After darting out of the gates at the start of the offseason, the Buffalo Sabres have slowed down a bit in recent weeks. With essentially no moves being made in the NHL at the moment, that is to be expected. Few teams did more to improve than the Sabres this offseason, as they traded for defenseman Robyn Regehr, and signed defenseman Christian Ehrhoff and forward Ville Leino.
Going from a penny-pinching organization under previous owner Tom Golisano to a free-spending one under current owner Terry Pegula certainly comes with its rewards. At the same time, the Sabres have a completely new set of problems to deal with, the foremost being the salary cap.
As the team with the league’s highest payroll, the Sabres are currently in a situation they’ve never been in before. At slightly more than $3 million over the cap, Buffalo will have to make some moves in order to get under the $64 million salary ceiling. The obvious transactions to accomplish that would be burying the combined $5 million of forward Ales Kotalik and defenseman Shaone Morrisonn in AHL Rochester.
This would ensure that neither Kotalik nor Morrisonn count against the cap, and it would mean the Sabres wouldn’t necessarily have to make any other cost-cutting moves. Of course, Buffalo will want to have some available cap space next season so they have the flexibility to make an impact deal at the trade deadline should they be in contention as expected. This would necessitate Buffalo possibly executing a salary-dump trade.
The Sabres have no shortage of higher-salary players who might be attractive to other teams, so a trade is most likely there if they want it. The question is whether or not Buffalo values cap flexibility over roster depth.
Here are five potential salary-dump trades should the Sabres decide to go that route.
Last season, it wasn’t until March 6th that the Buffalo Sabres jumped into the Eastern Conference’s playoff picture for good. For the first 150 days of the 2010-2011 NHL season before March 6th, the Sabres were outside of the top eight for all but three of them—the first three days of the year.
Suddenly, though, the Sabres had finally cracked the ice and were off and running in the postseason field. Buffalo finished the season with a 9-1-2 record from March 19th on and eventually slid past the New York Rangers for the No. 7 seed. The Sabres then took a 3-2 series lead in their quarterfinals matchup against the then-defending Conference Champion Philadelphia Flyers before falling in Games 6 and 7.
This summer, owner Terry Pegula opened up the bank account for spending of all sorts, and general manager Darcy Regier decided to take the opportunity and pour cash into a team that he hoped would soon turn into a Stanley Cup contender. And, in our minds, he’s done exactly that.
Regier was able to make an impressive handful of trades and signings he wouldn’t have been able to do without the support of Pegula, and, though he really did spend all the money he possibly could, was able to create an even better Sabres squad for the 2011-2012 season that truly has what it takes to go all the way. The past two seasons have certainly not been poor ones in upstate New York, but the upcoming year promises to be even more victory-laden than before…and here’s why.
Note: This slideshow was Part 1 of a four-part series looking in-depth at a few specific teams who we believe have become new Stanley Cup contenders or new playoff teams with their offseason moves.
Part 2, portraying why the Florida Panthers will be a playoff team in ’11-’12, can be found here. Part 3, looking at why the Los Angeles Kings are Cup contenders next season, can be read here. Part 4, stating our reasoning behind calling the St. Louis Blues a postseason team, is available here.
The Sabres have had a busy offseason with some impressive moves.
The additions of Ehrhoff and Ville Leino should add some firepower on the power play and create better team chemistry respectively. I believe Leino has the playoff experience and the fiery play that denotes leadership and wouldn’t be surprised if he adorns the “C” this season.
The following proposed lineup will likely not be well received, however, I believe I can make an interesting case for some intriguing line combinations.
Looking to the Sabres’ previous years under Lindy Ruff, I hope he continues to divide his talent over four lines. We have seen Roy Vanek Stafford for years, and there’s just not chemistry.
I think the tail end of last year should prove that to anyone. Without further ado, I give to you four forward lines, three defensive pairings and two strong in goal.
Thanks to the deep pockets of new owner Terry Pegula, the Buffalo Sabres went on a spending spree this offseason that vastly improved the roster. Ryan Miller returns to lead the Sabres in an attempt to bring Buffalo the first major championship in the city’s history.
Fans and analysts across the league gawked when the Sabres gave Christian Ehrhoff a 10-year contract. Their jaws dropped when Ville Leino received $4.5 million per season based on one season of production. They were surprised when Robyn Regehr waived his no-movement clause to join the Sabres.
The critics said the Sabres overpaid and still aren’t contenders for the Stanley Cup. They are wrong. The Sabres were the best team in the entire league from Christmas to the end of the last season. They took the Philadelphia Flyers to game seven in the first round before bowing out of the playoffs. All of that, despite leading scorer Derek Roy missing most of those games.
Derek Roy should return to form this season, Jason Pominville should be healthy again and Ryan Miller should get more rest than he has in the past few years, assuming restricted free agent Jhonas Enroth is re-signed.
