Pre-Season Report: Buffalo Sabres

Last season, the Buffalo Sabres rode their goaltending to their third 100 point season in five years. Ryan Miller went on to win his first Vezina trophy as the NHL's best goaltender. It will be difficult for him to duplicate last seasons success, especially considering the Sabres lost two solid defenders in Toni Lydman and Henrik Tallinder. Without any major upgrades on forward or defense, the Sabres hope that Tyler Myers will continue to produce from the blueline, and rookie Tyler Ennis will grow into a solid offensive contributor.

The Forwards

Last season the Sabres did well finishing 9th in the NHL for goals scored. A large part of this success, was healthy seasons from all their top producers. A healthy Derek Roy has the potential to score 70+ points, while Jason Pominville, Thomas Vanek, Tyler Ennis, and Tim Connolly need to show consistency and stability on the Sabres top two lines. Rookie Tyler Ennis has major potential, and will be depended on to add some secondary scoring.

As the only forward addition to the roster this offseason, Rob Niedermayer was brought in to add a veteran presence and also as a solid two-way centre. Although he is not a big point producer, Niedermayer can play in difficult situations.

However, the bulk of Buffalo's offense needs to come from its top three players. Simply put, if Derek Roy, Jason Pominville, and Thomas Vanek do not produce at a high level, then the Sabres will find it difficult to make the playoffs.

As the teams top two centres, Derek Roy and Tim Connolly have a big responsibility to create offense. Derek Roy is a consistent performer, Connolly on the other hand, has had too many issues with injuries and consistency to be considered a top centreman. A lot of Buffalo's success resides with these two players.

On right wing, Jason Pominville is one of the most offensively gifted players the Sabres have. Having not missed a game in the last four seasons, Pominville has become a reliable player and point producer. However, since he scored 80 points in the 2007-2008 season, his point totals have declined each year. Regardless, Pominville is a hard working, talented winger, who can get back to the 80 point range.

On left wing, Tomas Vanek is a pure goal scorer who has shown twice that he can hit the 40 goal plateau. Even though his goal total declined to 28 last season, you can bet that Vanek has the ability to reach 40+ goals this season. The maddening thing about Vanek however, is issues with consistency. Some games he seems to invisible.

The rest of the forward lines are rounded out by talented rookie Tyler Ennis, Mike Grier, Jochen Hecht, Drew Stafford, Paul Gaustad, and Patrick Kaleta. With prospects Nathan Gerbe and Zach Kassian waiting in the wings, any roster player that faulters runs the risk of being replaced.

The Defense

With Henrik Tallinder and Toni Lydman moving on through free agency this summer, the Sabres will be hard pressed to keep the puck out of their own end. Sophomore, Tyler Myers will most likely build on a solid season, after winning the Calder Trophy as the NHL's top rookie. The Sabres hope that he can build on last year's success and continue to make the first pass out of the Sabres zone.

Newcomer, Jordan Leopold is a good addition to the Sabres blueline, but he alone will not fill the void left by Tallinder and Lydman. Craig Rivet, who serves as the team captain, can provide some limited offense, but also has the toughness and leadership skills that will guide a young defense corps. Promising youngsters, Andrej Sekera and Chris Butler should also log some decent minutes.

The Goaltending

The one thing you can be sure about in Buffalo, is that goaltender Ryan Miller is the uncontested and undisputed number one. After the amazing numbers he earned last season, the calm and collected American just might be the best goalie in the world. Having notched 36, 34, and 41 wins in the last three seasons, there is good reason to believe Miller can once again reach the 40 win mark.

In the backup role, veteran Patrick Lalime will return to Buffalo after signing a one-year contract extension this summer. Lalime had a decent season in 2009-2010, but at times struggled behind Miller. If he fails to be a solid backup for the Sabres, goaltending prospect Jhonas Enroth is looking to step into that role. Having had success in the AHL, Sabres coaching and management will be open to giving Enroth a shot with the big club.

The Scoop
The Buffalo Sabres have some quality players on their roster heading into next season. Their goaltending is more than solid, but their offense has some consistency issues, and their defense might have some holes. Because of the low budget that management is given to work with, the Sabres usually have to let some of their players go. However, with Miller in his prime, Ennis, Roy, and Pominville up front, and Myers patroling the blueline, the Sabres do have a solid core to build around.

The test for GM Darcy Regier, as it has always been, is to continue to draft well, and sign the right free agents to acceptable contracts. It would be interesting to see what the Sabres could do if they were able to spend the maximum payroll...

My Prediction: 10th in the East.