Preseason Preview: Buffalo Sabres

Well, its August and that means there's not a whole much of anything going on. That said, I'm gonna try and nail out 30 team evaluations before the preseason is underway.

Now, the Buffalo Sabres (sorry folks, wasn't going to user the Buffa-slug for the icon.)

Team M.O.: A team with an American flavor, these guys are known for playing some technical offensive hockey with meat-and-potatoes defense and some solid goaltending. The team has a philosophy of toughness without resorting to goon hockey and boast one of the smartest coaches in the league in Lindy Ruff.

Last Season: The team finished third in their division and out of the playoff race. The team missed the playoffs for two consecutive seasons after making the Conference Finals for two consecutive seasons. They had the skill to be a playoff team last season, but they accumulated a few too many injuries to stay competitive. A healthy season should see them back in the thick of things.

Offense: The team's got a group of Top Six forwards that, as a whole, are young enough to have their careers ahead of them but old enough to know how to act as professionals. Thomas Vanek is the big money guy who's starting to shape up to be worth every penny while Derek Roy could use his skill to get first line production despite all the naysayers who think he's too small for the job. If Tom Connelly can stay healthy for the season, he could serve and an excellent complement along with the emerging Jason Pominville and Drew Stafford. Johan Hecht will be looking to bounce back from an almost unforgettable campaign.
Looking at the bottom-six forwards, it looks like the team will be bringing back Mike Grier and Matt Ellis to focus on solid checking skills while homeboy Patrick Kaleta and and Adam Mair will fight and agitate the bejesus out of their opponents. It's too bad that Andrew Peters isn't looking to be back with the squad and while they could rely on their two agitating forwards to do the job, the pure muscle of an enforcer sure wouldn't hurt.

Defense: Buffalo's offense is pretty simple and features guys who'll be more apt to defend than to shoot. Their group is led by Craig Rivet, who defends both the blue line and the team with a pissed fist, while defensive mainstays Toni Lydman and Henrik Tallinder will continue to provide their services in the top pairings per usual. Steve Montador came over this season and will provide the team with a versatile fifth or sixth defender while Chris Butler looks like he's gotten "the call" from playing in the minors. That said, the team could probably stand to sign one more offensive-minded defender, and with guys like Mathieu Schneider and Marc-Andre Bergeron available, it wouldn't hurt to go after them through free agency.

Goaltending: Ryan Miller is the team's starter who's getting better with age. When he first took over the job, he was the guy who was more apt to keep his team in the game as opposed to leading them to victory. However, his shutout numbers have improved over the past several seasons while he posted a 34-18-6 record on a non-playoff team; showing that he's making that transition from a Number 1A goaltender to becoming a solid starter.
Patrick Lalime, however, is too inconsistent even for a backup and isn't panning out as well as the team would like for him to. Considering that Jhonas Enroth should still remain in the minors for the next season, it wouldn't hurt the team to go after one of the Manny's, be it Fernandez or Legace, to compete with Lalime for that backup spot.

Expectations: The team could stand to make a few improvements here and there, but they're by-and-large a respectable club who are truly competitive. If they can stay healthy, they'll at least make the playoffs. If they succumb to injuries, however, I expect them to be playing golf come April.