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What Your Team Is Thankful For: Buffalo Sabres

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As Thanksgiving and the holiday season approaches, PHR will be taking a look at what teams are thankful for in 2023-24. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Buffalo Sabres.

Who are the Sabres thankful for?

Rasmus Dahlin.

The Sabres raised a lot of eyebrows when they signed the 23-year-old to an eight-year $88MM contract extension back in October that made him one of the highest-paid defensemen in NHL history. The signing made sense from Dahlin’s perspective as he cashed in on a career year and became one of the highest paid players in the league.

From the Sabres perspective, there were a few question marks. Dahlin has never finished above eighth place in Norris Trophy voting and has only garnered consideration one time. However, the Sabres bet on Dahlin’s continued development going forward and are hoping he will turn into a perennial Norris Trophy contender throughout the life of the deal.

A month after signing the deal, Dahlin has given the Sabres everything they could ask for. He has averaged almost 25 minutes a night of ice time, playing in all situations. He has been terrific for the Sabres at even strength, while remaining a threat on the power play and has even worked on the penalty kill, putting up solid numbers in the process.

Dahlin has really demonstrated his value to Buffalo while center Tage Thompson has been out of action. The Sabres desperately needed someone to step up in Thompson’s absence and so far, Dahlin has been one of the leaders to fill the void. In Sunday night’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks Dahlin had a goal and two assists and was pivotal in the Sabres ending their three-game losing streak

Dahlin posted 73 points in 78 games last season while averaging almost 26 minutes a night in ice time, this season his numbers thus far are almost identical. He is averaging about a minute less of ice time per game, but offensively he is on pace to come close to last season’s totals. Dahlin has four goals and 12 assists in the first 19 games of the season and has been much more physical and has also been more responsible with the puck than in seasons past.

What are the Sabres thankful for?

Their fanbase.

Buffalo sports fans are some of the most enduring fans in the world. You don’t lose four Super Bowls in a row without learning a thing or two about remaining passionate in the face of adversity. But still, credit to the fans of the Buffalo Sabres for still turning up in droves year after year to see a team that hasn’t made the Stanley Cup playoffs for 12 straight years.

Some people will point to the Sabres attendance this year and say that their numbers are down (which they are), but for the most part, the fans are still turning up in person to watch a team that hasn’t given them anything to cheer about for over a decade. The Sabres crowds might be smaller than in years past, but the crowd is still loud and passionate and firmly behind the team.

It will be interesting to see what the attendance numbers look like for the remainder of the season as Buffalo came into this year with playoff aspirations and thus far hasn’t looked like a playoff team. The Sabres have started the year 8-9-2 and if their season starts to go sideways, they could see more nights where there are over 5,000 empty seats in the KeyBank Center like we saw a few weeks ago.

What would the Sabres be even more thankful for?

A solution to their three-goalie situation.

The Sabres have been rolling this season with three goaltenders which hasn’t been an ideal set of circumstances for a team that needs help in the goal-scoring department. The Sabres have been unable to bring up any of their scoring prospects from the AHL because of the roster spot being occupied by the third goaltender. And make no mistake, Jiri Kulich and Isak Rosen are both recent first-round picks that could both help the Sabres with their scoring woes.

The three-goalie situation also hasn’t been great for all the goaltenders involved either. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has been solid thus far for Buffalo going 4-3-1 with a .911 save percentage, but Eric Comrie has been uneven going 1-2 with an .898 save percentage. While all those numbers are pretty run-of-the-mill, poor Devon Levi has struggled to gain any traction with a 3-4-1 record and a .879 save percentage.

The solution to the situation would likely be unpopular in Buffalo, but it would be the most practical. One goaltender needs to be sent to the minors and given their contract situations it would most likely be Levi as he is exempt from waivers and could be sent down without the risk of the Sabres losing him. Luukkonen and Comrie could be sent down to the AHL, but they would likely be claimed by another team should Buffalo elect to do that.

Levi doesn’t exactly deserve a demotion, but given Buffalo’s struggle to score, his contract situation and play, it would be the most pragmatic move that Buffalo could make.

What should be on the Sabres holiday wish list?

An offensive forward.

