At long last, the NHL season is upon us. I don't know about you, but this offseason felt longer than most, and that's likely due in no small part to the Buffalo Sabres heading into their most anticipated season in over a decade. Last season's 90-point finish was a massive building block to help build momentum to this core's window opening. However, it once again ended without a playoff berth, with just one point separating the Sabres from ending the longest playoff drought in NHL history.
While the youngest team in the NHL shouldn't bow their heads as if the season was a wash, there's definitely a sting with just how close the Sabres came to exercising their demons; which is where the anticipation comes from for this season. If the Sabres are looking to improve upon last season, and last season saw them a point away from the postseason, then you can do the math here: the Sabres' expectation is to make the playoffs.
And that's going to be the theme of this season: expectations.
In 2021-22, the only expectation that fans of the team and around the NHL had for the Sabres was that they would be a last-place finish once again.
In 2022-23, the only expectation was to build upon the strong finish from the previous season, and to have the young pieces take steps in their development.
2023-24 will see the first time that this young Sabres core will have to handle high expectations that have serious stakes. If they fail to live up to the hype they've built to this point, there will be serious disappointment and possible pushback from the fanbase.
So let's take a quick look at what the Sabres will be up against this season, and what they did to prepare for this highly anticipated campaign.
The Atlantic Division
I don't think it would be too crazy to say that this is the most interesting the Atlantic Division has been in some years. With exception to Montreal, every team has some type of playoff aspirations, while at the same time having some storylines to watch.
After arguably the greatest regular season in NHL history resulted in a round one exit, the Boston Bruins saw two legends in Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci retire. Will the remaining pieces be able to put together a successful season that results in a playoff berth?
Toronto fired Kyle Dubas and saw big massive turnover, yet still chose to keep the "Core Four" in tact, even with William Nylander's UFA status looming. Is this the last dance for this Maple Leafs' core?
After the greatest playoff run in their franchise's history, Florida is dealing with massive injuries to start this season. Brandon Montour and Aaron Ekblad both received surgeries that will force them to miss time, and Sam Bennett will not start the season healthy; will the Panthers be able to survive until they return?
Tampa Bay lost core player Alex Killorn to Anaheim in free agency, and recently lost Andrei Vasilevskiy to a back surgery for 8-10 weeks. The core is coming off of their first summer where they have had time to rest, but is the cliff on the horizon for the Lightning, is this the year we see a drop off?.
Ottawa traded Alex DeBrincat, but also added pieces in Dominik Kubalik, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Jonas Korpisalo. However, they may also be without Shane Pinto's services to start the year, and there's been continued concern around Josh Norris' health. Is this the year that the rebuild is officially 'over' for the Sens?
Detroit were the recipients of DeBrincat's services, and also went on another signing spree in free agency. There may not be a ton of high end talent on the roster, but can the Red Wings' depth push them to a playoff spot?
This very well could be a transitional year for the division as a whole. Buffalo, Ottawa, and Detroit are all on the rise while Boston and Tampa Bay are on the decline, but how much is going to change this coming season? The cliff may be coming for those older teams, but it may not be here just yet. How long can they hold off Father Time? That will be the question.
New Additions
The NHL had a very quiet offseason, even for its own standards. While huge names were topping trade bait lists, only a few stars in the league were moved. The free agency pool was even more barren, as no real star topped the list at any position. With this lack of player movement, the Sabres had a very interesting task of being able to improve the weak points on the roster, without anything going on in the trade market.
Connor Clifton
The right side of the defense was definitely a focal point for the Sabres heading into free agency. Big fishes like Radko Gudas & Damon Severson were intriguing, but Adams and co. set their sights on Bruins defenseman Connor Clifton, signing him to a 3 year deal, worth $10 million.
While he wasn't the big name, bonafide top four defensemen that fans were expecting the Sabres to acquire when the offseason began, Clifton has serious upside to his game. During his time with the Bruins, he was fantastic at limiting quality chances for the opposing team, and showed he had the ability to play up in the lineup with quality talent during his time with Hampus Lindholm this past season.
Additionally, I expect fans to come love Clifton's hard-nosed edge to his game. While not a bruiser, he is no stranger to laying the body and is more than willing to step up to the task of dropping the gloves.
We shall see how Clifton's numbers translate to a bigger role with Buffalo, but if all goes smoothly, then the Sabres have an effective defender at a cheap cost for the next few seasons.
Erik Johnson
If Connor Clifton was an off-the-board pick for some, then I don't think anyone saw the signing of 35 year old Erik Johnson coming. Selected first overall in 2006, Johnson replaces Craig Anderson as the oldest Sabres on the roster, carrying 15 years of NHL experience with him. He's certainly not the defender he once was during the 2010s, but with the star power the Sabres have on the back end, he doesn't need to be.
What Johnson brings is a difficult type of experience to replicate. Yes, Johnson has won the cup, but there are role players in the league that have done the same that the Sabres could've brought in. More importantly, he's been with the Colorado Avalanche since the beginning of their upward trajectory.
He was there when they selected Nathan MacKinnon in 2013, when they hit absolute rock bottom in 2016-17, and at the end when they hoisted the Stanley Cup in 2022. He saw a youthful core mature from the bottom of the mountain to the top once, and he knows what it took to get them there. That is valuable to this Sabres group.
