Author: Chris Ostrander

Depth Charges – How Buffalo’s Struggles in the Draft Have Led Them to the Basement

Chris Ostrander2 Comments

Despite nearly a dozen offseason acquisitions, the Buffalo Sabres continue to tread water at the bottom of the league, leaving many fans to wonder if there will ever be a way out of the NHL’s basement.

Their protracted struggles have been attributed to just about anything and everything the organization has done over the past half-decade. But the one talking point that’s rarely acknowledged, if at all, has been how Buffalo’s struggles at the draft have led to a lack of contributors throughout the lineup.

When Tim Murray said he wasn’t interested in a five-year rebuild, he meant it. He took steps to speed up the building process, dealing for established NHL players as opposed to waiting on the assets he and Darcy Regier had worked to accumulate. In a way, it was wise. It’s likely that many of the key assets the Sabres dealt would only be making their NHL debut this season, leaving the club with holes to fill over the past two-plus years. Had the Sabres opted to backfill the roster with veteran stop gaps as they waited for those prospects to mature, it stands to reason they’d be in about the same spot they are now with just as much fan discontent about their progress.

The results can’t be ignored though. While Ryan O’Reilly and Evander Kane have been good they haven’t been nearly good enough to put the Sabres over the top. Murray’s gamble on injecting the roster with NHL talent to hasten the rebuild simply didn’t pay off, leaving a disjointed collection of talent without a proper supporting cast.

For the most part, the lackluster results of 2017-18 sit firmly in Murray’s lap. However, he alone doesn’t own all of the Sabres’ problems. His high-profile moves amplified Buffalo’s lack of blue chip prospects, but the pipeline was thinning well before Murray’s tenure began. Continue reading →

Two in the Mailbox – Reinhart, Cliff Pu’s Ceiling and Goalie Stuff

Chris OstranderLeave a comment

I’m a big fan of Drew Magary’s weekly Funbag over at Deadspin. While I’m hardly the writer Drew is, I wanted to try to emulate his weekly feature here at Two in the Box. So on a weekly basis the Two in the Mailbox mailbag will hit on Sabres topics and anything else you might want to discuss. All questions are welcome. Goalie stuff, hockey equipment, Buffalo development, quantum physics (don’t ask quantum physics questions), I’ll take questions on anything and everything. The more the merrier.

You can submit questions via Twitter using #2ITBmailbag or by emailing me at 2intheboxbuffalo@gmail.com. Continue reading →

The Sabres and Bisons Could be Sitting on an Awesome Opportunity

Chris Ostrander1 Comment

The Blues and the Cardinals haven’t been shy about collaborating on a host of different projects over the last few years. Their partnership has been particularly strong since the departure of the Rams and one of the coolest things they’ve collaborated on are crossover jerseys.

Lately both teams have adorned their neighbor’s logo for a day each year and the Cards will be offering up a promotional version for 2018, with a cool away uniform design. It’s a cool giveaway which would probably even garner attention as a retail item.

So far, Pegula Sports hasn’t explored too many crossover retail or promotional items since taking over the Bills, Sabres and Bandits. Aside from the various One Buffalo logo shirts, there hasn’t been too much done to explore crossover items like the Blues and Cardinals have created. At least nothing that’s been worth buying. Continue reading →

The Instigator Podcast 6.22 – Ankles Out for Eichel and a Suitor Emerges for Lehner

Chris OstranderLeave a comment

On this week’s episode we cover the fallout of the Jack Eichel and CJ Smith injuries, touch on Alex Nylander’s stalling development and offer up a brief Olympic prediction. We also focus on the rumored links between the Sabres and Flyers and exactly how a deal between the two might come to fruition.

Thomas Vanek Trade Tree – A Strong Start Fizzles for the Sabres

Chris OstranderLeave a comment

Perhaps the biggest obstacle the Sabres have faced as they slog through their rebuild has been the inability to turn the mountain of assets they originally acquired into tangible NHL talent. Some of that has been inflicted on the trade market – packaging assets for NHL talent – while some has come at the draft table.

The picks and players that can be traced back to the original trade that sent Thomas Vanek to the New York Islanders have offered the Sabres very little in the end. This was one of the first trade trees I had ever explored, intrigued by the stacked deck Tim Murray and Darcy Regier had combined to create. At one point the Sabres had turned Vanek and a pair of second round draft picks into Matt Moulson, Torrey Mitchell, Josh Gorges and four draft picks (a second and third in 2014 and a first and second in 2015).

