The Sabres like to be an enigma of sorts. If you could separate the moves they made with the fact they’re trying to break the longest playoff drought in the four major sports, it would make things a lot easier. They hired back Lindy Ruff who coached the team between 1997 and 2013 and was the last guy to lead them to the postseason in 2011. They bought out scorer Jeff Skinner and essentially replaced him with Jason Zucker. They traded 2023 ninth overall pick Matthew Savoie to Edmonton for speedy defensive forward Ryan McLeod and added heavy-hitting Beck Malenstyn and defensive forwards Sam Lafferty and Nicolas Aube-Kubel as well.
In a vacuum, these moves make sense for a team looking to be harder to play against and fit the style of hockey Ruff wants to play. But it’s not a vacuum, it’s another shift in direction for a team that’s done that a lot since their last time in the postseason. They should do better than last season, but the question is how much better it will be.
### Verdict: Buying but keeping the receipt
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## Detroit Red Wings
### Verdict: Selling
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## Montrรฉal Canadiens
### Verdict: Buying on layaway
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## Ottawa Senators
### Verdict: Selling
Straight_Landscape37
This is one of the few articles Iโve seen that have been cautious about rating the Senators this upcoming season. Everyone seems to think Ullmark is the one to push them to the next level, but he also doesnโt have the luxury of playing in front of the Bruins D-core anymore. Should be interesting!
bustthelease
I like the roster construction. I think we can all agree that they are missing 1 top 6 winger. The team is now 4 lines deep, has a talented D core, is deep in goaltending, and has a top prospect pool.
3 Comments
# Atlantic Division
## Buffalo Sabres
The Sabres like to be an enigma of sorts. If you could separate the moves they made with the fact they’re trying to break the longest playoff drought in the four major sports, it would make things a lot easier. They hired back Lindy Ruff who coached the team between 1997 and 2013 and was the last guy to lead them to the postseason in 2011. They bought out scorer Jeff Skinner and essentially replaced him with Jason Zucker. They traded 2023 ninth overall pick Matthew Savoie to Edmonton for speedy defensive forward Ryan McLeod and added heavy-hitting Beck Malenstyn and defensive forwards Sam Lafferty and Nicolas Aube-Kubel as well.
In a vacuum, these moves make sense for a team looking to be harder to play against and fit the style of hockey Ruff wants to play. But it’s not a vacuum, it’s another shift in direction for a team that’s done that a lot since their last time in the postseason. They should do better than last season, but the question is how much better it will be.
### Verdict: Buying but keeping the receipt
—
## Detroit Red Wings
### Verdict: Selling
—
## Montrรฉal Canadiens
### Verdict: Buying on layaway
—
## Ottawa Senators
### Verdict: Selling
This is one of the few articles Iโve seen that have been cautious about rating the Senators this upcoming season. Everyone seems to think Ullmark is the one to push them to the next level, but he also doesnโt have the luxury of playing in front of the Bruins D-core anymore. Should be interesting!
I like the roster construction. I think we can all agree that they are missing 1 top 6 winger. The team is now 4 lines deep, has a talented D core, is deep in goaltending, and has a top prospect pool.