With the 2024-25 NHL season looming ever closer, the Buffalo Sabres should be taking stock of their talent and really assessing what it is they expect out of each player. Realistic expectations are always a good thing to have, but after yet another season of underperforming, there needs to be a lot more shown from
Tage Thompson
Though the Stanley Cup has yet to be hoisted, teams like the Buffalo Sabres have already entered into the dog days of summer. The NHL Draft and free agency lay ahead, but most are waiting in anticipation for the start of the 2024-25 NHL season. It also means that there is only so much room
The 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs are underway and for the 13th consecutive season, the Buffalo Sabres are watching other teams compete for hockey’s ultimate prize. In order to win, your best players have to be at their best, and the Sabres are out of it again due (in large part) to the regression of certain
Through the first 22 games, the Sabres boast a record of 10-10-2, sitting sixth in the Atlantic Division. They came into the season as a young team with legitimate playoff aspirations, looking to build upon what fans would consider a successful 2022-23 season. Let’s take a look at how the Sabres have been performing on
The Boston Bruins seem to have everyone’s number this season. On Tuesday night, they took advantage of a leaky Buffalo Sabres defense to skate off with a 5-2 victory. For the Bruins, David Pastrnak led the way with a goal and two assists. Linus Ullmark made 31 saves, and the Bruins are now 3-0-1 in
The Buffalo Sabres had an impressive season last year. The team narrowly missed out on a playoff spot by one point, falling just behind the Florida Panthers. Now, the organization is determined to put an end to its 12-season playoff drought. From both the inside and outside, you have to believe the Sabres can make
The NHL has evolved considerably over the years, and so has its style of play. The game of hockey that you watch today is vastly different than what your father saw growing up. Gone are the days of rugged grit and physicality, and in their place have come skill and finesse. Given that, a lot
ESPN conducted a round table interview with NHLers regarding a number of topics. Among them, players were asked what one rule they would change or add to improve the game. A variety of answers were provided, but a number of them had to do with special teams and scoring goals, two areas where the Edmonton
Given Tage Thompson’s dominance in 2022-23, we can now reassure the St. Louis Blues‘ fanbase. On July 1, 2018, the Blues traded Thompson to the Buffalo Sabres for Ryan O’Reilly. They also sent Vladimir Sobotka, Patrik Berglund, a 2019 first-round pick, and a 2021 second-round pick to Buffalo. I’m not here to re-visit the trade
The Buffalo Sabres’ last postseason game was Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal on April 26, 2011- nearly 4,500 days ago, when US President Barack Obama was in his first term in office. The years since have been a wasteland. The team’s 11-year playoff drought is the longest in NHL history and the second-longest
The Buffalo Sabres have fallen into a slump as the second half of the season presses on, and it could not come at a worse time. They are fighting for one of the last wild-card spots – to break their longstanding playoff drought – but they just cannot find a rhythm. From last season and
The St. Louis Blues will likely be sellers at the trade deadline; a position they haven’t been in in a while. They have had success in trades under general manager Doug Armstrong. Given where the club is now, it’ll be important to lean on Armstrong’s trade prowess in the next month or so. The Blues
The Buffalo Sabres are suffering from a cold spell and constant roster movements will only make things worse. In the wake of another loss to a top-end team, they have continued to look flat beyond only a handful of players contributing. Alex Tuch, Owen Power, and Tyson Jost all have been the best players the
Tuesday night’s game against the Los Angeles Kings marked another chapter in the phenomenon that is Tage Thompson. The Sabres struggled through the first two periods, managing a measly 15 shots and producing very little offensive output whatsoever. The third period was a completely different story, however. Thompson scored just over a minute into the
Welcome to the third edition of the 2022-23 NHL Analytics Report, a weekly roundup of the latest analytical trends and a collection of statistical observations from around the league. To better understand the terms being used and the underlying reasons behind their inclusion, read THW’s primer on advanced analytics which explores the landscape of modern hockey analysis.
Every season, there are good players on bad, even awful, teams that go unnoticed. They might have a career year, but on a struggling team, fans don’t always pay attention. Such is the way in the NHL which, more than other leagues, requires great teams to make the playoffs and elite teams to win the
The Buffalo Sabres have made some massive trades in the past few years. They’ve been bold enough to move on from the likes of Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart, and Ryan O’Reilly. Today, I want to look back on the trades that saw them dealt and see how the Sabres did in those trades. *Salaries are
The Buffalo Sabres’ 2021-22 season ended as it has in each of the past 11 campaigns: on the outside looking in. Although in doing so, the team set an NHL record for the longest postseason drought, it was an encouraging year for the Sabres. The team displayed marked improvement since 2020-21 and could be ready