There is no remedy for being terrible in the world of professional sports. We would like to hope that the local pharmacy/free agent wire can provide a quick-fix elixir for what ails teams, but realistically there are lumps to be taken and hard lessons learned.
Unfortunately if that realization is made early in the season, a fan base, and often times upper management must exercise patience to let things work themselves out. By “things” I mean chemistry, maturity and certain intangibles that only happen from a group of men learning to compete alongside one another.
This is the case with the Buffalo Sabres this season. Not a single person outside of the Buffalo city limits could have honestly predicted that the Sabres would finish any higher than seventh in the Atlantic Division. True to form, Buffalo has set up shop in the basement of the eight-team group.
The Buffalo brass has pulled the trigger on a combination coach-general manager firing. Former Sabres’ coach Ted Nolan hops back behind the bench while the general manger position remains vacant. Since there is an opening at that position, let’s hop right in to that role and make the Sabres a good hockey team again.
The Buffalo Sabres currently sit in last place in the entire Eastern Conference at 5-16-1. They are slightly worse at home (2-8-1) than the road (3-8-0) but the most glaring statistic is the goal differential of -27. The Sabres have scored the third fewest goals in the league (41) and have allowed the fourth most (68).
As I mentioned in the opening, there is no Robitussin to fix offense or defense. Scoring in particular is harder to come by in the NHL, so let’s focus on the defense.
In goal, Ryan Miller is the lame-duck goaltender in the final year of an enormous contract. Jhonas Enroth has shown flashes of “above-averageness” but his new coach seems less than impressed with him.
The smart move is to move Miller because he still has value to a contender looking for some goaltending insurance. Maybe Enroth will struggle, but with the losses piling up, does it matter that much? Additionally, with the Sabres deep in goaltending prospects, someone like Matt Hackett could get a chance to step up if Enroth fails.
On the blue line Buffalo needs to take a long, hard look at Tyler Myers. Once a can’t miss potential Norris Trophy candidate, Myers has leveled off at mediocre. There is some value in dealing Myers, who at 23 has seen his stats decline since his rookie year four years ago. He has size, a relatively cap-friendly deal ($5.5 million over the next six years) and at his age, can still have the word potential hang on him during trade discussions.
The Sabres are rich in defensive prospects including two draft picks from the most recent draft, Nikita Zadorov and Rasmus Ristolainen.
A possible buyout for Christian Ehrhoff next summer if there is no trade interest could get Buffalo more cap space to use on upcoming free agent wingers.
At center, the Sabres look to be stacked for the future. In the 2012 draft they selected Mikhail Grigorenko and Zemgus Girgensons within two spots of one another (12th and 14th).
The two 19-year olds play a different style, but add depth, size and skill to a unit that already has Cody Hodgson, Cody McCormick and Steve Ott.
On the wing is where the Sabres need the most help. Matt Moulson, Drew Stafford and Tyler Ennis are the only top six level forwards among the bunch. Marcus Foligno looks like he could be ready to join the ranks of reliable forwards, but there are four lines to fill folks. If John Scott isn’t a healthy scratch, then it might be time to look at the talent pool.
In summary here is the plan. Move Miller, Erhoff, Myers. Don’t ask for a ton in return, in fact, draft picks could be a viable consideration. The Sabres seem to have a keen eye for drafting quality players, so the return could be better than a mid-level plug that is someone else’s leftovers. Between the three players I suggested moving, that is $15.7 million in salary that the Sabres can add to the $9.7 million in space they have today.
The free agent market isn’t exactly booming for next summer, in fact the top projected free agent wing is Thomas Vanek. An aggressive move would be to look at potential restricted free agents up front or in goal. The Sabres have a couple free agents of their own in Moulson (UFA), Ott (UFA) and Ennis (RFA) to sign, but will certainly have the finances to be aggressive on the open market.
My plan doesn’t come with a Stanley Cup guarantee, but with a little patience to let the young stars grow together, they will slowly and steadily rise to the top of the Eastern Conference.