Offseason Review: Buffalo Sabres

Now that the dust has settled on a wild NHL offseason, let's take a look at how each team did in regards to drafting and free-agent signings. Today, we'll look at the Buffalo Sabres.

It has been a rough summer for Sabres fans. They've had to watch their entire team's roster dissolve before their eyes, with the worst part being that the biggest piece they're set to lose, Jack Eichel, has yet to be traded. That may make this review a little premature, but the fact is the market is starting to dry up on the Eichel trade front, with most teams having spent their cap space during free agency and not content to wait on the possibility of getting a deal done with Buffalo. So while Eichel remains a Sabre, for now, let's see how the rest of the offseason has played out.

Free Agency:

First of all, let's list off every player that has left the Sabres this summer, and there are a lot, some more crucial than others. Departing Buffalo were Jake McCabe, Jean-Sebastien Dea, Matt Irwin, Toby Reider, C.J. Smith, Casey Nelson, Linus Ullmark, Carter Hutton, Micheal Houser, Riley Sheahan, and Steven Fogarty. That's 5 forwards, 2 defencemen, and 3 goalies all departing with no return coming back for the team. Then they lost Rasmus Ristolainen to Philly in a trade that saw them receive 26-year old defenceman Robert Hagg, the 14th overall pick in 2021, and a 2nd round pick in 2022. Not a bad haul. They also sent Sam Reinhart to Florida for goaltending prospect Devon Levi and Florida's 1st round pick in 2022.

To make up for those losses, Buffalo signed or re-signed Drake Caggiula, Sean Malone, Vinne Hinostroza, Aaron Dell, Craig Anderson, Jimmy Schuldt, Brandon Davidson, and Rasmus Asplund. These signings start to fill out the Sabres' roster but don't begin to replace what the team has lost, and that's before they lose the best player on their team in Jack Eichel. As of this moment, Eichel is still a Sabre, although his agents are putting pressure on Buffalo's management to change that, and soon. 

Grade: C-; It has to be hard to lure free agents to Buffalo at the juncture the team is at, but they managed to fill the biggest holes in their lineup with pieces that are, for the most part, experienced NHL players. They are however damaging the return they could get for Eichel by not moving more quickly to get a deal done.

Draft:

Buffalo picked 7 times in the top 100 this year, which is a good start toward fixing their team in the years to come. No bigger name was taken than Owen Power at 1st overall. Power is a massive 6'6" defenceman who skates like he's about 50lbs lighter than he actually is. He's got great hockey sense, is calm with the puck, and possesses a dangerous point shot. He's the type of unique skillset that is seen so rarely in defencemen of his size that it was impossible to pass him up with the first pick in the draft.

Buffalo then used the Flyers' 14th overall pick to select Isak Rosen, a Swedish forward with impeccable skating ability and quick thinking. He's a shifty forward who can make plays while in motion and excels at faking out defenders with false signals that cause a moment's hesitation, which opens up space and allows him to break through into the offensive zone. In the second round, the Sabres picked Prokhor Poltapov, a RW that is gifted at transforming defensive pressure into offensive momentum, followed by Alexander Kisakov, a playmaking forward with great hands and evasive skating ability. They added forwards Stiven Sardarian and Josh Bloom in the third round, and Olivier Nadeau at 97th overall in the 4th round.

Grade: B; It's hard not to like the variety of picks made by the Sabres this year, culminating in the 1st overall pick of Owen Power. With a bunch more picks likely to come in the 2022 Draft, the Sabres pipeline is stocked up for the future.

Overall grade: C+; Buffalo really saved themselves at the draft this year, nabbing a couple of high-ceiling picks in the top 15. However, sitting pat on the Eichel trade front may have cost them a big value return for their captain. Now that Eichel's agents are applying pressure to the Sabres' front office to get a deal done, other teams are going to smell blood in the water, and the return may be less than expected.

What do you think of the Buffalo Sabres' moves this offseason?

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