The Sabres - A Sinking Ship Or A Rising Submarine?

It's the 3rd of April, 2011, and the ITC regular season is drawing to an end. The playoff picture is almost completely set, with the sixteen teams who will compete for hockey's ultimate prize locked in and the battle lines being drawn; yet, despite being part of this privileged group last year, the Buffalo Sabres are nowhere to be seen until you cast your eyes down. And down...and down some more. Sitting in 27th place overall, on an eight-game losing streak, the Sabres make for sorry viewing - how, you might ask, can a team with luminaries such as Rick Nash, Marian Hossa, Ryan Miller and Cam Barker have fallen so hard?

The answer, if you listen to newly-appointed General Manager Jay Byers, is simple. "While I don't want to blame everything on the management before," he said in an NHL press conference, "they did make some questionable moves. The Lundqvist/Toskala trade, for instance? Not something I would have done." The trade alluded to was orchestrated by Byers' predecessor, Quinn Mulligan, seeing Henrik Lundqvist, Daniel Briere and a 3rd-round pick in 2011 head to San Jose in exchange for Vesa Toskala, Kyle Rossiter, Erik Fehr and a 2nd-round pick in 2011. It was viewed as a solution to the Sabres' goaltending logjam, with both Miller and Lundqvist vying for starting minutes, but Briere's inclusion was a tough one to take for Sabres fans. Byers continued "Don't get me wrong, I understand the reasoning behind the move, but in my opinion, the wrong goaltender left."

His remarks drew criticism from some, but Miller himself insisted he wasn't offended - "I know what [Jay] meant to say, even if I don't agree with him, so I'm not bothered." There was one man who opened fire on his new boss, although it wasn't exactly without provocation - what was almost Byers' first act was to demote Denis Gauthier from his position as captain and hand the "C" to top goalscorer Marian Hossa. In reply, Gauthier said "It's a ****ing pointless decision, there's only two ****ing games to go and it's a retarded way to start. Well ****ing done, boss." Whether this will prompt any further ramifications is yet to be seen. The question is, what does Byers have to work with?

To start with, a lot of picks. Various trades have left Buffalo with two first-round picks (their own, currently sitting at #4 in the draft order) and that of the Ottawa Senators (at #23), along with five second-round picks (their own, Ottawa's, San Jose's, Toronto's and Anaheim's), and it is believed that Byers is looking to shift some of these ahead of the draft in order to move up; the expected package is Ottawa's first-round pick and Toronto or San Jose's second-round for a middling first-round pick. Vancouver is being touted as a potential target, as they have four picks in this year's first round including their own, currently at #15 overall.

The Sabres are also in a position of power ahead of free agency, with approximately $5.5 million of cap space to play around with. While some players are looking at big paydays - Trevor Daley, in particular, will be looking to markedly increase his $600,000 salary - others may be moved before the draft. Mathieu Dandenault is not believed to have a future in Buffalo, while Martin Havlat and Vesa Toskala could also leave depending on how contract negotiations go; the latter's situation is made more interesting by the presence of goaltenders Andy Green and Daniel Ekroth, both of whom are likely first-round picks (Green has a CSB ranking of 6, Ekroth's is 13), as well as the number of goaltenders whose contracts expire after this season. Most will be resigned, but the Sabres will be hoping talks break down for someone.

Are the Sabres a ship or a submarine? It's too early to tell in truth. There is too much talent on the team to keep tanking - assuming they can keep both Cam Barker and Keith Ballard, they will retain the core of a dangerous defense - while the sky appears to be the limit for Sid Sorensen (even if his numbers did take a hit from last year's career best 63 points). And, of course, the draft will likely be a source of celebration for Buffalo's hockeyistas even if Byers can't pull off any trading magic beforehand. The future's bright...the present is a question everyone will have a different perspective on.