Player Profile: Drew Stafford

2010-11 Regular Season stats:

2011 Postseason stats:

Career:

Look Back: The 2010-11 season was the perfect time for Drew Stafford to register his first 30 goal campaign. His performance was rewarded with a new four year contract. If you look at his deal, it was mostly based on what he did this past season. Stafford has only topped 20 goals twice and has scored only 50 points once for his career.  Expectations are sure to be high with the new contract.  Although he only registered three points in the series against the Flyers, Stafford was one of the better players throughout the series.  He was able to control the puck in the offensive zone and create opportunities for himself and teammates.  Stafford displayed an ability to score goals in bunches (four hat tricks), but will need to be a more consistent force moving forward.

Look Ahead: At 25 years old, there remains substantial room for his game to develop.  What will be interesting to see is how the lines will match up in 2011-12.  Will Stafford be paired with a 30 goal scorer like Thomas Vanek or will he play on a second line to try and create a more balanced attack?  My guess is Vanek and Stafford end up playing on a first line with a player to be determined (cough, cough Darcy).  The Sabres will then try to utilize Derek Roy and Jason Pominville in a role more similar to the role Chris Drury’s line used to play, as being a reliable two-way line against top lines. With Vanek and Stafford together and more than $11m in cap space dedicated to them, the expectations are going to mount for consistent production from the line and at least one 80+ point producer.

Fake Darcy’s Take: It took Gordie’s kid a few years to find his groove in the National League but I think Staffsy had his breakout year this past season.  If he can continue to bury the rubber, we got a great deal at $4 million a year. We offered $3.5 million per but we felt obligated to give in on the other half million for uni-brow maintenance. I put my career and reputation in the hands of Drew, and I feel confident my 2004 1st round pick will continue to come through for me, I mean us. I also wouldn’t be surprised if he was invisible until his contract year comes up again. You never know