Well Sabres fans, unfortunately the time has come.
Offseason.
Although the Sabres failed to make the playoffs for the 11th year in a row, this season has been something that many fans will remember. It was a historic season to say the least, with Jack Eichel being traded, to Rick Jeanneret retiring, and Tage Thompson scoring 38 goals.. it was nothing short from exciting.
For now, Sabres fans will have to wait until October to see them in action again. In the meantime though, lets take a look back at the season and recap.
Buffalo finished 24th overall out of 32 total teams. The teams finishing record ended up being 32-39-11, and was 5th overall in the Atlantic Division. Buffalo averaged 2.79 goals per game (23rd overall) and allowed 3.50 goals against per game. (25th overall) Their power-play percentage on the year was 21.2% (16th overall) and penalty kill percentage was 76.4%. (23rd overall) Buffalo also ranked 22nd in penalty minutes with 667 total minutes.
One thing that affected the Sabres greatly this season was goaltending. With an abundance of injuries, the Sabres ended up utilizing 7 different goalies. With that said, there overall save percentage of .899%, 26th overall was probably one of their worst areas on the team. This department is going to need lots of improvement during the offseason, since all of the prospects have chose to stay in college or junior leagues.
Defense looked a lot more promising this year, especially with Owen Power coming up the the squad late season. Despite getting rid of Ristolainen and McCabe, the defensive department looks pretty good in my book. Maybe an older veteran player could be brought in through free agency this summer to mentor Dahlin and Power?
Offense looked promising as well. There were a handful of games where we all questioned the teams offense, but for the most part I’d say we have a handful of people who consistently put up points night in and out for the Sabres. The emergence of Tage Thompson, the addition of Alex Tuch and Peyton Krebs from Vegas, and Jack Quinn looking like he will make his way to the pros next year, this offense could be something very lethal.
Better days are ahead never-the-less Sabres fans. October will be here before we know it, and hopefully some playoff games as well.
