This article is part of our From the Press Box series.
To Rebuild (Buffalo)
The Buffalo Sabres have been in a decline over the past four seasons, which is the longest streak of futility in franchise history. When owner Terry Pegula took over the club in 2011, it was thought that an infusion of cash would allow the club to remain competitive in the salary cap era as they could buy some free agents. Well, the Sabres ownership soon discovered what a number of other teams have learned: you can't only rely on free agency to sustain your franchise.
The road to icing a competitive roster is to be diligent about accumulating draft picks and then being successful with those choices. Unfortunately, in the last 30 years, a big part of a successful rebuild requires a team to bottom out and reap the benefits of a corresponding number of top draft picks, which evolve into the core of a subsequently positive turnaround. We have seen Chicago and Los Angeles turn their fortunes around by using the draft to select players like Jonathan Toews, Drew Doughty, Patrick Kane and Anze Kopitar to grow their leadership group and rise up until winning the Stanley Cup.
The Sabres can now point to the last four amateur drafts where they have stockpiled 14 choices from the first two rounds to accumulate a pool of top prospects that should be the springboard to a steady and rewarding positive trajectory for the franchise.
In the most recent draft, they used the second overall selection to
To Rebuild (Buffalo)
The Buffalo Sabres have been in a decline over the past four seasons, which is the longest streak of futility in franchise history. When owner Terry Pegula took over the club in 2011, it was thought that an infusion of cash would allow the club to remain competitive in the salary cap era as they could buy some free agents. Well, the Sabres ownership soon discovered what a number of other teams have learned: you can't only rely on free agency to sustain your franchise.
The road to icing a competitive roster is to be diligent about accumulating draft picks and then being successful with those choices. Unfortunately, in the last 30 years, a big part of a successful rebuild requires a team to bottom out and reap the benefits of a corresponding number of top draft picks, which evolve into the core of a subsequently positive turnaround. We have seen Chicago and Los Angeles turn their fortunes around by using the draft to select players like Jonathan Toews, Drew Doughty, Patrick Kane and Anze Kopitar to grow their leadership group and rise up until winning the Stanley Cup.
The Sabres can now point to the last four amateur drafts where they have stockpiled 14 choices from the first two rounds to accumulate a pool of top prospects that should be the springboard to a steady and rewarding positive trajectory for the franchise.
In the most recent draft, they used the second overall selection to bring Jack Eichel aboard. While he is regarded as a slightly less exciting prospect than top pick Connor McDavid, he is widely considered a very good prospect who could emerge as the Sabres next great team leader.
He is not alone here as a budding centerpiece.
He will be joined by Sam Reinhart, who was drafted second overall last season. These two picks alone will revamp a moribund offense and project to provide the Sabres with a solid 1-2 punch for the next 10 years. They swung a couple of deals over the last season, using some of their other assets to bring in some quality forwards. Consider that Evander Kane is only 23 years old and has already scored 109 goals and 222 points in his young career. He did go through some troubled times in Winnipeg but seems genuinely excited about his fresh start. Then, during this off-season, a second deal brought in Ryan O'Reilly, a much sought after top-six forward who has established himself with five solid NHL seasons and is still only 24 years old. The Sabres also plucked Robin Lehner from the goalie-rich Ottawa Senators, prospect who will finally get a chance to earn a starting role.
This deal was also facilitated by the fact that the Sabres could give up one of their many top draft choices. They also took advantage of some salary cap flexibility to absorb the contract of veteran David Legwand, who may prove to be a good piece of roster depth.
The sum of all these moves looks like it should lead to dramatic improvement that may be visible as soon as next season in the Buffalo.
To Retool (Dallas)
Stars general manager Jim Nill apparently learned a thing or two while on the executive payroll with the Red Wings, who extended the longest active streak of consecutive playoff appearances last season to 24. Since assuming this role in 2013, he has been the architect of several bold moves, which have brought in high-end talent like Tyler Seguin and Jason Spezza. Those two acquisitions have gone a long way toward solidifying the club's top two scoring lines.
This past summer, he added another dynamic offensive piece, as he picked up Patrick Sharp, who was expected to be a roster casualty for the salary cap strapped Blackhawks. While he realized that he had to give Chicago a cost-effective and talented player in return (Trevor Daley), he offset that loss by signing the Hawks' veteran blueliner Johnny Oduya as well.
Another interesting move saw Nill bring Antti Niemi in to challenge incumbent Kari Lehtonen in goal. On paper, that duo immediately looks like a two-headed monster that could lead to some controversy in the crease. On the other hand, it could be the best goalie combo in the league at a time when having a second talented goalie is a luxury. It is a safe bet to project that one of these two goalies will be parlayed into other assets in a future trade.
The Stars have been a team that has flirted with playoff contention in recent years, but they clearly believe the sum of these moves can propel them toward the top of the Western Conference.
Time will tell if Nill's magic touch is enough or if they have to look at what Buffalo has done.
Arbitration dates for restricted free agents
A couple of interesting cases are coming up to determine the salary for a pair of notable goalies.
In Washington, Braden Holtby is coming off a breakout campaign that saw him among the league leaders in all major goaltending categories. There is a huge gap between what his agent is looking for ($8 million) and what the team has reportedly submitted as their counter offer ($5.1 million). That wide gulf could lead to some acrimony at an awkward time for the Caps. Holtby has established himself among the league's elite goalies now and that was a key component of a playoff run that saw the Caps get to within a goal of the Conference final.
The best outcome would be for the two parties to get to a figure that leads to a multi-year deal that satisfies both sides. Anything short of that could rock the foundation of what has been built in recent years.
In Toronto, Jonathan Bernier is looking for a big payday. The Leafs would like him to agree to a short-term deal that challenges him to prove that he is capable of something approaching what Holtby did last season. The Leafs are not yet sure of Bernier's ceiling and with the massive rebuild going on, they surely cannot expect to duplicate the Caps' success last season. Toronto's management wants to see if Bernier can handle a No. 1 goalie workload without suffering the breakdown that we saw a couple of times in the two previous seasons.
Bernier's camp may be motivated to reach a short-term deal that pays him well until he is eligible to be an unrestricted free-agent. Even then, he will be motivated to play his best to position himself for a big-dollar long-term deal.
These are just two of a number of similar salary stalemates that could lead to some more player movement and/or impact the rosters of many NHL clubs.
