In case you missed Part 1 of our Buffalo Sabres Oddsmakers series, we used both real and made-up odds to determine the future of the Buffalo Sabres and their former coach, Lindy Ruff. Part 2 is all about the fake odds, as unfortunately none of the casinos I contacted in search of hockey futures would return my calls. Without further ado, let’s get going.
Odds that the Sabres draft a European in the first round of the 2013 NHL Draft: 3/2
The Sabres used to be the team that only drafted North Americans. GM Darcy Regier seemed to have a phobia for anyone not born in the Western Hemisphere until about 2012. However, at that draft, and with his new expanded personnel and video scouting department, the Sabres drafted Finnish forward Joel Armia. Last year, they drafted two players from across the pond – Mikhail Grigorenko from Russia and Zemgus Girgensons from Latvia.
With many of the #4-15 ranked prospects this year hailing from Europe or Russia, and with two mid-round first round picks, the Sabres seem like they’re in prime position to add to their worldly prospect roster with at least one of their first rounders.
Odds that Ron Rolston will announce his assistant coaches before the draft: 4/1
The newly minted Sabres coach fired James Patrick and Kevyn Adams weeks ago, yet still has not named assistants to replace them. Other teams have been hiring and firing coaches over the past few weeks, but with the draft only 20 days away, will Rolston actually name replacement assistant coaches before the Sabres select their future players in June 30? I can’t imagine they’d wait until after the draft to do so, but geez, it’s taken a long time to find someone to coach the defense and special teams.
Odds John Scott will score a goal next year: 6/1
John Scott has played in 180 NHL games over five seasons, and he has just one career goal to show for it. With the Sabres likely lacking in talent next season, and with Rolston’s propensity to give ice time to those players proving their worth on the ice, Scott could receive significant (for him, anyway) TOI next year, and more ice time means more chances to score a goal off a skate, a leg, or (heaven forbid) by actually shooting the puck past a goalie.
Over/under for number of goals Drew Stafford scores next season: 17.5
Drew Stafford had an abysmal offensive year in 2013. He scored just six goals in 46 games, putting him on pace to just barely crack double digits for a full NHL season. However, Stafford’s shot percentage was 5.5% – well below his career average of 11.3%. Next season should see a regression towards the mean, and scoring on twice as many shots as he did this year would put #21 on pace for…21 goals in 82 games. I’m taking the over here, but only because I believe the pendulum eventually has to swing the other way.
That’s it for Part 2, Sabres fans. Let us know how you’re placing your bets in the comments!