25) Who will most likely be traded by the deadline? #55 or #22. Unlike last year, the Sabres won’t have a lot of salary cap space to take on salary without giving up some. As of now, we are only 1.5 million under the cap. It makes sense that Hecht or Boyes would be the likely guy to get traded since their contracts are up after this season and they are older talent. A team may be looking for cap relief and would be willing to give up their high-priced player for someone who will be off their payroll next year. Of course, they would probably want one of our younger kids, too. If there is anything we learned this summer from the Sabres, it’s that they will be bold when it comes to trades and adding salary. It ought to be a fun trade deadline.
24) Who should be on the 3rd line? Gerbe-Goose-Kaleta. I think this is a nasty 3rd line. A line that can give you some offensive punch to go along with a ton of hitting. Gerbe would be the key to the line because he’s got a nasty edge to him. We saw that in the playoffs. Obviously, the health of Kaleta will come into play. The dude is going the route of Darcy Tucker, in which he’ll be finished by the time he reaches 28. If healthy, this could easily be a fan favorite for a line. They work hard and they hit even harder.
23) Will the powerplay improve from last year? No. I know what you are thinking, “Really, Joe? You must be running out of questions.” Maybe..but, the Sabres powerplay surprisingly finished 9th last year. The teams behind them were Philly, Pittsburgh and Washington. I don’t know about you, but on paper, you would think that those teams are better offensively than the Sabres. Hey, the stats don’t lie. Being ranked 11th or 10th isn’t anything to sneeze about. All and all, I think the powerplay will do well with the addition of #10.
22) Which Sabres player will surprise us this season? Andrej Sekera. I’ve been waiting for #44 to turn the corner for the Sabres for a few years now. I remember during the Olympics, he actually outplayed Chara at certain points. There’s no denying that he has a ton of talent. I think with all the additions to the Sabres blueline, he hasn’t really been mentioned all that much this offseason. You’ll hear the following: “Wow. I never noticed Andrej was this good.” It will mainly come from people not noticing him, but rather #57, #24 and #10. I think with better D-men on the team, he won’t have as much pressure on him to be an offensive threat. Maybe that’s what he needs. For the last 3-4 years, he’s been really counted on to be the main point guy on the powerplay. Lastly, he’s going on year five in the NHL. He’s not some sort of little kid anymore and with that, I’m banking on experience to come into play (See: Brian Campbell’s early days). It’s time to be a man.
21) Who is the most underrated player on the Sabres? Jordan Leopold. When I mentioned in an earlier post that the Sabres were near the top in goals from the blueline, the leader in that department was Jordan Leopold, who had 13 goals to go along with 22 assists. It’s funny, because with all the love Christian Ehrhoff is getting, he only had one more goal than Leopold did last season. Sure, he’s not the greatest stay-at-home defensemen in the world, but with the help of guys like Regehr and Ehrhoff, he doesn’t have to be a top 2 defensemen like last year, meaning he’s not going to have to go against the top lines.
20) Who is the most overrated player on the Sabres? Ryan Miller. Yes, I invite the 300 people on twitter who harass Mike Harrington for not bowing down to #30, to bring the pain against me. Here’s the deal, when you look at the body of work for Miller, he’s had one great season. Greatest goalie in the world? Well, for one season, yes. Everywhere in between, he has been average to good. Here’s where Miller has ranked in GAA since 2005: 11th, 20th, 21st, 24th, 18th, 2nd and 22nd. Tell me again how he’s the greatest goalie in the world? How about save percentage? 10th, 15th, 29th, 8th, 2nd, 17th. I’m not trying to pour honey on a bees hive with all the Millermaniacs, but the stats don’t lie. As of this post, he’s the most overrated player on the team. Now, do I think he can bounce back? Yes. The Sabres have a great defense in front of him just like they did in 2006 and 2010. However, with his salary, it shouldn’t matter who is in front of him, because he should be better. Lastly, I’ll be honest, the love he gets is the real reason I think he’s overrated. I’ve had too many fights on twitter to know that.
In case you missed, here are the questions I’ve already answered about the Sabres this season.
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