Season In Review: Buffalo Sabres
our season in review videos are going to continue on here today with the Buffalo Sabres And as for the Sabres it was once again another year of just not good again Like it felt like and we’re going to go through what we’ve been doing for these the whole series but it feels like two years ago they were so close They were right there The light was at the end of the tunnel And maybe you know maybe they weren’t going to make it the following season but even still they were going to be a pretty damn good team And let’s just start off with that They went 42 33 and 7 in 2022 23 They had 91 points They were 20th They finished just one point back of a playoff spot And they were nearly in there for the first time And at the time it was like 12 years Um just again like you felt after that year seeing Devin Levi seeing Taige Thompson seeing how the overall team really improved you really thought that a future was near and that they were going to make the playoffs that following year or at least within the next couple of years after that And since then it has been getting progressively worse and worse in 23-24 They went 39 37-6 for 84 points They were 22nd in the NHL Again just a little bit of a fall-off It wasn’t like a drastic falloff but it was still a fall-off Every team or sorry every player on the team it felt like had a down year It kind of did feel like that was the more realistic outcome and that this team wasn’t necessarily that close to becoming a contender or at least making the playoffs but they were still in the vicinity They were still getting closer And then this past year everything just falls apart yet again 36 39 and seven for 79 points They were 26th in the NHL this past year Just another year where they were falling off And again it just I I really don’t know what to say anymore because it feels like it’s the same thing every year with Buffalo It’s like watching the Titanic every single time The ship still sinks when it hits the iceberg Like it just it feels like the same thing every single year for the Buffalo Sabres And I don’t I don’t know how you fix it Being completely honest with you I don’t know how you fix it moving forward They had they scored 269 goals They allowed 289 for a minus 20 difference which isn’t bad I will say that Uh they were 2315 and three at home They were 13 24 and 4 on the road And once again a lot of their numbers were pretty pedestrian Actually they definitely scored at a little bit of a better pace than they originally were going to be And a lot of that lies on Da Thompson Uh but a 3.23 two three goals four per game which was ranked 10th so it was top 10 that’s pretty nice their goals against 350 29th and that’s bottom five you can’t you can’t win with that bad of a that bad of a goals against you can’t you simply can’t make the playoffs I think goalending was a big factor in why Buffalo wasn’t really able to do much here in these play in this season to be honest uh their power play and their PK was again pedestrian uh 18.8% on the power play which was 24th and 76.3 on the kill which was 23rd So again just it’s mid at best It’s honestly below mid It’s just below average close to bad at that point And I really don’t know how you fix it because I’ve said so many things with Buffalo I’ve been saying it for literally forever that this will be the year they get out of the tunnel This will be the year where they finally break through haven’t seen that year just yet And to be honest with you I don’t think they’re there for another at least two to three years Like I’m being completely honest unless if we see you know massive improvements from Devin Levi and you know the offense can start really improving and just everything kind of stays locked down here and you know they get better defensively I I don’t think this team makes the playoffs next year or even the following year after that like this is going to be probably another again like it’s going to be like year 16 or 17 when they finally probably break through and that is just it’s devastating honestly it’s just unbelievable and you got to reach a point where it’s like are they really going to have a future here in Buffalo like I know that you know the Pigoulas own the team they don’t want to give them up but even still like nobody goes to those games anymore it’s just it’s really unfortunate and for a good fan base too that has and pretty much drained to nothing at this point It really does suck Now looking at the leading scorers I’ll stop with the little somber story about Buffalo although it feels like that’s what it is all the time Um their leading scoreer was Tae Thompson with 76 games played 44 goals which was first on the team 28 assists for 72 points which is also first on the team Thompson had a big good bounceback year Um I think this is more of the realistic outcome we’re going to see from him He’s not like a 100 point guy anymore He might be an at best 85 90 point score but I really don’t think he’s anything more than that to be honest with you I think he’s kind of peaked at where we uh think he’s going to be I don’t think he’s going to be much better to be brutally honest with you guys but I I could be wrong I think he’s definitely the best player on the team but overall um he still had a pretty damn good year regardless of that Uh JJ Purka uh 77 games played 27 goals 41 assists for 68 points I still think about 2020 It’s a damn shame that well not really a damn shame It’s good for Buffalo but it’s a shame for all the 32 other teams that picked uh beforehand that he dropped to Buffalo at that spot because this guy’s a really talented player Again had 30 goals this year and I think his sophomore season in the NHL That really is something to think about and I think this guy has a really bright future here in this league And I I’m wondering like it might not even be with Buffalo hearing the trade rumors that we’re hearing right now I I know not everything is concrete but even still it’s concerning some of the things that we’re hearing here on the market for a guy like Beta for sure Raasmus Dale was third in scoring This was I believe his first year as the captain second year as the captain Um I I really can’t remember to be honest with you I’m just so blinded by how bad Buffalo was Um 73 games played 17 goals 51 assists which is first on the team