4 Big Questions for the Buffalo Sabres in 2020-21
There are 4 big questions the Buffalo Sabres will have to try and answer in 2020-21.
We are rolling with our 2020-21 NHL Season Previews and you can check in with the teams we have already covered below, but today is the turn of the Buffalo Sabres who are an intriguing proposition heading into the new season.
After missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the ninth straight season, the Sabres cleaned house somewhat by firing General Manager Jason Botterill and hiring Kevyn Adams as his replacement.
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And Adams wasted little time in trying to become the man to truly save the Buffalo Sabres, going all out in the offseason to bolster this roster and attempt to try and appease Captain and franchise icon Jack Eichel.
From signing elite winger Taylor Hall to a one-year, $8 million deal to acquiring the true second-line center this team has long craved in veteran Eric Staal from the Minnesota Wild, Adams has made his intentions clear.
As a result, the Buffalo Sabres should be a lot more competitive in 2020-21 but, just as is this franchise’s luck, they will also be stuck in an incredibly stacked and talent-laden East Division.
However, the Sabres need to start winning and now in order to keep Eichel happy, and they certainly made positive strides in the right direction during the offseason.
Will it be enough though? We will look at that and the three other big questions facing the Buffalo Sabres in 2020-21 right now…
4. Could Dylan Cozens crack the roster?
It was a breakout tournament in many ways for Dylan Cozens who absolutely tore it up at the 2021 IIHF World Championship in Edmonton for Team Canada, giving Buffalo Sabres fans a tantalizing taste of what is to come.
While Canada ultimately fell short after losing in the Gold Medal game to Team USA, Cozens was the standout star for his country and led Team Canada in points with 16 (8 G, 8 A).
He led the entire tournament in goals with eight and was second in points, giving Team Canada a real scoring punch on their top line.
So, now the World Juniors is done and dusted and in the record books, what now for Dylan Cozens?
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Well, according to Buffalo Sabres Head Coach Ralph Krueger, Cozens, along with No. 8 overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft Jack Quinn, will report to Training Camp in the coming days as long as they can clear COVID-19 protocol.
And don’t be surprised if Cozens cracks the Opening Night roster for the Sabres.
While General Manager Kevyn Adams did add some depth down the middle behind Jack Eichel and Eric Staal by signing Cody Eakin to a two-year, $4,500,000 contract, there is potential for Cozens to win a roster spot either as the Sabres’ third-line center or on the wing.
Having Cozens as the pivot on the third-line would bump Eakin down to the bottom-line and give Buffalo incredible strength down the middle, or you could start the 2020-21 season with Cozens on the wing in a bottom-six role and see how that experiment goes.
But, boasting speed, size, a lethal shot, a high hockey IQ and able to play a dominant two-way game, having Dylan Cozens as their third-line pivot could really give the Buffalo Sabres a secret weapon and it could help to really drive secondary scoring which is needed on a team that ranked 21st in Goals For Per Game (2.80) in 2019-20.
3. Can Hutton & Ullmark get it done?
There is no doubt that the biggest area of concern on this Buffalo Sabres roster is goaltending, and it will continue to draw worrying glances throughout the 2020-21 season.
Sabres GM Kevyn Adams has already made it clear that he will ride with a tandem of Linus Ullmark and Carter Hutton, but that could change quickly if things get off to a slow start this season and goaltending is to blame for that.
Ullmark and Hutton are a combined 62-67-17 with a 2.99 Goals Against Average and a .907 Save Percentage over the past two seasons, and both have been part of the problem for the Sabres.
For instance, Hutton has enjoyed a couple of hot stretches with the Sabres but has never been able to maintain it, which has led to his team collapsing at crucial points in the season too.
He went 12-14-4 in 2019-20 with a poor .898 Save Percentage and a 3.18 Goals Against Average, while Ullmark was better with a 17-14-3 record to go along with a 2.69 GAA and a .915 SV%.
However, for a franchise that needs to start winning now in order to keep their Captain and cornerstone piece in Jack Eichel happy, they will need more than solid goaltending in order to get the job done in 2020-21.
Teams are permitted to carry three goaltenders on the roster at all times this season so Jonas Johansson, Buffalo’s 61st overall pick in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, is waiting in the wings but this team probably needs a major upgrade in goal.
If Ullmark doesn’t develop into the bona fide No. 1 starter that Adams feels he can morph into, then expect the Sabres to be active at the Trade Deadline and maybe someone in the ilk of future Hall of Famer Marc-Andre Fleury could be an intriguing option given that he has been actively shopped by the Vegas Golden Knights.
He would automatically be a serious upgrade between the pipes for Buffalo and would give them a real shot at making the postseason and then being competitive in the Playoffs, while the Sabres are projected to have over $11 million in cap space at the Trade Deadline, per CapFriendly, so they would be able to take on Fleury’s $7 million cap hit without having to do anything to make room for that salary.