The bottom line is simple, the Sabres are a much better team than they are being given credit for in the media. Here is an early guess at which 20 players will make up the opening day lineup when the Sabres take on the Anaheim Ducks in Finland on Oct. 7 as a part of the NHL‘s continuing Premiere Games.
The Buffalo Sabres have resigned Andrej Sekera and Matt Ellis to multi-year contracts. Both are RFAs.
Resigning Sekera avoided an arbitration hearing scheduled for July 25th. He was tendered an offer two weeks ago.
He is coming off arguably his best NHL season, although his post-season effort was limited to two games due to an upper body injury he sustained before the post-season. The 25-year-old defenseman posted 29 points (3 goals, 26 assists) and was plus-11 in 76 regular season games.
Sekera will earn $11 million over four years ($4,750,000 signing bonus by July 2012).
Ellis, 29, spent 14 games with the Buffalo Sabres in the 2010-2011 season. The left winger was pointless in these games, and was minus-4.
Ellis registered ten goals and 31 points in more than 50 games he played with the Sabres’s AHL affiliate (until this season), the Portland Pirates.
After the purchase of the Rochester Americans on May 17, 2011 by Sabres owner Terrance Pegula and clearing various obstacles, it was announced on June 24, 2011 that the Rochester Americans would become the new AHL-affiliate of the Sabres.
Read more Buffalo Sabres news on BleacherReport.com
After the early portion of the offseason that saw the Buffalo Sabres acquire Robyn Regehr, Christian Ehrhoff and Ville Leino by means of trade or free agency, it stands to reason that the Sabres are essentially happy with their team heading into next season.
When you look deeper into Buffalo’s situation with regards to restricted free agents and the salary cap, however, there could still be some moves on the horizon. With this in mind, of course, NHL rumor mongers have been hard at work trying to piece together possible trade scenarios.
Although a blockbuster seems unlikely at this point, there is certainly reason to believe the Sabres could make one or two smaller deals before training camp commences in September. Not only does Buffalo have a glut of wingers on its roster, but restricted free agents like Jhonas Enroth, Andrej Sekera and Marc-Andre Gragnani remain unsigned.
With the Sabres just $338,000 from the cap ceiling, it’s quite obvious that additional moves will need to be made if Enroth, Sekera and Gragnani are all going to sign. This could be solved by stashing Ales Kotalik and Shaone Morrisonn in AHL Rochester, but one gets the feeling that another trade could be forthcoming.
The following are the hottest Sabres trade rumors to date.
In recent years, Buffalo Sabres general manager Darcy Regier has been criticized by many fans for his shortcomings at the NHL trade deadline. Additions such as Brad Boyes, Dominic Moore and Raffi Torres have fizzled over the past few seasons after excelling with their previous employers.
When you look back into the archives, however, Regier has made plenty of shrewd trades that have helped the Sabres in their pursuit of the Stanley Cup. It seems as though Regier may have hit another home run with his acquisition of defenseman Robyn Regehr from the Calgary Flames a couple weeks ago.
In the deal, Buffalo gave up only defenseman Chris Butler and forward Paul Byron, and received forward Ales Kotalik and a second-round pick in addition to Regehr. With Butler and Byron not expected to become much more than fringe NHL players, this trade could eventually go down as one of the best in team history should Regehr continue his stellar play.
Since the trade has yet to play itself out, it would be unfair to label it as an all-time great at this point. With that said, there has been no shortage of one-sided trades during the Sabres’ 40-plus years of existence. Here are the top 10 trades in Buffalo Sabres history.
It wasn’t too long ago that Steve Montador or Rob Niedermayer were considered significant free agent signings for the Buffalo Sabres. After a whirlwind week that saw the Sabres ink defenseman Christian Ehrhoff and forward Ville Leino to long-term deals, as well as trade for defenseman Robyn Regehr, it appears as though Buffalo can match any team in the NHL financially.
The Sabres’ new owner Terry Pegula proved that he was more than just talk when he opened up his checkbook and provided Buffalo with one of the league’s highest payrolls. While most Sabres’ fans were thrilled with the change in philosophy, some still believe that greater measures need to be taken to make the Sabres true Stanley Cup contenders.
The signing of Leino and subsequent suggestion by head coach Lindy Ruff and general manager Darcy Regier that Leino would play center was met with mixed reactions. Although Leino should add some diversity to Buffalo’s offensive attack, many think the addition of a true No. 1 center is still a necessity.
While Regier intimated that he was happy with the team as is, he also said that he would continue to explore trade options. Prior to free agency, Regier said that a trade window would likely open a few weeks into the free agency period. With that in mind, Buffalo may still be in the market for another center.
