Buffalo Sabres

Buyout appears to be the best option for Hodgson

Chris OstranderLeave a comment

Cody Hodgson’s drastic regression over the course of last season brought the possibility of a buyout into the equation as early as the halfway point of the year.

Tim Murray reiterated that this week in a conversation with WGR 550, noting that Hodgson is a potential buyout candidate. While he didn’t definitively say if a buyout was coming the writing appears to be on the wall despite the strides Hodgson is taking in Sweden to improve his skating.

The question fans are now debating is whether or not it makes sense to use a buyout on Hodgson and his $4.25m cap hit. Hodgson’s down statistical year, tumble down the depth chart and general struggles in the skating and defensive departments make for a long road back for the former 10th overall pick. His advanced stats – as noted by Coller in the above post – were so dismal that even when deployed with better linemates, you have to wonder how much room for improvement there may be. Continue reading →

2ITB Special: 2015 NHL Mock Draft

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Guest Post by Matt Kopnak

Ed Note: The NHL Draft is fast approaching and we all know Jack Eichel will be officially named a Buffalo Sabre on June 26. The rest of the first round has a fair share of intrigue surrounding it and Matt Kopnak (follow him @mattkopnak) took some time to hammer out a mock draft for 2ITB. He has a few interesting picks sprinkled in and this will serve as a great precursor to the Mock Draft Instigator Podcast that will be coming in the very near future.

Enjoy Matt’s mock draft and stay tuned for the upcoming Instigator Mock Draft Podcast Spectacular. Continue reading →

The Instigator Podcast 4.4 – What do to with 21

Chris OstranderLeave a comment

Tim Murray’s most recent interview on WGR highlighted the general manager’s interest in Halo along with his thoughts on the 21st pick. He mentioned Russian goaltender Ilya Samsonov as a potential target with the 21st pick while also mentioning his interest in moving up in the draft.

Tyler and Chris chat about the best course of action with the 21st pick while also touching on the NHL Combine and other future NHL events that the Sabres are looking to land.

Thoughts on Dan Bylsma as Sabres Coach

Tyler RoederLeave a comment

The Buffalo Sabres officially moved on from the disappointment of missing out on the Mike Babcock sweepstakes when Tim Murray introduced Dan Bylsma as the 17th head coach in franchise history. For those that missed last night’s special edition of The Instigator Podcast, here are a few thoughts on the beginning of the Bylsma Era.

By inking Bylsma to a five year deal in the neighborhood of $3 million per year, Murray was able to snag the best available coach, and one of the few with a winning pedigree. While some fans may have had other candidates at the top of their lists, no one can disagree that getting a coach of Bylsma’s caliber to commit his future to the Sabres is a nice get for an organization that has taken its lumps around the hockey world over the last couple of seasons.

Hockey pundits view the hiring of Dan Bylsma as good business by Tim Murray

The Bylsma hire has been greeted by near unanimous approval from both local and national publications, and can be seen as the first bit of good press for the organization since Pat LaFontaine’s introductory press conference in November of 2014. That is not to say that what’s said in The Hockey News or TSN should be taken as gospel, but at the very least seeing some good things written about the team for a change is a bit of a morale booster. Continue reading →

The Instigator Podcast 4.3 – Bylsma on Board

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Dan Bylsma was officially introduced as the 17th head coach in Sabres history. We offer our thoughts and reaction to the Sabres new head coach along with providing our thoughts on how Bylsma’s hiring impacts the organization.

The Instigator Podcast 4.2: After Babcock

Chris OstranderLeave a comment

While Mike Babcock decided to head to Toronto, the Sabres aren’t left without options. We discuss the impact Babcock’s decision had on the Sabres and the candidates they may pursue moving forward.

Sabres are hardly short on candidates in the wake of Babcock’s decision

Chris Ostrander3 Comments

Despite multiple reports that indicated the Sabres were on the verge of landing the biggest fish in the free agent coaching pond, Mike Babcock chose to take his talents to Toronto after a long, drawn out search process.

This leaves the Sabres standing at the altar without a coach for the time being as their bride-to-be sets off to the Great White North. The Sabres aren’t without options, however. Nor should this be seen as some black eye on the organization as they proceed through the next step of their rebuild.

Landing Babcock would have helped pile credibility onto the organization after two-straight 30th place seasons. Babcock’s presence would have likely chummed the waters for interested free agents while providing the Sabres with a bench boss with a strong winning pedigree. Missing out on him is obviously no small hiccup, but it will hardly derail the path Tim Murray has set the team on.