Now that the trade tree has aged (poorly) the Sabres are looking at a fairly lackluster return for what they’ve sent away. Torrey Mitchell was a terrific fourth line asset but not exactly a long-term option for the Sabres. He only yielded a seventh round pick and although Vasily Glotov is an extremely fun prospect to have in the pipeline, the chances that the Sabres see much of anything come of that trade are minimal. The same can be said of nearly every other portion of the tree. Moulson and Gorges hit the wall hard and Robin Lehner’s days in Buffalo seem to be numbered. The only player in this entire trade tree who has the opportunity to offer the Sabres any long-term return is Brendan Guhle.

The Vanek trade tree went south in a hurry, with the prospects attached to the numerous picks failing to develop in a meaningful way while the Sabres opted to flip the premium pick they received for a goaltender whose future in Buffalo appears to be questionable.

*One quick note on the format of the trade tree. I’ve added logos next to the players selected with the respective picks used in the deals displayed. This was meant to add some clarity to the layout as not every pick was used by the team which acquired it. For example, the Canadiens sent the pick they acquired for Gorges to the Chicago Blackhawks, who picked Chad Krys with the selection. This came in handy on some of the larger trees which I’ve worked on as it illustrates the end point for some of the draft picks which, at times, traded hands multiple times.

The Instigator Podcast 6.21 – Potential Trade Targets Cropping Up for the Sabres

Chris OstranderLeave a comment

After the New York Rangers notified their fans that they’d be selling off big pieces of their roster and a few notable names hit the waiver wire, Chris and Tyler run down some of the names that will be hitting the market in coming days and weeks. We take a close look at a few players who have been mentioned in rumors who would fit well in Buffalo while also taking a closer look at what continues to ail the Sabres on the blueline.

The Instigator Podcast 6.20 – Back from the All Star Break

Chris OstranderLeave a comment

The All Star break is over and the Sabres have reverted to their most maddening form. On this week’s podcast we talk about Jack Eichel’s impressive weekend in Tampa and toss some ideas around about how the league can beef up the Skills Competition. We touch on Chad Johnson’s continuing struggles in the Sabres crease while also lamenting the continued scourge that is the offside and goaltender interference review system.

 

The Instigator Podcast 6.19 – Reviewing our Season Preview at the All Star Break

Chris OstranderLeave a comment

Although the Sabres have enjoyed a nice stretch of play, we decided to revisit our season preview podcast and see how well we did prognosticating the NHL. As it turns out we chose…poorly. As we review our picks, and how the current standing have shaken out, we dig in on a few of the teams around the league. We take a closer look at Vegas, Chicago, Carolina and Edmonton and what’s led them to their spot in the standings.

Ranking the Greatest Masks in Sabres History

Chris Ostrander1 Comment

For a club with nearly 50 years of history, the Sabres sometimes lack a laundry list of alumni at certain positions. Goaltender is a unique one as the club has enjoyed long stretches of success at the position.  It’s a trait many teams do not share.

That does create some issues when it comes to the entire alumni pool and more trivial things such as ranking goalie helmet designs. With the Sabres at the center of their fair share of negative articles, it seems like a good a time as any to share my favorite Sabres goal mask designs as a way to distract, even for a short while, from a season that’s as dreary as anyone can remember.

I’ve put together what I feel are the ten best masks in Sabres history with a few honorable mentions filtered in when appropriate. Each ranking was based on a single mask a goalie wore as a Sabre (except when multiple masks were considered) and the overall paint job was considered. Bonus points for minute details common on modern masks didn’t factor in since that created the potential for excluding older masks.

Like any good listicle, I’ll go in order from ten to one, so if you’re impatient just scroll to the bottom. Disagreements and debate are welcome, be sure to share them in the comments section or via Twitter. Continue reading →

The Instigator Podcast 6.18 – New Year, Same Sabres

Chris OstranderLeave a comment

We had a brief holiday layoff and it appears the Sabres did as well. Chris and Tyler are back to discuss the dust-up between Justin Falk and Evander Kane at practice today. We also touch on Jack Eichel’s All Star nomination, Zach Bogosian’s injury and the recall of Brendan Guhle and Linus Ullmark.