for 68 points I thought overall Dene had a decent year Again I thought you know the whole team could have been better but Don wasn’t bad by any stretch of the imagination I thought he had a good year defensively Um he’s the only backbone on what is a just so dysfunctional uh Buffalo blue line to be honest with you Uh Alex Tuck was fourth in scoring 82 games played 36 goals 31 assists 67 points He had 36 goals That’s good He he was second in the team in scoring However there’s rumors that he might not want to be there either So it just it it really sucks with how underperforming this team’s success has been the last couple of years and just the last century Honestly it really does kind of suck uh with what Buffalo has not been able to put together Just not like it feels like they might be going back to square one I really hope not but it it with some of the things that I’ve heard it does kind of feel that way But let’s hope for the best Uh Jason Zucker was a positive this past year they signed him uh to a contract in the offseason He turned out to be a good acquisition 73 games played 21 goals 32 assists for 53 points Um not that bad of a year a good year from like a middle six type of player Uh I mean the same can be said for Ryan Mloud uh who had 79 games played 20 goals 33 assists for 53 points uh that trade for Matthew Seavoy it definitely like Buffalo obviously is winning that trade right now because Seavoi hasn’t really even played in the NHL that much But again I do think that like those are the kind of moves you do need to make um to be a contender You need to trade away some of your prospects for you know guys who can help you out in the current state And I think that was one of the moves that was criticized at the time but I think Kevin Adams did a very good job at that I’ll give him that He did a very good job in that specific move I would say Uh Owen Power up next then 79 games played seven goals 33 assists for 40 points Uh Power there’s definitely room to improve There absolutely is I think that that’s something we’re going to see here in the coming seasons Again he still is a little bit young I think this is only like his third season in the NHL So I’m not going to be too harsh on him just yet But overall there needs to be some improvement there from the back end just as a whole to be honest with you Uh Jack Quinn 74 games played 15 goals 24 assists for 39 points Quinn wasn’t bad Again I just don’t think he’s what he was projected to be at eighth overall He might just be like a 40 50 point guy at this point I think that’s what a lot of these players are really projected to be Uh Bowen Byum is an interesting name We’ll get into him in just a moment Uh 82 games played seven goals 31 assists for 38 points I thought Byum uh was okay Uh he’s asking for a lot of money though and the money that I’m seeing him ask for I’m like uh I don’t really like that So we’re gonna have to see here what happens with that But overall I think Byron might find himself out of Buffalo here in the coming months honestly And then Josh Norris who was with Ottawa for a little bit uh has been traded to the team for Dylan Cousins We’ll get into that in just a moment here as well Uh 56 games played 21 goals 14 assists for 35 points Norris is slightly concerning just with his injuries His health really is a little bit of a concern It’s not like I I still think he’s going to be a very good player but the health is obviously a concern there Uh he hasn’t really been the same from what he was prior to the injury but I guess obviously we’ll see 35 points in 56 games played It does take a year maybe to kind of get back into the swing of things Maybe next year he’s a lot better I guess we’ll see And then you look at the goalending you had Uko Pekka Lucon who led scoring uh 24 and five with a 3.20 goals against and a87 save percentage I thought Luke Conan um just it wasn’t a good year It was pretty it was a pretty down year for him I thought things could have been a lot better Again it wasn’t all on him The defensive play as I said was pretty brutal for a lot of this season but the goalending was not that pretty And you look at the goals against and it kind of backs that up they were bottom three or bottom four sorry uh in the NHL in terms of that stats So again that definitely needs to improve there as well Uh James Rhymer was their next guy Uh 10 10 and2 with a 3.04 and a 0897 I believe James Rymer is retiring I think I heard that correctly So best of wishes to him in retirement He’s been around for so long I’m surprised he’s even playing at his age He’s such a legend I like James Rymer a lot He’s been to a lot of teams too especially like Detroit Uh he was in San Jose for a little bit Toronto was with Carolina all those years ago Man Rhymer was Rhyr’s been around a lot Uh Devin Levi then was their third guy I think it’s worth mentioning him Uh 2 and seven this year a 4.12 and a 872 I really don’t know how to grasp uh Devin Levi He was pretty good in the AHL but I feel like he might be another year away from the number one the number one position But maybe they give him more games next year and maybe they give him the nod Who knows We’ll see how he plays Again like a lot can change between now and training camp So I’m optimistic to see what’s going to happen But overall I’m not very confident in Levi being the starter next year You look at the trades that this Sabres team made They didn’t make a ton I’m going to be honest with you biggest one they made was the Dylan Cousins trade where they traded Cousins uh Dennis Gilbert and a 2026 second round pick over to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Josh Norris and Jacob Bernard Docker So overall they made I I I think that trade is it’s a win for Ottawa with how Cousins played in Ottawa It’s without a doubt it’s a win for the sends I don’t hate it though for Buffalo I think Norris can still be something but again as I said the injuries are a concern for me So that’s one I’m kind of really thinking about here when I’m talking about this deal I’m a little bit concerned about how the injuries are going to play out and everything about that But I think overall it doesn’t look like a terrible deal for both teams but I think Ottawa is the winner there clearly And then the other trade that they made was a very minor one They acquired Henry Y or