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Contract years are typically when NHL players overachieve as a significant pay day is in sight. Is it a motive behind Buffalo Sabres’ winger, Evander Kane’s, performance through 34 games (14 goals, 31 points)? The last time that the upcoming free agent faced a contract renewal, he contributed 30 goals and 57 points (2012). And if this is a reason for Kane being the most productive player, what is the issue with Sam Reinhart? Should he be in that company for the 30th placed team to impress the new management and coaching staff? Before the season began, I wrote about how the 2017-18 season shouldRead More →

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If there was an NHL team that had the potential for a three-peat in recent history, the Pittsburgh Penguins would be it. Winning back-to-back Stanley Cup Championships after the firing of coach Mike Johnston in favor of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins coach, Mike Sullivan, after a miserable start to the 2015-16 season, had many thinking that it could be done. As then Assistant GM, Jason Botterill, accepted the GM vacancy for the Buffalo Sabres, Jim Rutherford would have to move forward from where the team left off. When reviewing certain moves by the Penguins, post-Botterill, one big move may have some wondering whether Rutherford has theRead More →

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When an NHL team is in last place in goals for (64) and has Jack Eichel, then that team has serious problems. Players earning serious dollars are underperforming, to make an understatement. Secondary scoring is…well there is not any on the Buffalo Sabres. On Monday, December 4, after the team continued to be miserable during a losing streak that included 3 straight games of no goals, GM Jason Botterill dropped the first shoe as he waived Matt Moulson (0 points in 14 games for $5 million AAV). As an attempt to bolster the bottom-six, Botterill traded for two-time Stanley Cup winner, Scott Wilson, with hopesRead More →

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While Buffalo Sabres’ top center, Jack Eichel, was out with a high-ankle sprain for 21 games during the 2016-17 season, he had the opportunity to watch tons of hockey. Not just up in a suite or press box, but on television as well. In an interview, the now 21-year old was asked about a current player he watches or would model after. Of the Crosby’s and Ovechkin’s of the world, the budding star named another: Nikita Kucherov. As an offensively creative player, Eichel was impressed by the skills on display by the Tampa Bay winger en route to an 85-point season. It is easy toRead More →