Buffalo Sabres: Rasmus Dahlin leads revamped defense
Strengths
Young Talent
The Buffalo Sabres have three cornerstones they can build around. Eichel is one of the best centers in the NHL. Despite suffering numerous injuries, he’s still been pushing a point per game over the past two seasons. Eichel’s done this despite not having optimal linemates. The addition of Skinner should help him immensely.
It’s hard to project prospects, but there’s no reason to believe Dahlin won’t be a cornerstone. He’s a mobile defenseman who plays a great two-way game. Moreover, Dahlin can be dynamic on offense. The Sabres have long needed a true number one defenseman and now they have one.
Mittelstadt got a cup of coffee in the NHL last season, playing in six games and picking up five points. O’Reilly’s departure ensures he’ll be on the second forward line. You need to be strong down the middle to win a Stanley Cup and the Sabres are definitely heading in the right direction. There are also guys like Sam Reinhart, Justin Bailey, Evan Rodrigues, and Nicholas Baptiste.
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Top Six Strength
Believe it or not, the Sabres, on paper, are going to have a pretty strong top-six forward core. It starts with Eichel and Mittelstadt down the middle. Reinhart, Kyle Okposo, Skinner, and Sheary should fill out the rest. That’s four proven top six forwards, a rookie who impressed in a small sample size, and a wild card. Sobotka could give Sheary some competition as well.
The Sabres still need to improve their forward depth, but they’ve at least got a pretty good core of forwards to build around. Buffalo’s done the hardest part of rebuilding – finding the guys you can build around.
A Fresh Start In Net
Lehner and Johnson simply didn’t cut the mustard last season. Both are now gone. The Sabres have a new tandem with Hutton and Ullmark. If the former can replicate his success from last season, suddenly Buffalo has a brand new strength that could help them take the NHL by surprise.