With how our beloved Sabres have played in this new year, the majority of us have resided in the fact that if there was a year to win the Cup, this is not the year. As the trade deadline approaches with our team sitting uncomfortably in 15th place, it is safe to assume that we will be a seller and not a buyer until the clock strikes 3:00 pm on February 27th. Therefore, it is imperative that we examine some of the players on this roster that might be moved within the next 7 days and investigate the value they might receive when brought to market.

If you are interested in such a discussion, come take the jump.

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It has been a long time since I had posted to this site, and I apologize. Since my last posting, our fair Buffalo Sabres have accumulated a 9-18-4 record. Of course, this poses a few questions:

Is my lack of posting and the Sabres poor record a coincidence? More than likely.

Is all of this my fault? I sure hope not.

Can you blame their play on me? If that makes you feel better, go ahead.

Now that we have that out of way, onto my post. Last time on Sab(re)metrics, I discussed "How Good Is Thomas Vanek?" Analyzing his play since the Lockout using GVT and Even Stength Scoring per 60 minutes, it was concluded that Thomas Vanek is a top 30 forward in the NHL. While validating his offensive worth is noteworthy, the previous post did not analyze if his offensive production costs too much, if its a bargain, or if its just right. I find this important because I have heard the complaint (less this year) that,

"Thomas Vanek is horrible! He is not worth $7 million a year! Darcy does not know what he is doing....FIRE EVERYONE!!!"

Therefore, a statistical look at Vanek's worth is necessary to validate the 'truthiness' of the above claim. If you want to know if ATV's play is validated by his paycheck, come take the jump.

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Introduction:

NAME: Thomas Vanek

AGE: 27

HEIGHT: 6 ft 2 in

WEIGHT: 208 lbs

KNOWN ALIASES: "Angry Thomes Vanek (ATV)"; "Austria's Greatest Export"; "Thomas F***ing Vanek (TFV)"

CURRENT STATISTICS:

Looking at Thomas Vanek's statistics from this season and last season, we know that he has become one of the best, if not the best player on the Buffalo Sabres. Looking over his career, we can also conclude that Thomas Vanek's best offensive season was his 43 goal and 84 point campaign during our President Trophy winning season of 2006-07. While these are all good seasons, I still need to ask myself:

"How good is Thomas Vanek?"

For example, is Thomas Vanek simply the best player on this team, or is he a top player in the NHL? Should Thomas Vanek just be considered a top player on a well-rounded offensive club, or could he be a top player on any NHL team he played on? How do his stats compare with the other top 30 forwards in the NHL?

To find out these answers and more, you should take the jump.

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I know I stated that my second installation would be the thought-provoking piece "How Good Is Thomas Vanek," but I received a nice surprise the other night when Hockey Prospectus and ESPN writer Robert Vollman contacted me about his own hockey projection system called Snepsts. Since I want to analyze the accuracy of the VUKOTA projection system throughout the season, I decided to write a quick article on the Snepsts projection system and what projections are yielded for the Buffalo Sabres this season. This way, we can look out how the accurate these two projection methods will be over our 41 and 82 game regular season. Check after the jump for some links, a brief explanation of the Snepsts projection system, and a comparison of this method's projections with VUKOTA.

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Welcome to the first weekly installment of Sab(re)metrics, a column fully dedicated to the advanced statistical analysis of the Buffalo Sabres. Throughout the season, I will write about both the seasonal and career advanced statistics of the team and their players. Some of the advanced statistics I will examine include:

1. VUKOTA

2. Game Versus Threshold (GVT)

3. Corsi Number

4. GAA in Even Strength and Special Teams Play

Check after the jump for the meat and potatoes to today's article: VUKOTA Projections for the 2011-2012 Buffalo Sabres.

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