With plenty of depth on the wing, players like Brad Boyes, Jochen Hecht and even Jason Pominville could be moved in a trade for a center or a separate deal to clear cap space for an incoming center. The Sabres also possess considerable prospect depth, particularly on defense. When you add in 2012 draft picks, it is clear that Buffalo has the assets to acquire a legitimate top-line center.
Here are five realistic center options the Sabres can acquire this offseason.
This entry was taken from TJ’s blog: Hockey Heaven, NY. Head over to read more about the Sabres and the NHL!
It’s been a while, angels, but as I sat at home last night, scanning the many tweets coming from the bloggers attending the Sabres Summit, it dawned on me that school had ended and I’ve had plenty of time to write. The Sabres have been out for a while, and a Stanley Cup has already been awarded. However, it’s not too late for me to join in the game.
Hell, with the draft coming up, it’s probably a good time for me to get into the swing of things. July 1 isn’t too far off. It’s time for me to put my mind to the word processor and assess the Sabres’ needs heading into next Friday’s draft.
First of all, our furthest need for the draft is to grab a defenseman, at least not in the first three rounds. For years, our biggest need has been center (at least the past two). For years, I’ve seen the Sabres draft a defensman or a winger in the first round, two things that this team is in absolutely no need of.
It’s time for this team to start stocking up on what they’ve been needing for a long time: a first- or second-line center.
The Sabres truly missed Derek Roy last year. Buffalo’s No. 1 center was having one of his most promising years as a Sabre until a terrible knee injury took him out for the rest of the regular season. After that, our center depth was Tim Connolly, Paul Gaustad, and a bunch of wingers that had significant drop-offs in their play as fill-in centers.
Bear with me, here. We all know that Jochen Hecht is a winger forced to play center. Rob Niedermayer was more or less…himself. I can’t even say a ghost of his former self because, to be quite honest, he’s been mediocre his whole career, living in the shadow of his older, much more talented brother. While Nied’s presence as a “leader” was nice, his lack of talent along with the rest of the team at the center position was just daunting.
So, the Sabres center depth as of right now is as follows: Derek Roy, Paul Gaustad and again, wingers forced to play center because of our poor center depth.
Traveling northeast to Portland, I see that we have the ever-promising, AHL Rookie of the Year Luke Adam, who in all honesty, seems to have the potential to maybe be a third-line center until he improves upon his speed. Paul Byron gave a little bit of a spark before he was sent back to Portland.
Matt Ellis is the captain of the (insert future minor league team here) and shouldn’t be moved out of Portland anymore. His efforts as a leader are more valuable when spent teaching the rooks in (insert future minor league location here).
Who else…Brian Roloff? Travis Turnbull? Mark Voakes? At least I’ve heard of the first two. Roloff had 24 points in 76 games in Portland. Turnbull had nine points in his 20 games with the Pirates.
I just don’t trust the center depth with this team, and that is obviously the most glaring need both on the big club and in the system.
So again. Let me stress. We want CENTERS in this year’s draft.
Why no defense?
First of all, we have only three defensmen signed. However, of the five that are unsigned, four of them are restricted free agents.
Of those that are restricted, two can easily be retained with the standard, one-year qualifying offers. Butler and Grags will be the ones to do that. Say what you will about the amazing Marc-Andre Gragnani, who was named the best defensman in the AHL this year on top of leading the Sabres in scoring in the playoffs. However, I need to see him play across an entire NHL season first. If anything, he might require a $1 million offer, but please, nothing more.
Of the other two, Sekera and Weber may be a bit more difficult to retain. Sekera has his ups and downs last season, but it could certainly be counted as his “breakout” year. He’ll probably get a two-year deal in the $1 million to $1.5 million range. God help me if it’s $2 million. Weber should command about the same, maybe a bit more. His toughness was exactly what this defensive corp needed, and could fill in as at the very least, a solid second pairing defender.
When I look down to Portland, I see TJ Brennan (sick name, bro), Alex Biega, Nick Crawford and Dennis Persson, who have all shown some improvement since they’ve been drafted. The jury’s still out on Persson, though. Seventeen points for a guy drafted to be a puck-moving offensive defensman is unacceptable at this point of his career.
When I look at the juniors, I’m thrilled with the years both Mark Pysyk and Brayden McNabb had. McNabb is coming off a career season for the WHL’s Kootenay Ice. The team’s captain, McNabb lead the team within a game of reaching the Memorial Cup Finals. He had 72 points in 59 games in 2010-11.
Pysyk improved his play tremendously for the Oil Kings. Increasing his production to 40 points in this past season, Pysyk also vastly improved his dreadful plus/minus, going from a minus-19 in 2009-10 to a plus-29 the year after he was drafted.
And please, Buffalo. Whatever you do, don’t draft a winger, when you know damn well that you have about 10 wingers and two centers in the big club. Oddly enough, the Sabres have the same problem in the minors as well.