they traded Henri Yokiharo to the Boston Bruins in exchange for a 26 fourthround pick So not a huge trade there to death defenseman move but you see a lot of those deals at the deadline but Buffalo didn’t really make anything that significant besides that trade Little bit of a look into the American Hockey League here Up next you have the Rochester Americans who went with a record of 4222 5 and three for 92 points They were actually sixth in the AHL that year They got a first round buy They defeated Syracuse in the second round and then they obviously lost to Laval in round three in five games It was a close fivegame series but Laval obviously came out as the team on top The leading scorers for those for this Rochester Americans team was Isaac Rosen who led the way Uh 61 games played 28 goals 27 assists for 55 points I thought Rosen overall had a good year honestly And we’ll get into him in just a moment I don’t want to go terribly in depth with him Brett Murray 66 games played 27 goals 22 assists 49 points Uh Zachary Metsah 69 games played seven goals 39 assists for 46 points Uh Lucas Rosk excuse me if I’m I’m butchering these names Uh 72 games played seven goals 35 assists for 42 points Uh Kale Kle uh 69 games played 10 goals 29 assists for 39 points there as well So that was a Rochester American scoring Uh again it was a good team You had some good young players down there mixed with some solid uh veterans who have played games in the NHL consistently I thought it was a good team and I think that definitely there’s a future there in Buffalo that I think is a bit underrated when it comes to Rochester So hope for the best there next season for sure You look at the pipeline the prospect pipeline for the Sabres has changed a lot over the years I wouldn’t say it’s as strong as it was but it definitely still is pretty decent You have Consta Helenius who led who led the way or leads the way in prospects for me Uh 65 games played in Rochester this past year 14 goals 21 assists for 35 points It was his first year in North America playing hockey I’m not terribly concerned about his overall development I think that a 35point year in 65 games played as expected from a young rookie It’s not surprising there for me whatsoever Noah Austin up next then 45 games played 19 goals 17 assists for 36 points He played eight games in the NHL this past year as well Osland I thought is an all right prospect He’s not going to be as big as you know maybe some of the other players but he did get some time in the NHL I think that is worth something Maybe could be a thirdline player in the future It’s not impossible Anton Wahlberg uh who was also in the AHL You’re going to notice that four of the five of these were in the American Hockey League Uh 63 games played 11 goals 19 assists for 30 points I thought Wahlberg had a solid year there I think he’s defenseman I believe uh in that back end with Rochester And then you have the only guy who was not in um the AHL Adam Clever with a 33 games played two goals three assists for five points in the NCAA So again Clever little bit of a lesser offensively touted guy Could be decent uh playing out there in the NCAA I don’t hate him whatsoever And then again as I mentioned Isaac Rosen uh 61 games played 28 goals 27 assists for 55 points had eight games in the NHL this past year Rosen could be a full-time NHLer next year depending on what the team looks like out of training camp We’ll have to see obviously but I’m optimistic for him That’s the guy that I’m probably the most optimistic about outside of Helenius but I guess obviously we shall see what their development looks like here moving forward You look at the draft capital for the Buffalo Sabres When you look in terms of the future um they have a first round pick a second round pick a third round pick They have two fourths One of them belongs to Minnesota a fifth a six and three sevenths One of them’s their own another is Nashville and another one of them is Washington’s as well So above all uh they have some draft capital to work with there I feel like the reason why they don’t have a boatload of picks is because and again I think we heard this at the deadline and I said this in videos like they don’t want draft picks They want future or current right now assets They want players they can use right now or guys who are young that they can use in the future They’re tired of you know getting these first round picks and you know drafting these players because that’s obviously not working out You got to make trades to improve the team in that kind of way And I think that’s what Buffalo is starting to realize here But I will say this the excuse of palm trees in that is not good enough because the Edmonton Oilers are I know I know the Oilers have McDavid but even still they live in the cold the cold land of Edmonton You have the Winnipeg Jets who were first in the NHL this past year They are the most undesirable place to go Sorry no disrespect to Winnipeg but they were voted that by the players besides Buffalo I guess all these other teams can do it Why can’t you That’s my honest question to Kevin Adams Now you look at the UFAS and RFAS Uh it’s a short list for the UFAs and only James Rymer And I think Rhymer is retiring as I said Uh and then your RFAS you have JJ Purka Jack Quinn Ryan Mloud Bowen Byram and Jacob Bernard Docker So you have some real decisions there to make in terms of like this team moving forward with some of these players Is Perurker gonna stick around I would say yeah I would say Quinn likely sticks around I think you’re gonna have to keep all four maybe five of these guys around But I think overall you’re going to see some big contracts be dealt out here and some decisions need to be made with guys like maybe you know Purka for example with the trade rumors But overall it’s going to be a very interesting offseason in Buffalo It almost always is as they will try and get back to the playoffs here uh next season Let me know your thoughts in the comment section down below Thank you all so much for watching If you enjoyed make sure to subscribe down below I greatly appreciate it But anyways that’s it for me Thank you all for watching and I’ll see you guys in the next
The Sabres once again missed the playoffs for a 14th straight year. Lets review.
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