As I mentioned before, the Sabres need to score more, and an offensive-minded forward would go a long way to adding some punch to their offensive attack. The Sabres do boast a fair amount of young offensively gifted players, but many of them are just learning the pro hockey game and have yet to find the consistency that Buffalo needs to get back to the playoffs.

The Sabres have been tied to hometown boy Patrick Kane, and while Kane certainly has the offensive pedigree, he is a bit of an unknown given the situation with his hip recovery. If he could regain some of the form he showed in Chicago just two years ago, Kane could be a solution to Buffalo’s problems, but it would be asking a lot from a player who is coming off major surgery.

The fact that Buffalo is in on Kane is an indication that they would like to add a high-end offensive forward which should be encouraging to Sabres fans. If Buffalo can find space to bring up one of their young scoring forwards from the AHL and find an offensively talented forward from outside the organization, they might be able to finally optimize their offense.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Boston Bruins

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As Thanksgiving and the holiday season approaches, PHR will be taking a look at what teams are thankful for in 2023-24. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Boston Bruins.

Who are the Bruins thankful for?

Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark

Boston’s goaltending wasn’t just great last season, it was historically great. And with the litany of NHL all-stars that departed Boston this summer, many pundits figured that the Bruins’ historical 65-win season would be a distant memory as they struggled through this season. That has not been the case, in fact, the Bruins aren’t just as good as last year. Thus far this season, they are actually better. Last season at this time Boston was sporting an incredible .823 points percentage, but this year they are sitting at an unfathomable .861.

Sure, they still have some of the pieces from their strong core kicking around, but the real reasons they are historically good once again this season are Swayman and Ullmark.

Swayman and Ullmark have split goaltending duties almost directly down the middle this season with incredibly close comparables. Swayman is currently sporting a record of 7-0-2 with a 2.09 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage. Ullmark on the other hand is 7-1-1 with a 2.10 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage.

To find a discrepancy between the two netminders it requires a deep dive into the numbers. According to Money Puck, Swayman has saved one full goal more when you look at both goaltenders’ goals saved above expected. Swayman has posted a 7.6 goals saved above expected while Ullmark has posted 6.6. The calculation by Money Puck is done by taking the goals that a goalie is expected to allow and then subtracting the actual number of goals the goalie has let in. Both Ullmark and Swayman are well above average in this category and every other goaltending metric.

There was talk in the summer that maybe the Bruins would like to move on from Ullmark, but it is hard to fathom Boston breaking up such an incredible duo. Goaltending is a notoriously difficult position to project and it’s rare for teams to get one goalie playing as well as Swayman or Ullmark, and having two is unheard of.

What are the Bruins thankful for?

Surprising play from their top centers.

When Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci announced their retirements in August, many thought that it could be curtains for the Bruins time atop the NHL standings. But, from the moment the puck dropped to start the NHL season they have received quality work from their top two centers Pavel Zacha and Charlie Coyle.

Zacha’s year didn’t start out great as he had just a single assist in the first five games of the season, but since that time he has posted seven goals and six assists in his past 13 games. On top of finding his offensive game, Zacha is averaging almost three and a half minutes more ice time per game than his career average and is finding far more success in the faceoff circle winning draws at a rate that is almost five percent higher than last season.

Coyle on the other hand is on pace for a career season and has fit the role of a top-6 center perfectly. At the moment the 31-year-old is on pace for 32 goals and 41 assists should he dress in all 82 games. Now a lot would have to go right for Coyle to hit those numbers, but the odds are pretty good that he will top the career-high 56 points he put up in the 2016-17 season. Coyle isn’t just doing good work on the offensive side of the game; he has also been a huge part of Boston’s penalty kill and has been dominant in the face-off circle.

What would the Bruins be even more thankful for?

More scoring from the backend

It’s hard to be wishing for more when your team is 14-1-3 to start the season. But if the Bruins were looking for a little something extra it would be more scoring from their defense core. So far this season, Bruins defensemen have accounted for just seven goals and 28 assists. Now, those numbers aren’t horrible, and they certainly don’t paint a fair picture of all their defensemen’s contributions. But the collective 35 points from the Bruins defense core barely tops the 31 points that Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes has put up on his own this season.

Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery has said in press conferences that he would like to see the Bruins’ defensemen adopt more of a shot-first mentality and he would especially like to see his rearguards be in shot-ready mode at any time.

There is merit to what Montgomery is preaching. The Bruins have a ton of big forwards who can drive to the net and get sticks on pucks, or at the very least cause disruption and perhaps create a seam for a seeing-eye shot from a defenseman to find its way into the back of the net.

The Bruins could certainly look to conference foe the Carolina Hurricanes to see how an active defense core can score a lot of goals from the point just by simply being selfish and shot-happy when the shooting lanes open.

What should be on the Bruins holiday wish list?

A top-6 forward.

To be fair, the Bruins really don’t have any needs at the moment. And if there is anything that can be taken away from last year’s playoff collapse it is that often it doesn’t payoff to go all in.

The Bruins don’t have many trade chips to bolster their lineup at this year’s trade deadline, but that doesn’t mean they won’t. If they were to decide to make an impact move at the trade deadline, acquiring a top-6 forward must be top of mind for general manager Don Sweeney.

The Bruins current top-6 is formidable, but it is hard to imagine a team with Stanley Cup aspirations feeling overly comfortable with 34-year-old James van Riemsdyk eating up big minutes come playoff time. That’s no slight on van Riemsdyk, who has been terrific this year, but the reality is that he would be better suited to dress on the team’s third line with Matthew Poitras and Jake DeBrusk

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Quinn Hughes Named Canucks Captain

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After trading away Bo Horvat to the New York Islanders before the trade deadline last season, the Vancouver Canucks had a decision to make regarding their captain moving forward. Today, that decision has been made, as the team announced defenseman Quinn Hughes would be the 15th captain in franchise history.

In the end, for head coach Rick Tocchet and the rest of his staff, the decision likely came down to Hughes, Elias Pettersson, and J.T. Miller. All three players have leadership capabilities and thorough experience in the league up to this point, and all three players would have been realistic choices to take over the captaincy. Hughes will become the first defenseman for the Canucks to wear the ’C’ since Doug Lidster during the 1990-91 NHL season.

The seventh overall selection for Vancouver in the 2018 NHL Draft, Hughes would join the Canucks at the end of the 2018-19 season, finishing off his college career at the University of Michigan. A year later, in his first full season, Hughes thoroughly showed what he could do at the NHL level, scoring eight goals and 45 assists in 68 games. In that first full year for Hughes, he would finish second in Calder Memorial Trophy voting and even garnered some Norris Trophy votes at season’s end.

Since then, it has been much of the same for Hughes, racking up a high amount of assists, and generating quite a bit of offense from the blue line for Vancouver. This past season, in what would be his most impressive year up to this point, Hughes would score seven goals and 69 assists in 78 games, becoming a point-per-game player as a defenseman.

A three-time All-Star already in his career, one of Hughes’s best improvements has been his defensive metrics. At the beginning of his career, there were some questions surrounding his defensive proficiency from the blue line, improving his takeaway numbers, and holding strong possession numbers for much of his career.

Now, at almost 24 years old, Hughes will be tasked with being the leader for the Canucks, both on and off the ice. As Vancouver continues to build and restructure their team into a playoff contender, it will be much of Hughes’s responsibility to lead this team into their next era.

Vancouver Canucks Activate Quinn Hughes, Riley Stillman

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The Vancouver Canucks today activated both Quinn Hughes and Riley Stillman from injured reserve, according to the team. It’s a huge boost for a team finally gaining momentum after a horrid start.

Hughes is expected to draw into the lineup tonight when the Canucks host the Devils, while Stillman is expected to be a healthy scratch to make way for Ethan Bear’s Vancouver debut. Hughes had five points through his first five games this season, but he’d missed the team’s last four games with an undisclosed injury.

The oldest of the Hughes trio is expected to suit up on a pairing with Luke Schenn in his return to the lineup.

Stillman, on the other hand, is yet to register a point through five contests and is averaging just 12:36 per game after being acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Jason Dickinson. Dickinson has six points through his first seven games in Chicago.

