2011-12 NHL Team Preview: Buffalo Sabres
Not that Ralph Wilson is hard to top, but there isn’t a more popular sports owner in Buffalo than Terry Pegula right now. From the moment he bought the Sabres in February 2011, he vowed that the culture would change and that the team would start spending. He delivered on his promise as Buffalo made some serious offseason moves. Where do the suped-up Sabres fit into the Eastern Conference playoff picture?
BUFFALO SABRES
Stanley Cup odds: +1600
The 2011-12 Sabres look on paper like an exaggerated, slightly better version of last year’s team. They improved in the offseason but did so in areas where they already had depth and strength.
Buffalo is built from the back-end out. Ryan Miller regressed in 2010-11 following his Vezina Trophy-winning campaign the year. He’s started 68 and 65 games over the last few seasons; now that Buffalo has a reasonable backup goalie in Jhonas Enroth, it may shrink Miller’s number to 60 in hopes of resting him for the playoffs.
In front of Miller will be one of the league’s most improved, versatile defense corps. Tyler Myers was inconsistent in his sophomore year but the big fella’s strong second half suggests he’ll be a force in year three. He has a great shutdown guy to learn from this season in Robyn Regehr, whom Buffalo acquired from Calgary this offseason. The Sabres will get some offense from Jordan Leopold, another former Flame who enjoyed a career revival last year, plus Christian Ehrhoff. The Ehrhoff signing signalled a changing of the guard: Pegula opened his wallet to land a coveted free agent and wasn’t done after nabbing Ehrhoff.
Buffalo also added free agent Ville Leino. He’s a talented, creative, two way player with good speed and hands who joins many other talented, creative, two-way players with good speed and hands. The Sabres get more of what they already had with Leino but he should be a solid addition nonetheless.
The Sabres have a young, fleet-footed group of forwards with breakout potential. They know what they have with reliable scorers like Derek Roy, Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville. But tiny Tyler Ennis could take his game to the next level after tallying 49 points as a rookie.
And what about Drew Stafford? Hyped as the power forward Buffalo was waiting for, he disappointed for his first few pro seasons. Then, last season, it all clicked for Stafford. The former first-rounder went off for 31 goals in 62 games, scoring at better than a 40-goal pace. He’ll be a major weapon, especially on the power play, if he can duplicate his performance.
Buffalo’s star power comes from the back, with Miller and Myers emerging as franchise pillars. The rest of its roster is laden with depth and second-tier talent — a lot of it. Buffalo looks like a safe bet to make the playoffs and this young, exciting group has the upside to do a lot more than that. The Sabres are a legit Stanley Cup sleeper.
Prediction:2n, Northeast Division
