Buffalo Sabres: Five areas in need of improvement

The Buffalo Sabres missed the playoffs for the ninth consecutive season, causing the Pegula's to fire most staff members, even during a global pandemic. Their first hire and most importantly, is Kevyn Adams. Kevyn's replacing Jason Botterill as the teams GM. Adams was formerly an NHL player and was also an associate coach for the Sabres in 2013. Even with organization familiarity, the fans and ownership will not be easy on Adams. Here are five things he can do to completely rewrite the Sabres image and push them into playoff contention in 2020-21. 

Resign Key Players

Adams will enter his job with a lot of contract negotiations. First, he'll have to negotiate a contract with former second overall pick, Sam Reinhart. Reinhart is an offensively gifted winger who has shown good development playing with Jack Eichel. He was on pace for 26 goals and 59 points, both of which would've been career highs if the season wouldn't of stopped. Reinhart has shown that he's a solid 20 goal, 60 point player, and deserves to be paid like one. An estimated salary of 5.5 million over 6 years would entice Reinhart to stay with the club. Also resigning rookie Victor Olofsson to a 4 year $4,000,000 contract would be a steal of a contract. This would help staple down the key pieces to the top six. Another player Adams should re-sign is Wayne Simmonds. Yes I know he is a bottom six player, but if you can get him under $1,500,000, he would be a great veteran and locker room presence to help push this team to the next level. He also brings some much needed grit to the squad. 

Sign Good Free Agents 

Although the Sabres have not had the best luck signing free agents with guys like Kyle Okposo as an example, there's still hope due to a fresh face being the GM. Enticing Anthony Cirelli to accept an offer sheet for somewhere around $5,500,000 over 6 years could be a good contract. Anthony Cirelli is an excellent two way center man who is being buried by the Tampa Bay Lighting due to how much star power they have up front. Still with no PP time, he's put up 28 points, but could end up being a 50 point player if given more ice time. He has all the defensive tools to win a Selke one day and the offensive tools to put up a ton of points. This would cost them a 1st and a 3rd round pick, but it could end up being worthwhile if they can make playoffs. This could also be a possibility due to the flat cap and Tampa being right up against it. Another player they could target is Mike Hoffman from the Florida Panthers. Hoffman could greatly benefit from playing in Buffalo. Hoffman is a 30 goal scorer who could push to play in the top six or maybe even the first line. He's also a UFA, so no picks would be needed to acquire him through free agency, if he chooses to play in Buffalo. An estimated contract could be $7,000,000 over 3 seasons. 

Developing Guys Properly and Not Rushing Them

Buffalo could use some much needed development from their top prospects. First being Casey Mittlestadt, the former 8th overall pick in 2017. This center has had an abysmal first few years in Buffalo. If you give him good ice time with some of the top players, he could produce well and solidify the offense. Next is Dylan Cozens, the center who was taken 7th overall in the 2019 NHL draft. Cozens can do it all and Buffalo needs someone like that. The question is however, will he make the opening night roster, or will he go back for another year to play in the WHL? Finally, we have Rasmus Dahlin. He's the only player on defense that this team can rely on for 82 games. Yes he's been good, but there's still more to him that hasn't been shown. Firstly, his offensive game has improved and was projected to break 55 points, but he has the upside to put up around 65ish per season and win multiple Norris trophies in his career. It's not that he needs to improve for himself, it's that he has to to keep this team competitive because there is no other defenceman on this team that can carry us as much as Dahlin can. 

Make Solid Trades

Kevyn Adams should try to acquire a veteran defenceman to help out our defence, so there can be some stability. One option could be Jonas Brodin from the Minnesota Wild. Brodin is coming into the final year of his contract and barring any major changes, he potentially won't resign, so his asking price could be a prospect and a second, which would be great value for the shutdown defenceman. Another option is young defenceman Vince Dunn from the Blues. Dunn is an RFA, but if you send a pick and a prospect, you can acquire his rights or maybe even offer sheet him. Dunn looks to be a promising young star on the blueline. 

Good Coaching Will Need to be Displayed 

Ralph Krueger is likely in a make or break year, even though it's only his second year. He needs to have some consistency and not to peak with this lineup in the beginning of the year. One way to keep being consistent throughout the lineup is putting Jeff Skinner on the first line. Skinner has shown he has 45 goal upside, but only if playing with captain Jack Eichel. Ralph needs to pair Skinner and Eichel together every chance he gets. Casey Mittelstat should be playing in the top six as the second line center, so it can help his development. Casey could put up 40-50 points and surprise a lot of people.

The Sabres have the potential to be an underdog team next year and surprise people, but they'll need to have a good offseason. 

By: Jackson Pitts - Buffalo Sabres Writer for BTH Writers 

Instagram: jackson_pitts04

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