This will likely be the preface to all of this year's Season Preview posts: Unlike in the distant past where I would post different texts on this collectibles blog and my personal one, I've been using a new format for the past couple of years, where I'll copy the same text on each one. As a father of two young kids, I just do not have enough time to write two separate posts per day on each blog. This year again, the entire scope of the analysis will take place first and the featured player will have a direct or perhaps indirect connection to what's written, below.
Caveats: At this point, despite training camp being underway, several players haven't found a team yet, (at least) three star players have active trade requests, and a few clubs are currently above the salary cap, which means there is much left to do.
Key Exits: Bowen Byram (D), Alex Tuch (RW), Devon Levi (G), Luke Schenn (D), Michael Kesselring (D), Jordan Greenway (LW), Anton Wahlberg (C), Logan Stanley (D), Tanner Pearson (LW), Zac Jones (D), Josh Dunne (C)
Key Arrivals: Louis Crevier (D), Olen Zellweger (D), Conor Sheary (LW), Dennis Gilbert (D), Jason Polin (RW)
Top prospects: Konsta Helenius (C, 20), Radim Mrtka (D, 19), Daxon Rudolph (D, 18), Ilia Morozov (C, 18), Brodie Ziemer (RW, 20), Vsevolod Komarov (D, 22), Adam Kleber (D, 20)
The Buffalo Sabres won the Atlantic Division last season, and I really would have wanted to slot them there again this year, but the element of surprise is gone, out the door with Tuch, Byram and Levi.
What makes their odds look good:
You know who is still there, though? This generation's Eric Lindros, Tage Thompson; the next Brendan Gallagher, Zach Benson; Shane Doan's also-good-at-hockey son, Josh Doan; not one but two former first-overall picks on defense in Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power; and a third wheel who would be a #2 on most teams and perhaps a #1 on some, Mattias Samuelsson.
Question marks:
How many games can Alex Lyon suit up in? How about Josh Norris? Peyton Krebs added 11 points in each of the last two seasons compared with the previous; can he do it again, and does he have another level after that as a former first-round pick (17th overall, 2019, Vegas Golden Knights)?
Outlook:
Things are looking up; I'm convinced last year wasn't a flash in the pan after missing out on the playoffs for 14 straight seasons. They'd had the talent, they just needed to piece it together, and they have under head coach Lindy Ruff. It's just that almost everyone in the Atlantic got better last summer, and while Crevier and Zellweger can make up for the loss of Byram, Schenn and Stanley in the long run, Tuch was a strong, quick, heavy and imposing 30-goal presence on the wing that hasn't been (and may never be) replaced.
Prediction:
4th in the Atlantic Division.
Martin Biron had perhaps brief but memorable moments as the main guy in the crease for the Sabres and Philadelphia Flyers, notably, but the Hall Of Fame class of goalies he's backed up is even more impressive: Dominik Hasek, Ryan Miller, and Henrik Lundqvist.
After retiring, Biron became (and still is) a broadcaster for the Sabres, in addition to appearing many times per week on the air in Canada on both RDS (in French, mostly in Québec) and TSN (in English). Here he is wearing the team's 1996-2006 black jersey (and terrific mask):
No comments:
Post a Comment