Buffalo Sabres: Top 3 ways to fix the team in 2020

Move On From Jason Botterill

The Buffalo Sabres were optimistic former Pittsburgh Penguins assistant GM Jason Botterill could help take the Sabres out of the darkness when they hired him back in 2017. However, he hasn’t done much to inspire confidence since being hired.

It seems the Ryan O’Reilly looks worse everyday, as the St. Louis Blues won the Stanley Cup and O’Reilly won the Conn Smythe the season after the Sabres traded him to the Blues. Since the trade, O’Reilly has 138 points in 153 games. Meanwhile, the three players the Sabres got for him (Vladimir Sobotka, Tage Thompson, and Patrik Berglund) have combined for 32 points in 174 games.

Botterill’s list of good moves is not long. The Henri Jokiharju for Alex Nylander trade was good. Trading a first-round pick for Brandon Montour didn’t go as well as planned, but it was still a decent move. The Jeff Skinner trade was brilliant and even though the extension hasn’t paid off yet, the Sabres had to re-sign him, so it makes sense.

However, Botterill also went into this season with way too many defensemen despite having opportunities to trade one. This led to the Sabres getting a terrible return for Marco Scandella, who wound up netting the Montreal Canadiens a second-round pick at the trade deadline. He also went into the 2017-18 season content with having Casey Mittelstadt as his second-line center, which didn’t work out.

Botterill has been given time to improve the Sabres, and he has failed to do so. It’s time for Buffalo to part ways with him and get someone else in charge.