By Ryan Dadoun / Rotoworld
Welcome to What Went Wrong, our annual series where we look at the teams that failed to make the playoffs. Over the coming weeks, we’ll go through them team-by-team, discuss how their season went and then highlight the players that either significantly underperformed in 2017-18 or that they’ll need more from going forward.
EDITOR’S NOTE — We’re just going to reprint his article on the Buffalo Sabres.
BUFFALO SABRES
When the Buffalo Sabres drafted Jack Eichel in 2015, the hope was that it would be a turning point for the franchise. Eichel is developing into the player they were hoping for, but little else has gone as hoped and the Sabres found themselves with the worst record in 2017-18.
The Sabres did enter the season with some hope, but their performance killed that rather quickly. They got off to a 0-4-1 start and had plummeted to 6-17-4 by Dec. 2. They didn’t even get on a three-game winning streak until Jan. 22-25…and that proved to be their only three-game winning streak of the campaign.
One of the Sabres’ big issues was a lack of secondary scoring. When healthy, Eichel was great with 25 goals and 64 points in 67 games. However, only three of their players reached the 50-point milestone (Eichel, Ryan O’Reilly, and Sam Reinhart) and four got to at least 20 goals (Eichel, O’Reilly, Reinhart, and Evander Kane). By contrast, Tampa Bay had six players record at least 50 points and six record at least 20 goals.
Buffalo was the only team with less than 200 goals for in 2017-18 as a result. However, they were also the third-worst team in terms of goals allowed. Robin Lehner, who had been strong in his first two campaigns with Buffalo, struggled with a 3.01 GAA and .908 save percentage in 53 games. Chad Johnson was far worse though as he posted a 3.55 GAA and .891 save percentage in 36 contests.
With the season lost, the Sabres dealt Evander Kane to San Jose on Feb. 26th. It’s the type of trade that made sense, but even there the Sabres’ performance was suspect. Buffalo only gets a first-round pick out of that Kane trade if San Jose decides to re-sign him. If the Sharks decline to do so, then Buffalo will get a second rounder instead and the possible lack of a first-rounder as a return for someone of Kane’s caliber seems like a missed opportunity.
Fortune has smiled on the Sabres recently though. They won the draft lottery and the prospect of going forward with Eichel and Rasmus Dahlin, who has the potential to be an elite offensive defenseman in the NHL, is very encouraging.
Jason Pominville – His return to the Buffalo Sabres certainly didn’t go as well as hoped. He was coming off two rough campaigns with the Minnesota Wild, but Buffalo still had to be hoping he’d at least be a solid secondary scorer for them this season. Instead he finished with 16 goals and 34 points in 82 games, which is his lowest point-per-game total ever, not counting 2003-04 when he appeared in just one contest. His got one season left on his contract and the Sabres have to hope that he bounces back at least a little in 2018-19.
Zach Bogosian – The Buffalo Sabres rely on Zach Bogosian to provide them with big minutes, but that wasn’t possible this season. He sustained a hip injury during the preseason and only played in 18 games before finally being shut down on Jan. 26th so that he could undergo season-ending surgery. Getting him back next season would be a big boost to their defensive core, which was certainly lacking without him.
Sam Reinhart – He scored 23 goals and 42 points in 79 games as a rookie, which was a solid start to his career, but he hasn’t built on it much. He had 47 points in 2016-17 and 50 points last season. Those are decent numbers, but he was the second overall pick in 2014 and he should be able to find another level. The Sabres need to provide Jack Eichel with more support and Reinhart should be part of the long-term solution.
Robin Lehner – As mentioned above, Robin Lehner slid dramatically in 2017-18, posting a 3.01 GAA and .908 save percentage in 53 games after finishing 2016-17 with a 2.68 GAA and .920 save percentage. He had a difficult task this season given the team in front of him, but the Sabres still need him to be able to steal games for them. If he comes out stronger next season then that will go a long way towards addressing Buffalo’s issues.