jwhit34

I don't get all the concerns for the following reasons: 1. As of today the team is about $14 million under the cap. 2. For the first time in at least 8-9 years, they have 7 forwards that are or should soon be legit top 6 forwards (O'Reilly, Eichel, E. Kane, Ennis, Moulson, Reinhart, Girgensens). By the way the ages of these seven are 24, 18, almost 24, 25, 31, 19 and 21. 3. The defense isn't spectacular but has a nice mix of up and comers and a couple of vets to steady the unit and mentor the young guys. 4. There are more than enough choices for good 3rd and 4th lines (third line - one of the 7 above, Foligno, Gionta, McGinn, then Larsson, McCormick, Legwand, Deslauriers and Ellis for the 4th). 5. They made a move for a goalie, time will tell if it works but goalies can be found. 6. There are still good prospects in the system (Bailey, Fasching, Baptiste, McCabe, Hurley, plus all the picks in last two years not names Reinhart and Eichel). At some point they need to replace Moulson, Gionta and Gorges, and with the exception of maybe Moulson we're talking about 3rd and 4th liners and 5/6 D. I don't see the downside to the roster construction and salary commitments.

Instead of trading all the hot goalies, Murray should have fired Irbe. He may be the real long term gem on the staff. If 3 (or 4) goalies all perform over their heads for extended periods of time with Irbe as goalie coach, you can start calling that a trend and not a coincidence. Is he the goalie whisperer?

So far this week: Sabres 0-3, 0 points, lose to Carolina and NJ, Edmonton beats the Black Hawks. If it's race to the bottom that's a great week. At this point, those 4 teams are the legit contenders for #30. 27 shots in 1 period? And Neuvrith stopped them all? And they still lost? Amazing... Nice of Derek Roy to have a good game for the Sabres - he had a goal and 2 assists vs. Black Hawks for Oilers last night. Maybe he's the spark they needed.

By all accounts the Islanders look legitimately improved. They are off to a good start and the offseason moves, paired with the return of John Tavares, point to a really good shot at the playoffs. The St. Louis Blues are a potentially different story. While they have games in hand, today they sit in a tie for last in the west with 7 points, which puts them tied for 25th overall. Everyone presumed St. Louis would be good, could they fall into the lottery? Tonight's shutout loss makes it 5 for the season. The NHL record for most times shut out is 16. I am not sure what is worse, the fact that Gionta, Moulson, Stewart and Stafford are 0 for 80 in terms of shots on goal for the season or that none of the 4 had a shot on goal vs. Toronto tonight. 11 goals (includes 1 credited for shootout win) in 10 games.

Even with the "breakout" game of 2 goals, that's 11 in 9 games, 1.22/game, though it does now project them to score (exactly) 100 in 82 games, and it's really 10 because the 11 includes 1 goal for the shootout win. Goal scorers so far: Ennis 3 Foligno and Girgensons 2 each Mitchell, Hodgson and Deslauriers 1 each Stafford, Gionta, Moulson and Stewart are a combined 0 for 80 shooting (shots on goal) - that is amazing. Still no PP goals.

Here are some dubious records that are in danger of falling: 1. Most times shut out in a season: 16 by the 2006-7 Columbus Blue Jackets. The Sabres are already 4 for 8, 1 shutout every 5.7 games and the record falls. I can easily see them being shut out 20+ times. 2. Worst Power Play Percentage: 9.35% by the 1997-98 Tampa Bay Lightning. So far: 0%, 0-26. 3. Fewest goals Per Game: The all time record of .8 per game is probably safe (1928 Black Hawks) but excluding the teams from the 1920s, the Lightning averaged 1.8 goals a game in '97-98. With 3 point games, the 21 points for a season record ('74-75 Caps) seems safe, as does their record for 8 wins in a season.

Let's say the Sabres finish last in 2014-15 and the Islanders finish somewhere between 23rd and 27th. If that happened, the Islanders' pick would have between a 6% and 9.5% chance of winning the draft lottery. Can you imagine if the Islanders won the draft lottery? Then the Sabres would pick 1st and 2nd, and could pick BOTH McDavid and Eichel, would still have St. Louis #1 (probably pick somewhere in the 20s), their 2nd round pick (#31 overall) and the Isles' #2, which would be between 34-38...in a loaded draft. It may be the ultimate pipe dream but it could happen.