‘“He’s capped right here at No. 7 until the Buffalo Sabres make the playoff s,” network analyst and former New York Islanders blueliner Thomas Hickey said bluntly. “And then he’s in the Norris conversation. Why not him? … This is a guy that I would just love to see in a playoff series. It would be a coming-out party of sorts. Not that he’s not there now, but we would appreciate the rest of his game.”’