Editor’s Note: This is Part Two of the Sabres vs. Atlantic Division Rivals: An Analysis. To read Part One, please click here.
1) Ottawa Senators
The Sens continue to be in rebuilding mode, missing the playoffs in 2023 for the sixth straight season, the team’s longest drought. Ottawa suffered a tough late-season loss to the Florida Pathers and on top of that, the franchise dealt with new incoming ownership. GM Pierre Dorion prepared to keep making deals and trades until the new owners told him he couldn’t.
Ottawa goes into 2023-24 with a solid core of forwards, including Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stützle, Claude Giroux, Drake Batherson and Josh Norris. However, winger Alex DeBrincat, an asset the Senators thought they could lock up, left Canada’s capital to play for his hometown team, the Detroit Red Wings.
Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun felt letting DeBrincat go was the right decision, because the Sens couldn’t afford his $9 million salary anyway and needed people, that, as Sabres GM Kevyn Adams would say, “want to be here”. Garrioch believed Dorion could use the freed-up cap space to land Vladimir Tarasenko, which he did.
DeBrincat enjoyed 27 goals, 39 assists and 66 points in his lone season as a Senator. Tarasenko’s numbers were 8, 13 and 21, respectively, so signing the Russian winger still looks like a step back. Even so, Ottawa has a decent depth, and landing defensive star Jakob Chychrun from Arizona was a major coup. In addition, goalie Anton Forsberg could be a problem for opponents if he gets healthy. The Senators are not a franchise to underestimate.
2) Montreal Canadiens
The Habs are another Atlantic Division rival trying to climb their way out of the bottom of the NHL standings. Montreal GM Kent Hughes made some promising signings which could be a little competitive for opponents if and when management brings them up to the NHL.
Hughes recently signed two free agents, Philippe Maillet and Brady Keeper. Maillet scored 21 goals and 31 assists in 66 games for the KHL’s Magnitogorsk Metallurg. Keeper, a defenseman with Vancouver’s Abottsford Canucks, had one goal and five assists in 35 games. However, the Canadiens plan to start them at the AHL level for now, so the Sabres won’t face these two anytime soon.
Another player Buffalo shouldn’t need to deal with right away is Austrian prospect David Reinbacher, who inked a three-year, $950,000 deal with Le Grand Club. Skating for the Swiss League, Reinbacher netted three goals and 22 points in 46 games. The defenseman was fifth overall, the highest-drafted Austrian d-man ever and equals former Sabre Thomas Vanek as the highest-drafted fellow countrymen at any NHL position. Reinbacher expressed interest in spending another season in Europe before joining the AHL.
Based on the moves Hughes made, Montreal will be stiffer competition in a few seasons, but not immediately.
3) Detroit Red Wings
One team’s loss is another’s gain, as Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman received an -A from ESPN for his offseason signings, especially getting Alex DeBrincat from the Ottawa Senators. However, Yzerman isn’t relying on DeBrincat alone. Forward J.T. Compher comes to the Motor City from Colorado, where he had 17 goals, 35 assists and 52 points last year. Defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere enjoyed 89 blocks, 46 hits and 32 takeaways in 2022-23.
Justin Holl is another d-man who played for the Leafs for the past six seasons. He brings a strong defensive background and physical skill, with 139 blocks, 151 hits and 28 takeaways. Goalie James Reimer, most recently with the San Jose Sharks, has a career .911 SV% and 2.87 GAA. His last season numbers were a little lower, but Reimer should be a good backup for starter Ville Husso.
The Red Wings have often suffered because of a lack of top-end scorers, but the franchise is headed in a much more competitive direction. In fact, Sion Fawkes of SabreNoise wrote that Detroit is one of two teams, along with Ottawa, that could keep the Buffalo Sabres from reaching the playoffs in 2023-24. Fawkes points out that those two rivals have employed a different approach from Sabres GM Kevyn Adams. While Buffalo’s GM quietly builds up his roster, competitors such as Yzerman focus on big spending and splashy signings like the DeBrincat deal.
Throwing money at a problem and counting on a few high-profile pieces to save a team doesn’t always work, as the Sabres have learned in the past. Hopefully, Adams’ approach of more depth, patience and fine-tuning will be enough to stave off hungry opponents like the Red Wings, who are taking the opposite tack.