The Sabres are going to have a lot of questions to answer once this season rolls around, but before we even get there, they’ve still got some major questions remaining about the current lineup to answer this offseason — particularly about who will be playing left wing on the second line.
A couple of weeks ago, The Athletic’s John Vogl took a look at the organizational depth chart and what stood out about it was how up-in-the-air the left side appeared to be. The addition of Conor Sheary from the Penguins provided some clarity, at least when it comes to who the heck will be able to skate with Jack Eichel on the top line, but after that it’s 20,000 leagues under the sea kind of murky as to who will play alongside Casey Mittelstadt.
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The original plan for this piece was to examine the trade options for the Sabres given they’ve got a surplus of left-handed defensemen to offer up. That’s still an option for Jason Botterill and company if they see a fit, but it’s clear the GM is not about going the Tim Murray route of trying to step on the gas with this version of the rebuild.
If a player like Minnesota Wild winger Jason Zucker, New York Islanders Brock Nelson (each unsigned restricted free agents) or Montreal Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty is appealing, you’d better be OK with giving up someone or some draft pick(s) that are uncomfortable.
As for what the Sabres have to work with now, if you want to put a positive spin on things, there’s a lot of malleability with how to tinker with the lineup.
Newcomers Patrik Berglund and Vladimir Sobotka, who arrived in the Ryan O’Reilly trade, can play the wing or center. The same can be said of Evan Rodrigues, Zemgus Girgensons, and Johan Larsson.
Rodrigues showed some scoring touch last season with 25 points in 48 games and was an even player, possession-wise, at even strength. Ryan took a look at how well Berglund and Sobotka performed in St. Louis. Berglund has consistency, which is nice, but Sobotka looks to be more useful down in the lineup.
We’ve seen enough of Girgensons and Larsson over the past couple of seasons to know that giving them second-line minutes would most likely be a sign that there are big problems elsewhere in the lineup. Scott Wilson saw plenty of time on the left side, generally with O’Reilly,
Perhaps now is the opportunity for the Sabres’ young players to ascend into a big role. This has been something asked of players like Justin Bailey and Nicholas Baptiste recently and now it’s time to move Alex Nylander, Victor Olofsson, and C.J. Smith into the discussion.
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Bailey and Baptiste have gotten their share of looks the past two seasons but both seem better suited on the right wing. I’ve talked about Nylander already this summer and if there’s a guy in this group meant to take the leap, it’s him. The points come in bunches but the effort level and consistency, not to mention his health, have to all improve for him to stay in the NHL full-time and live up to his first-round billing.
Smith broke out with Rochester last season with 17 goals and 44 points in 57 games. Although he dealt with injuries last season, he showed a lot of promise in his first pro season after a stellar career at UMass-Lowell and plenty of Sabres fans were shouting online about giving him a shot in the NHL last season. Since Botterill and assistant GMs Steve Greeley and Randy Sexton have stressed development, that didn’t happen, but training camp will provide him with an ample opportunity to make the case for this season.
Perhaps the most intriguing player is Olofsson, who is coming off a breakout season for Frolunda in the Swedish Hockey League. Olofsson had 43 points in 50 games including 27 goals and showed during development camp that his shot is one of his best weapons.
The Athletic’s Ryan Stimson, along with Emmanuel Perry of Corsica, projected what kind of NHL success Sabres prospects might have at the next level and among forwards Olofsson had the most promising results. It seems predestined that Olofsson will begin the season with Rochester since adjusting to the smaller ice in North America is an issue, but if he can be a 40-plus point player in the NHL he won’t be there long.
The bonus of having Olofsson in camp this fall is that he’ll push everyone to be better. It’s always stressed that the best competition comes from within and amongst peers, but bringing it from a guy who’s been in the organization but not in the mix introduces some useful chaos. It doesn’t hurt that Olofsson’s Frolunda teammate just so happens to be Rasmus Dahlin.
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Just as it’s been for the Sabres over the past couple seasons, the answers are out there, but they’re not easily figured out and only lead to more questions. The easy way out is to make a deal and fill the second line left wing spot; the harder way is to not cheat the rebuild and let the prospects decide if they’re a fit.
(Photo by John Crouch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)