As for his playing role, he's coming off of a season where he was probably asked to do too much for an Avs roster decimated by injuries. If the Sabres can put him in the right spot, as long as he is an upgrade on Ilya Lyubushkin, then this signing can have some upside.
The Goaltending
Another season, another year of wondering if the Sabres goaltending is going to hold them back.
Jokes aside, the Sabres were backed into a corner when it comes to the goaltending position. Some names appeared on the trade market such as Connor Hellebuyck & Carter Hart, but neither were moved, and they each had their respective drawbacks. As for the free agent market, things were even more barren there. Tristan Jarry stayed in Pittsburgh, while Frederick Andersen and Antti Raanta re-signed in Carolina at the last moment, leaving behind a dead UFA market other than Jonas Korpisalo who signed in Ottawa for half a decade, which was something the Sabres were never going to do.
With these dead ends, the Sabres are being forced into a tough position. They've chosen to rely on 21 year old Devon Levi to lock down the starter's crease this season, with Eric Comrie and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen fighting for games behind him. Now don't get me wrong, I believe Devon Levi has the makings of a potential franchise goalie, but asking him to carry a 40+ game load at his age is borderline unprecedented, especially without any AHL experience.
There's been endless discourse about the potential ramifications of putting Levi in this position, but at the end of the day, it's the path they're choosing to go down. Luckily, Levi has this ability to make you believe he is special. From everything we saw last season, to this preseason where aside from one stinker performance he looked great, he just might be able to provide for the Sabres' asks this season.
As for Luukkonen & Comrie? That is where things get more cloudy. It looks as if both will be kept on the main roster to start the year, but how long will that last? Luukkonen's momentum has been on the decline since last February whereas Comrie's has been on the rise. There's no more time for appeasing both camps, if the Sabres want to make the playoffs they have to play the goaltenders that will help them win games.
Enter Zach Benson
Heading into training camp, a bunch of names came to mind when discussing what rookie could potentially cut the roster. Jiri Kulich, Isak Rosén, Ryan Johnson, and Matthew Savoie (before his unfortunate injury) were the immediate guess, but I don't think think anyone expected 18 year old Zach Benson to be the last man standing of that rookie group.
That's no knock on Benson himself to this point, but his return to the WHL seemed all but guaranteed after the Sabres were able to nab his talents at 13th overall earlier this year at the NHL Draft. However, when Benson suited up for the preseason, and he was placed Tage Thompson and Jeff Skinner, it was apparent just how far along he was in his development.
Granato was clearly testing to see how Benson could handle a big role, but from immediately from the start he excelled. Benson's compete, high IQ, and defensive awareness were all on display, and reflected a player that was much more mature than his age indicated. Even when he was placed into a more forechecking role with Mittelstadt and Greenway, he still was able to produce. This kid is just a special talent.
Benson has earned his nine game tryout from the Sabres, an outcome that would've seemed inconceivable just a few weeks ago. How long he lasts on the Sabres is now the storyline to watch as this season unfolds. I don't doubt that he can last past the nine game threshold, but if he were to stick around longer it would cause ripple effects down the lineup. Victor Olofsson and Tyson Jost would likely see some time in the press box, and once Jack Quinn comes back they could both be in there at the same time.
Either way, the exciting thing about this development is that the Sabres really have nothing to lose. If Benson continues to thrive, then they've got a useful player that cost them nothing to acquire. If he struggles against full speed NHL competition, then the Sabres can just send him back to the WHL, and he continues his expected path.
No matter the case, this development has caused a fascinating wrinkle to the upcoming season. I'm super excited to see where it goes.
Biggest Questions Heading into Opening Night
It doesn't matter how many individual questions come to mind about this roster, the biggest questions that will hover around this team all converge into one ultimate question: can this team keep the puck out of their own net?
That branches off into subquestions such as "Will the goaltending hold up?", "Will the team defensive structure improve?", and "Can the penalty kill improve from last season?", but they all revolve around the single idea of the Sabres limiting the amount of pucks that end up in their net.
Erik Johnson said it best when he first signed in Buffalo. The Colorado Avalanche began their big steps into becoming a Stanley Cup contender when their core players began to pay attention to the two-way aspects of their game. If the Sabres want to speed up this process, those are the steps they can take this season.
Expectations
As we said at the start, expectations are sky high this season. The fanbase knows that this core is on the cusp of something special, but they need to go out and take that leap themselves. The excuses are running thin, this team may be young, but they got so close last season, and if they had just kept the puck out of their net a little more, they would've ended the longest playoff drought in NHL history prematurely.
As their general manager stated at the beginning of training camp, "the window is open". That's not to say this team is a Stanley Cup contender now, but the time for playoff success is here, and it starts by jumping that hurdle this season. It's time to break the drought.
So, for this season, the Sabres should be able to hit the 95-point threshold. That line usually gets teams into the postseason, and it's an improvement upon last season. Their ceiling remains much higher in my opinion, but that is the standard they should be aiming for. If they can do that, then it's a successful campaign.
So here is to hoping that drought that's been hanging over this franchise's head for years finally ends this season, and we can see the birth of the next big powerhouse in the NHL.
Until then, Go Sabres.
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