[ESPN] Classement Future Power de la LNH : prédire les meilleures et les pires équipes pour les trois prochaines saisons
—
seeldoger47
@Sabres de Buffalo
[ESPN] Classement Future Power de la LNH : prédire les meilleures et les pires équipes pour les trois prochaines saisons
—
seeldoger47
1 Comment
>3rd: Buffalo Sabres
>Why they’re here: It’s been a while since Buffalo had a winner, but the Sabres finished atop the salary cap and contracts ranking. GM Kevyn Adams locked up players like Tage Thompson and Dylan Cozens on long-term deals and has a lot of cap flexibility after this season. It would be interesting to revisit this ranking after he hands out new deals to pending RFAs Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power. The Sabres have been rebuilding for a bit, leading to them having the third-ranked prospect pool. The current roster (18th) and the hockey operations ranking (14th) seem about right. — Wyshynski
>Points of concern: Fewer organizations appear to be in a better position for the future than the Sabres. Members of their young core such as Dylan Cozens, Mattias Samuelsson and Tage Thompson, who’s Paul Bunyan on skates, have signed long-term deals. They have what is considered to be one of the NHL’s best farm systems and have since seen the sort of early returns that reinforce why there is a sense of optimism. They went from constantly hearing the chatter around the Jeff Skinner contract to not hearing much at all with Skinner scoring 30 goals in consecutive seasons. If there is a concern, it’s that the Sabres do have quite a few pending RFAs in need of new deals, which is headlined by Owen Power and Rasmus Dahlin at a time in which young defensemen are getting paid. — Clark
>Reason for hope: Do we have to pick just one? If the Sabres can stay healthy there is no reason they won’t snap that historic 12-year playoff drought this season. Buffalo’s been patiently cresting toward this moment by drafting well, developing its own talent and (finally) sticking to a singular vision that’s (ideally) put it on track to long-term, sustained winning. Just look at the talent on Buffalo’s roster: Thompson. Dahlin. Power. Cozens. Skinner. Tuch. Samuelsson. Each skater’s ability to drive the Sabres forward is reason enough to get excited about where Buffalo’s heading this year. — Shilton