We’re back for another season preview, laying out how we see the league shaping up for the 2017-18 season. We have a couple of playoff teams missing out and a couple of new playoff squads compared to last year in our final predictions.
Buffalo Sabres
The Basement Brigade Watch Party 2.0
We had such a good time hanging out at the end of last season, we decided we needed to do another Sabres Twitter Watch Party.
We’ll be heading back to Riverworks to take in the Sabres trip to Brooklyn to face the Islanders on October 7. This time we aren’t just going to drink some beer and watch hockey. We’re hoping to work in a community tie-in with these events, as they’re something we’d like to make a fairly regular thing. So those who will be attending will have the option to donate to the Alix Rice Peace Park Foundation when they arrive. Donations will not be required and can be of any denomination you feel comfortable with. Whatever we raise will go to support the foundation, which is what’s most important.
To help distract from our bad takes, we’ll have some pretty cool Sabres swag we’ll be giving away during the game through trivia or basic giveaways. We’ll probably make that part up as we go, to be honest.
We have a Facebook page set up for the event if you wish to tell us you plan on attending or not. Either way, we hope you can make it down for the game and that these watch parties can continue to grow into something bigger and better.
The Instigator Podcast 6.7 – Who Wins One of the Final Spots on the Sabres Roster?
There are only a few spots available on the Buffalo roster for the coming season but the Sabres have upwards of 15 players battling for five, maybe six positions. It’s a battle that includes a combination of free agent signings from the summer and prospects who appear ready for the jump. Chris and Tyler debate the outlook for the blueline and bottom six forwards and who we see as the most likely to make the opening night roster.
The Sabres Have Some Questions to Answer this Preseason
With the rookie tournament and start of training camp checked off the list, the only thing standing between the Sabres and opening night is the preseason. The team’s six game preseason slate kicked off yesterday with a visit from the Carolina Hurricanes, and there are a handful of questions that we should see answered between now and the opening faceoff on October 5. Continue reading
The Instigator Podcast 6.6 – Back to Hockey
Training camp opens this week and the Sabres prospects were back playing competitive hockey. In addition to discussing the Prospects Challenge, we touch on the coming changes to game presentation, the addition of giveaways and offer up some reaction to the Winter Classic logos that were released last week.
The Instigator Podcast 6.5 – Discussing the Bright Spots at Development Camp and Key Sabres Contracts
Sabres Development Camp wrapped up with the French Connection Tournament yesterday and in the wake of another mid-summer peek at Buffalo’s prospect pipeline, Chris and Tyler share their thoughts on who stood out from the crowd over the weekend. In addition, we offer up some thoughts on the contract status of Robin Lehner, Sam Reinhart and Jack Eichel. Although we don’t spend very much time on #15.
New Phone Wallpapers for the 2017-18 Season
With the 2017-18 Buffalo Sabres season rapidly approaching, I built out some new phone background for use as a lockscreen, wallpaper or both. I’ll add new players as the season goes on and if you have any requests, send them my way. Enjoy. Continue reading
Plenty of Players to Keep an Eye on at Sabres Development Camp
There will be a strong pro presence at this year’s Sabres Development Camp thanks to a host of older prospects who will Buffalo’s recent draft classes at the team’s annual summer camp.
Justin Bailey, Nick Baptiste, Hudson Fasching, Brendan Guhle, Sean Malone, Alex Nylander and CJ Smith all saw time with the big club last season and are part of a larger group of 13 players who enter development camp with a professional contract. 
While this group might not necessarily be as sexy as the 2015 camp headlined by Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart, the impressive stable of talent at this year’s development camp will likely draw the attention of the most prospect apathetic fans like @buffalowins. Thanks to the presence of the last two first round picks and a number of other intriguing prospects, this year’s development camp has the potential to provide some entertaining and insightful results.
Since there will be so many players with pro experience at camp, the skill level ought to be higher than previous years. However, with that skill level comes the expectation of dominance for more developed prospects. The likes of Bailey, Fasching and Guhle should stand out this weekend and the only real surprise would be if someone from the group of incumbent pros doesn’t look heads and shoulders better than some of the younger attendees.
I always have a handful of players I look forward to seeing at camp but I had trouble whittling down this year’s roster to just five or six intriguing names. So, because there were so many players I had hoped to see, and in the interest of being a bit different from the other Development Camp previews that are out there, I thought I’d provide a few groups of players who offer the most intrigue to me. You may not have as much interest in these groups or individuals as I do, but these will be the players I’m keeping track of this weekend in the hopes that they’re on track to become long-term contributors for the Sabres. Continue reading
Sartorial Sabres Build A Better Sweater
Guest Post from Pro Stock Hockey
Forget about six years without a trip to the playoffs — suddenly, things are looking good for Buffalo Sabres fans.
Yes, a good chunk of that optimism might stem from hiring a general manager who helped build three champions in 10 years at Pittsburgh. Or the fact that the new GM plundered the staff of the other Stanley Cup finalist for his new coach — who just happens to be maybe the greatest blue-liner in Sabres history.
Yet a rebuild spearheaded by Jason Botterill and Phil Housley might take years before it pays off with as big a win as the Sabres posted June 20, when the NHL debuted new jerseys for its 31 teams with new supplier adidas. Continue reading
Have No Fear, Petersen Decision Isn’t A Sign of Larger Issues
After Jason Botterill’s pre-draft confirmation that Cal Petersen would not be a Sabre, the saga officially came to an end when the goaltender inked an entry-level contract with the LA Kings.
Petersen’s decision to test the open market was rumored going back to the spring and was all but guaranteed when he announced he was turning professional as opposed to signing an entry-level deal with the Sabres in May. His departure is a sore spot for Sabres fans who saw Tim Murray acquire Jimmy Vesey’s rights only for the Hobey Baker winner to test the market last summer.
Petersen is the fourth NCAA prospect in as many years to opt to test free agency as opposed to signing with the team that drafted them. By my count, eight NCAA prospects have opted for free agency since 2008; Blake Wheeler, Justin Schultz, Blake Kessel, Jason Gregorie, Kevin Hayes, Mike Reilly, Jimmy Vesey and Cal Petersen. We’ll see a ninth join the group when Will Butcher hits free agency in August but it’s hard to say how much responsibility lies with the Avalanche for pushing Butcher to free agency.
Note: This doesn’t include players who signed as free agents after the team allowed their draft rights to expire. There may be other prospects who went this route as well, but none that I came across. Continue reading
Two in the Box 