This is the final part in a series previewing the Buffalo Sabres season. Part five focuses on the centers, read the previous entries here: 1,2,3,4,5.
The Buffalo Sabres organization is painfully thin at center. This was a point of emphasis when the offseason began and remains a sticking point today. There was hope that a center would be found either before the draft or when free agency opened. Neither market yielded the result the Sabres desired.
Instead, Buffalo added Ville Leino in hopes of playing him as a pivot with their top six. Leino was a consolation prize, of sorts, after the Sabres missed out on the Brad Richards sweeps. Leino is a dynamic talent who couples silky smooth agility with scary hands. It has been said Leino will translate well to center because he played low in the Flyers system and was a center during his time in Finland.
So far I am sold on Leino stepping in at center. I only saw him in one preseason game, but he finds open ice and clears lanes for his line mates. Although he won’t see time on the penalty kill, I could Leino as an absolute upgrade over Tim Connolly as the “second-line center”.
Derek Roy and Paul Gaustad return to the Sabres for another season, and the pair comes as advertised. Roy is a talented scorer who appeared to be in the midst of a breakout year before going down with a quad injury in December. I didn’t buy into the “they played better without him” mantra, although he certainly isn’t a true number-one center. Still, he has good chemistry with Thomas Vanek and will hopefully continue to produce at a point-per-game clip.
Gaustad will again be counted on to win faceoffs, kill penalties and provide sandpaper to the Sabres lineup. All of that for the low, low price of $2.3 million. Still, Gaustad is a leader in the room (evidenced by wearing the C last night) and is one of those “role players” teams count on in the playoffs. He still needs to find the net in the playoffs, if he ever figures that out he would be a key tool in the Stanley Cup quest.
The Sabres have the ability to shuffle players through the final center spot. Cody McCormick and Jochen Hecht are both capable of playing wing or center, depending on who they skate with and will give Lindy Ruff the option of a few additional line combinations due to their versatility. Neither is expected to be a true difference maker, but McCormick was a great full-time addition as a fighter and checker. He plays with a great edge and contributes far more than a prototypical enforcer would. As for Hecht, he had another down season but will be able to play to his strengths as a checking-line center or wing this season. If Hecht isn’t counted on for 50-60 points he is a far more effective player for this team.
Cody McCormick is certainly a player you would initially peg to center your fourth line, however, with Brad Boyes, Matt Ellis, Jochen Hecht and Ales Kotalik all floating in limbo in terms of where they will fall on the lineup card, you have to wonder who will end up on the “fourth line”. No matter what combination is chosen it will be an interesting mix of skill and grit considering the candidates to fill the spots. One thing I can say for sure, Boyes, Hecht and McCormick doesn’t really sound like a line you want to move forward with.
Unless Darcy Regier manages to find a trade partner to exchange salary for players, I would expect the Sabres to move forward with three lines with locks at center (Gaustad, Leino, Roy) while Hecht and McCormick share duties on a patchwork fourth line.
The sliver lining here? The Buffalo Sabres will be able to ice four lines truly capable of producing points on a nightly basis.
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