The Canucks are still without Brock Boeser, Travis Dermott, and Tucker Poolman due to injury. However, things are looking up for Boeser’s recovery, and he could return as soon as this week.

Guillaume Brisebois Assigned To AHL

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With Ethan Bear on the way in and Quinn Hughes nearing a return, the Vancouver Canucks have assigned Guillaume Brisebois to the AHL. The move comes directly after the best game of Brisebois’ career, which included his first NHL point – an assist on J.T. Miller’s empty-net goal.

Brisebois, 25, played nearly 19 minutes in the game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, and legitimately looked like he could handle himself at the NHL level. If that’s true, it’s a nice place for the Canucks to be in, considering how thin their defensive depth looked just a few days ago. The team now has two-straight wins after their brutal start and things have calmed down in the Vancouver market (for the time being).

Hughes was on the ice at practice yesterday, and told reporters including Ben Kuzma of The Province that he would likely would have played if the team had games Sunday or today. Instead, the group is set to take on his brother Jack Hughes and the New Jersey Devils tomorrow night.

Bear, too, joined the group yesterday after his acquisition from the Carolina Hurricanes and appears ready to get into the lineup. The 25-year-old defenseman hasn’t played a game yet this season after scoring 14 points in 58 appearances last year.

Snapshots: Samuelsson, Bear, Wright

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Buffalo Sabres fans held their breath last night when freshly extended defenseman Mattias Samuelsson went down with an injury in their game against Vancouver. Now, The Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski reports that Samuelsson avoided a long-term injury but is still set to miss at least “a few weeks,” joining Henri Jokiharju on the list of injured Sabres top-four defensemen.

An exact timeline won’t be had on Samuelsson until the team returns to Buffalo, head coach Don Granato said today, and the injury will force some depth defenders to shine in order for Buffalo to keep up its strong start. Lawrence Pilut will make his season debut in the team’s next game after two seasons overseas, and free-agent acquisition Ilya Lyubushkin will be tasked with replacing Samuelsson as the defensive anchor on the top pairing alongside the red-hot Rasmus Dahlin.

  • It’s no secret the Canucks are in trouble, winless so far to start the year. With injuries and general positional depth weakness hampering their defense, the team has been looking to add, and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on 32 Thoughts that the team has checked in on defenseman Ethan Bear as a potential trade acquisition. Bear, the 25-year-old right-shot defenseman, has been thrust down the depth chart in Carolina and has yet to appear in a game this season. The Hurricanes were shopping him prior to the season’s start, and the Canucks have more than enough room thanks to LTIR to accommodate his $2.2MM cap hit. He still has some upside and could provide some better matchups once Quinn Hughes returns to the lineup.
  • Sportsnet’s Jason Bukala ponders whether the Seattle Kraken may opt to send Shane Wright back to the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs after an unimpactful start to the season. Wright hasn’t received many opportunities, he has shown smooth skating and pace, but Bukala points out that Wright’s had some positional issues defensively and may need a bit more development before being able to execute his playstyle properly at the NHL level.

Quinn Hughes Out Week-To-Week

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The Vancouver Canucks didn’t have Quinn Hughes on the ice this morning and won’t for a little while longer. The team has announced Hughes is out week-to-week. Travis Dermott is too, while Brock Boeser and Riley Stillman are out on a day-to-day basis.

The Hughes news comes after Tucker Poolman was moved to injured reserve earlier today, with Guillaume Brisebois recalled to fill in tonight. When Brisebois hits the ice, he’ll already be the tenth defenseman that the Canucks have used this season.

Without Hughes (who is tied for second in scoring despite playing only five of the team’s six games) the Canucks were torn apart by the Buffalo Sabres. That included Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Kyle Burroughs, and Tyler Myers all playing at least 21 minutes, something that will have to continue for the next while.

Vancouver had the ominous jersey toss from fans in that loss to Buffalo, and as Farhan Lalji of TSN tweets, J.T. Miller had a choice quote about this situation. Things aren’t going well with the Canucks, and now they will be without their most dynamic defenseman for at least another several games.