Wingers back for the 2011-12 season include Thomas Vanek, Drew Stafford, Brad Boyes, Jochen Hecht (I will forever refer to Hecht as a winger. A center, he is not), Nathan Gerbe, Tyler Ennis (at the moment. I think he has potential to be a top-two center), Patrick Kaleta, Jason Pominville…am I done yet?
You get my point.
Taking a look at the system, we have the big, bad, bruising Zach Kassian waiting to recklessly kill somebody in the NHL, and Marcus Foligno waiting to be his tag-team buddy, and they’ve barely thrown a (insert minor league team)’s jersey on at this point.
On top of that, we’re still not sure if the Sabres are going to waste the space on yet another year for AHL All-Star (and I use that term very loosely, somewhat sarcastically) Mark Mancarri, who has proven time and again that the NHL is just not for him, but keep him in the AHL and the guy explodes.
However, on a bright note, I love what I’m seeing from guys like Derek Whitmore (47 points last season), Corey Tropp (40 points), and Dennis McCauley. There’s going to be more too, with the Sabres’ junior prospects waiting to make the jump to the AHL after their eligibility for juniors is out. All-in-all, the Sabres are solid at winger, although it seems that maybe a new draftee or two wouldn’t hurt.
Finally, I get to the goaltender’s position. Honestly, I view goalie to be the second most important need on this team. While Jhonas Enroth all but secured his spot in the NHL next season as Ryan Miller’s RELIABLE (I’m being ecstatically serious, there) backup, the Sabres should really do David Leggio the favor of resigning him back to the Pirates.
Leggio did phenomenal for the Pirates this season, posting a 22-12-3 record across 36 games, with a 2.8 GAA and a .911 save percentage. Those are solid numbers for a goalie who is probably going to be a career AHLer. That is, of course, if a coach like Peter Laviolette doesn’t come across him, because we all know Pete loves his mediocre Stanley Cup-caliber goalies!
That leaves us short another new up-and-comer to at least give one of our goalies some trade value if and when the time comes that we’ll need to go that right (and come on, the way the Sabres draft/acquire goalies, I don’t understand why this never happens.) Take a guy with a sixth or seventh rounder a la Ryan Miller. It can’t hurt.
So…who should Buffalo take when pick No. 16 comes along? Well, first of all…a center.
But really, if Buffalo really wants to find a good center, what good prospects are available?
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is almost assuredly going No. 1 overall to the Edmonton Oilers, who are eventually going to be amazing, by the way. Stock up enough top-10 picks, and yeah, you’re on the fast track to at least getting closer. Look at the Penguins.
Mark McNeill is the first player I see that has a chance of lasting until No. 16. McNeill had a nice year for the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders, scoring 32 goals to go along with 49 assists, good for an 81-point season in 70 games. McNeill stands at a height of 6’2″ and weighs 210 pounds.
I would mention Victor Rask (does that count as a mention), but he’s European and plays in Europe, who we know the Sabres don’t go near nowadays.
But let’s humor Darcy Regier just for a second. Rask, who has no relation to the Bruins’ Tuukka, by the way, is a Swedish J20 SuperElit center from the Leksand J20 team. Rask scored 41 points in 39 games and added another 5 points in 5 playoff games. Rask is 6’2″, 194 pounds.
That leaves us with Daniel Cantenacci from the OHL’s S.S. Marie Greyhounds. Cantenacci scored 71 points across 67 games for the Greyhounds this past year. The only thing that turns me off about him is his size: 5’10”, 180 pounds. Yikes. Just what the Sabres need—another small-fry center.
All that said, the Sabres options are thin at center, and they’ll have to hope Mark McNeill falls to them. He seems like the big, powerful scoring center they’ve been looking for for a while. If not, my gut is that they’ll still at least go with a forward. One can only hope, at least.
Odds are, though, that the player the Sabres draft will be at the very least productive. The Sabres have had a very good decade of first rounders come through. Thomas Vanek and Tyler Myers lead the charge, followed closely behind by Drew Stafford and Tyler Ennis. The jury’s still out on a few, but hey! One of them just won a Stanley Cup (Dan Paille).
We can only hope the next first rounder follows suit in the beginning of this new decade.
You can follow me on Twitter: @tluck81
Read more Buffalo Sabres news on BleacherReport.com
The Buffalo Sabres are coming off a semi-impressive 2010-11 campaign, in which they registered a record of 43-29-10. Led by youngsters Tyler Myers and veterans like Rob Niedermayer, the Sabres earned the No. 7 seed in the NHL East Conference Playoffs, only to be knocked out in the first round by the Philadelphia Flyers.
Heading into the 2011 season, the Sabres seem to be in an even better position to succeed, especially with the new ownership led by Terry Pegula, who has brought a identity and energy to the city of Buffalo.
With several prospects on the rise, there are still some concerns Sabres fans have about the upcoming year.
