The Sabres retool creates a new Big Bad Buffalo

The Sabres were in a precarious position after 20 games last season. They looked to be a playoff team but started the season 1-11. Massive changes came, seeing mainstays like Barzal, Reinhart and Kreider moving on. The Sabres did pull it together towards the end of the season, ending with a 39-37-6 record but 10 points out of a playoff spot.

Instead of instituting a full blown rebuild, the Sabres felt they had the pieces to complete now and in the future, if they can just input some key pieces in key spots. As of the start of the pre-season, the Sabres are ready to ice an interesting team, untested, but young, talented and most tellingly, gritty.

The key pieces added to the team include Sam Bennett and Jacob Trouba, adding checking to the first line and first pairing. It was something the Sabres last year and now they have in spades. The projected lineup looks like this:

Sam Bennett – Wyatt Johnston – Matt Barzal

Matt Boldy – Elias Lindholm – Gabriel Vilardi

Noah Cates – Pierre Luc Dubois – Cole Smith

Connor Dewar – David Kampf – Steve Lorentz

Miro Heiskanen – Jacob Trouba

Brady Skjei – JJ Moser

Luke Hughes – Nic Hague

Jake Oettinger – Kaapo Kahkonen

What stands out for the retooled Sabres is their defensive balance after trading for Trouba. Once their weakest point, the defense looks on paper to be a strength. The biggest question mark is the boy/man occupying the 1st line center spot: Wyatt Johnston. Johnston was good but not spectacular for the Sabres last season but he appears to be ready for the jump up in competition. Still just 21 years old, Johnston will have another talented player, the recently returned Matt Barzal flanking him. This is where Sam Bennett comes in, the Sabres insist that a gritty checking in your face winger needed to be with Wyatt and Matt, who aren’t know for their physicality. Bennett has also recently been named Captain of the Sabres and we anticipate he will lead by example on and off the ice.