Luke Richardson is just one of a number of promising young coaches the Sabres can look to.
With a fish this big and stakes as high as they were, it’s easy to present the pros and cons of this argument. A pair of Buffalo News reporters did just that as Mike Harrington and Jerry Sullivan each penned a column regarding Babcock’s decision just hours ago. For what it’s worth, Harrington’s is the only one of the two worth reading.

Although today’s news throws a curve to the coaching search, it’s not as if the Sabres are left without any viable options. There are a host of solid coaching candidates on the market that Tim Murray will almost certainly be taking a closer look at in the coming days.

Names like Dan Bylsma, Peter DeBoer and Paul MacLean along with a host of up-and-coming candidates remain on the open market. There are also a number of coaches with NHL experience serving as assistants or overseas who shouldn’t be discounted. Continue reading →

The Instigator Podcast 4.1 – Offseason Buildup

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Tyler and Chris get together to discuss the direction Tim Murray will take on draft day and touch on NHL expansion to Seattle and Las Vegas.

http://mixlr.com/instigator-podcast/showreel/episode-35-offseason-buildup/

More thoughts on the Sabres solution in goal

Chris OstranderLeave a comment

A short while ago I took a deep dive into the route the Sabres might take when it comes to their goaltending next season. I settled on the trade route being my preferred option for Sabres’ GM Tim Murray to take.

Buffalo’s goaltending pipeline isn’t too shabby with Linus Ullmark set to make his North American debut this fall alongside established farmhand, Andrey Makarov. Cal Petersen is still a couple years away from a professional contract but was impressive as a freshman at Notre Dame while 2014 draft pick Jonas Johansson’s big frame makes him an intriguing prospect.

The situation above those players, however, is quite murky. Chad Johnson is the only goaltender with more than one game of NHL experience under contact and he slots in as a backup at best. Since posting my thoughts on the goaltenders (linked above), the Sabres have fallen out of the Matt O’Connor sweepstakes and Matt Hackett’s knee injury prevented him from playing enough games to retain restricted free agent status.

With O’Connor out of the picture and Hackett likely to join him, Murray should at least have a better idea of who will be in the crease in Rochester this season. The Amerks could stand to have a veteran AHL presence in the locker room and on the ice, but we’ll have to see who is available for that type of role.

My opinion on Murray’s direction remains unchanged (like the Browns). The best route, in my opinion, is to acquire a young goaltender who has shown he’s capable of growing into a dependable starter in the league. Even with Ullmark showing impressive chops and Petersen growing into a fine prospect, the Sabres need more stability at the top of their depth chart. Stability that also provides them with an outlook beyond the next few seasons. Continue reading →

2015 2ITB End of Season Awards

Chris OstranderLeave a comment

The 2014-15 season was like no other in Sabres history as Buffalo’s rebuild plunged the team into another last place season as they pushed to secure the right to draft either Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel.

Media narratives on tanking and the need to pick first piled on game after game of poorly played hockey by a patchwork roster led by a lame duck coach. The season was capped by the Edmonton Oilers snatching the first overall pick with the Sabres guaranteed to slot in second in the draft order.

Such an odd season cannot be served by any run-of-the-mill awards post. So the fourth-annual 2ITB Awards will take on a slightly different look this year as we reflect back on a headache inducing run towards the end of the rebuild.

Most Valuable Player: Jonathan Toews – Toews heroics in the final minutes of Chicago’s 4-3 win erased an improbably Buffalo lead and snatched away a regulation win that would have brought the Sabres two points closer to 29th place. As it turns out, Captain Serious’ tallies were much needed as Buffalo didn’t ensure last place until the second last game of the year and the lottery results would have pushed them out of the second pick.

Least Valuable Player: Andre Benoit – I’m not sure there was any one player on the roster who was as consistently disappointing as Benoit was. He scored a nice shorthanded goal in a drubbing by the Red Wings but was generally bad the entire year. He certainly contributed to the tank but was a complete albatross in every other situation.

Best Prospect: Mark Pysyk – Pysyk has been a good solider for the Sabres since he was drafted. Tim Murray knew that the best place for Pysyk this year was likely to be Rochester despite Pysyk’s ability to excel at the NHL level. He’s poised to be a major piece of the puzzle in the near future and if his health issues clear up I think he’ll wind up playing a top-four role next year. Continue reading →