With new talent to go with an impressive new coach, the sky is the limit for this Sabres team.
Jack Eichel
Typically, the vast array of new talent accrued through offseason acquisitions would be enough for Sabres fans to get excited about their team. However, with rookie phenom Jack Eichel coming to town, Buffalo hockey fans are off the wall with anticipation for the first time in years.
Much like Bylsma, Eichel also carries quite the laundry list of accomplishments into Buffalo – despite not having played a professional game as of yet. In college, the Boston University product was the youngest player ever to win the Hobey Baker Award while leading the nation in scoring as a freshman, and also led his team to the National Championship during that season as well. In total during ’14-’15, Eichel scored 26 goals and recorded 71 points in a total of just 40 games.
Not only will the new highly-touted rookie bring his incredible track record on the ice into Buffalo, but he will also bring with him a history of hard work and hometown values to a place where he says is just the right place for him.
Eichel recently told the Buffalo News, “Everything happens for a reason. It really couldn’t have worked out much better than it did. I really believe that. I think (Buffalo) is the right place. I’m excited to get started. I can’t wait. I want to be a part of getting it turned around. And I think we will.”
Season Prediction
In all honesty, I truly believe that the Sabres will be an improved team on several fronts this season. Taking into account the totality of their offseason action, as well as their performance during the preseason, I can see this group winning 10-15 more games than they did throughout ’14-’15. However, I just cannot see them making the jump to becoming a playoff team quite yet. The NHL is just too competitive.
Here are my exact predictions:
Record: 33-37-12 – Miss Playoffs
Sabres MVP: Jack Eichel – 30 goals, 65 points, 20 +/-
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Get down to the First Niagara Center tonight and take in what is sure to be an exciting Opening Night! Also, let me know how you believe the Sabres will finish the season by tagging @BataviasBest on Twitter using #SabresSeason
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