Injury Updates: Hughes, Samuelsson, Chychrun

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The Vancouver Canucks are having a tough time at the start of this season, to say the least. The team is still searching for its first win of the season, and it’s gotten bad enough that coach Bruce Boudreau was openly questioning his players’ effort level when conducting his postgame media duties last night. To make their situation even more difficult, they may have to chase their first win of the season without one of their top players.

Coach Boudreau told the media last night, including The Athletic’s Thomas Drance, that defenseman Quinn Hughes is injured on a day-to-day timeline. It was noted that the injury isn’t expected to be a “long-term thing,” although few in Vancouver could be blamed for not caring about the long-term with the short-term situation this dire. Unlike many of his teammates, Hughes hasn’t gotten off to a horrible start this season. While his defense could stand to improve, he has registered five assists in five games and is tied for second on the team in points. If the Canucks want to right the ship after this disastrous start, they’ll need to get Hughes back and healthy as soon as possible.

Some other injury updates:

  • The Buffalo Sabres received an injury scare last night when defenseman Mattias Samuelsson, a core piece of their blueline, left their contest against the Canucks with a lower-body injury. While we don’t yet have full details on what Samuelsson suffered, we do know that Sabres fans can breathe a sigh of relief. The Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski reports that the Sabres and Samuelsson “got good news” regarding Samuelsson’s injury and that the team and player “avoided the worst.” While this update is obviously relatively vague, it does suggest that Samuelsson won’t be out as long as some might have initially feared he would be.
  • The Jakob Chychrun trade winds have been picking up quite strongly in recent days, and the talented Coyotes blueliner could be on the move in the relatively near future. That being said, though, he’ll have to get healthy first, and he may not be all that close to returning. Per the Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch, Chychrun is still “a few weeks away,” and he relatively recently conducted an in-person visit to the wrist specialist who conducted his offseason surgery. Yesterday, we covered the timeline update to Chychrun’s status, and now with more information on the nature of Chychrun’s absence, (that it could relate to the wrist issues that troubled him this summer) it’s fair to wonder if we really are any closer to a Chychrun deal than we might have been in the past.

Vancouver Canucks Remove Quinn Hughes From COVID Protocol

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The Vancouver Canucks are getting a big boost to their lineup in the form of defenseman Quinn Hughes, who the team activated from COVID protocol today.

Hughes and his brother, Jack Hughes, found themselves on the league’s list after testing positive on arrival to their respective teams after the NHL All-Star break in Las Vegas. Because of the break, Hughes hasn’t suited up for the Canucks in two and a half weeks, missing the team’s first three games post-All-Star break. Vancouver’s last game was a 3-2 win this past Saturday against Toronto.

The 22-year-old defenseman has been Vancouver’s best player this season not named Thatcher Demko. With two goals and 32 assists this season, Hughes’ 34 points are best by far among Canucks defensemen and second on the entire team behind J.T. Miller’s 48 points. While Hughes isn’t exactly a defensive defenseman, he’s continually improving and developing in his own end, a trend that’s continued into this season.

Hughes will slide back into the Vancouver lineup tonight against the San Jose Sharks, likely alongside Luke Schenn considering usual partner Tucker Poolman remains out with an undisclosed injury.

Vancouver Canucks Place Quinn Hughes In COVID Protocol

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Another high-profile name is unavailable as teams return from the All-Star break, as the Vancouver Canucks have placed Quinn Hughes in the COVID protocol. Players were due for one more round of testing as they rejoined teammates regardless of symptoms, and now Hughes has joined the likes of his brother Jack Hughes, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, and Evgeni Malkin in the protocol.

General manager Jim Rutherford has already confirmed to Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK TV that Hughes will miss the next three games at least, and the team hopes to have him back on February 17 against the San Jose Sharks.

Despite the Canucks struggles for most of this season, Hughes is having another outstanding offensive campaign with 34 points in 45 games. Incredibly, he’s averaging more than 25 minutes a night for the club and even set a high of 31:07 in an overtime game against the Calgary Flames. The smooth-skating defenseman is the most important skater on the team and will be desperately missed over the next week.

Vancouver is back in action tomorrow night against the Arizona Coyotes as they try to climb their way back into the Pacific Division playoff picture. Currently sitting at 20-20-6, decisions will soon have to be made on what to do with several trade candidates.

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