Goaltending is certainly a huge question for the Buffalo Sabres heading into 2020-21 though, and a bad start for either Linus Ullmark or Carter Hutton could mean a big change in goal come the Trade Deadline.
2. Is this the year for Rasmus Dahlin?
The Buffalo Sabres will be hoping that 2020-21 is the season that Rasmus Dahlin truly breaks out and dominates the NHL.
Dahlin is already a key cog in this Sabres team but he will need to elevate his game and deliver more if he is to help end the longest active Playoff drought in the National Hockey League.
Dahlin has been impressive for Buffalo since being drafted with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, putting up at least 40 points in each of his first two seasons in the league.
He’s shown flashes of his elite ability and his high ceiling, while he has also looked every inch the franchise defenseman the Sabres thought he could be when they spent their first overall selection on him back in 2018.
However, still only 20-years-old and having cut his teeth in North America for a couple of years now, there is a tangible feeling that the best is yet to come from Dahlin.
And that is only good news for this organization and its long-suffering fans.
Because, Dahlin is a once-in-a-generation level defenseman, and he was considered one of the best defensive prospects to enter the National Hockey League in decades, and for good reason.
Boasting a high hockey IQ, elite awareness, elite skill, superb stick-handling skills, high-end passing ability, an accurate shot and able to play a real two-way game, Dahlin is the real deal and the stage is set for him to put all of that together in 2020-21.
Limited to an ATOI of 19:18 by Head Coach Ralph Krueger in 2019-20, a year in which he recorded 40 points (4 G, 36 A) in 59 games, Dahlin will likely be let off the leash this season and take on a much-bigger role for the Sabres.
He’s tried and tested in the NHL now and knows exactly what to expect from the best league in the world, and his achievements have actually flown under the radar so far given that his 84 points in 141 games before the age of 20 ranks second to only franchise legend Phil Housley, who had 143 points by the time he was 20 in an era known for its higher-scoring.
So, with the production already there coupled with the fact that he is now battle-tested in this league, expect Rasmus Dahlin to be a more polished defenseman in 2020-21 and really take that next giant step towards becoming an elite NHL blueliner.
And, if that happens, the Buffalo Sabres will have a greater chance of finally ending their lengthy postseason drought this season.
1. Can Taylor Hall help Jack Eichel to win in 2020-21?
This is without a doubt the biggest and most important question facing the Buffalo Sabres in the 2020-21 NHL season.
New General Manager Kevyn Adams made a splash early on in his tenure after shocking the world by signing elite winger and one of the biggest prizes available in Free Agency in Taylor Hall to a one-year, $8 million deal.
Given the current financial uncertainty in the NHL due to the devastation caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic, Hall wasn’t going to get a long-term, big-ticket deal so opted to take a chance on himself with a one-year deal while the Sabres added a significant weapon to their roster.
And it could pay dividends for both parties.
GOOD MORNING JACK ‼️ pic.twitter.com/m4sQ7IzU3r
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) January 6, 2021
For starters, Hall needs to repair his reputation somewhat after bouncing around the league over the last couple of seasons, struggling with the Arizona Coyotes after being dealt there by the New Jersey Devils at the 2020 NHL Trade Deadline.
Granted, the 29-year-old did record 27 points (10 G, 17 A) in 35 games for the Yotes, but he didn’t look that comfortable and was a big disappointment in the 2019-20 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
So there will be pressure on Hall to get back to the player he was with the Devils in 2017-18 when he won the Hart Trophy, but he will have the luxury of playing on the same line as elite center Jack Eichel.
And that’s the rub here.
Not only will Hall have the chance to dramatically boost his stock again, but he should provide Eichel with a legitimate running mate and an elite weapon on his wing that he’s never really had during his time in Buffalo.
If the two can forge perfect chemistry and wreak havoc on the NHL, along with Victor Olofsson, who carved out a superb rookie year with 42 points (20 G, 22 A) in 54 games in 2019-20, then that could be the key ingredient to the Sabres getting back in the postseason after a long nine-year absence.
Plus, if Hall and Eichel can really flourish together and put up huge numbers, then that should persuade the former to sign a long-term deal with Buffalo which in turn would no doubt keep Eichel happy and further persuade him that the franchise is now doing everything they can to surround him with the pieces he needs to win.
That would be huge for this team, especially if Hall and Eichel can lead them to the Playoffs, and if the goaltending can hold up, defensemen Rasmus Dahlin breaks out and Rasmus Ristolainen can have a bounce-back year and veteran center Eric Staal can bring out a resurgence in Jeff Skinner, then everything is there for the Sabres to finally end years of pain.
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But the biggest question for the Buffalo Sabres in 2020-21 will again be if they can win and keep Jack Eichel happy, and an explosive partnership with Taylor Hall would certainly go a long way to achieving both aims.