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Toronto Maple Leafs Atlantic Preview: Sabres Still Stink

By James Tanner

TORONTO, ON - APRIL 12: Tage Thompson #72 of the Buffalo Sabres skates with the puck against Auston Matthews #34 of the Toronto Maple Leafs during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on April 12, 2022 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Sabres defeated the Maple Leafs 5-2. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - APRIL 12: Tage Thompson #72 of the Buffalo Sabres skates with the puck against Auston Matthews #34 of the Toronto Maple Leafs during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on April 12, 2022 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Sabres defeated the Maple Leafs 5-2. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /
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The Toronto Maple Leafs, as bad as they have been, aren’t the Buffalo Sabres, and for that we are thankful.

If not for the Buffalo Sabres, it might actually get depressing being a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs.  

Sure, the Leafs lose every year in the playoffs, but to the Sabres, losing six straight times in the first round would be the best decade in franchise history.

The Buffalo Sabres have missed the playoffs for 11 straight seasons.

They are about to make it 12.

Atlantic Preview: Toronto Maple Leafs and the Buffalo Sabres

The Sabres recently signed Jeff Skinner to another contract extension that….just kidding, but they did something almost as crazy: they gave Tage Thompson a seven year contract extension with a $7 million dollar cap hit.

Somewhere, David Clarkson is laughing hysterically.

Aside from making sure the next decade is as wacky and fun as this one was for their fans, the Sabres did pick three times in the first round, though their highest pick was 9th.

In free agency, the Sabres brought in goalie Eric Comrie and signed ex Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin.

Good news: They will be paying Jeff Skinner $9 million per season for another five years.  Good times indeed!

The Sabres are really bad up front. They have Thompson, and they have Payton Krebs, Dylan Cozens, Alex Tuch, Jack Quinn and Casey Middlestadt.

That isn’t really that bad, but they are desperate for a star to stir this slightly above average drink.  If only they had a Jack Eichel of some sorts.

On defense they have two franchise cornerstones which, along with the half-decent young forwards will serve them well if they can somehow get a star centre.  The kind they already had, and which most teams search in vain for years without ever acquiring.

Fighting with and trading Jack Eichel was  a really dumb thing to do.  Now they are re-building their re-build and things are way less promising than they were in the time immediately following their drafting of Eichel.

Owen Power and Rasmus Dahlin are good, but what Buffalo needs is one more really bad year in order to get their hands on Connor Bedard or a reasonable facsimile.

For the upcoming 2022-23 season the Sabres are not contenders.  They are most likely going to be one of the very worst teams in the NHL.  Detroit and Ottawa might even pass them.

Goalies and Defenseman Grades. dark. Next

They won’t be competing with the Toronto Maple Leafs or Tampa Bay Lightning for a division title, but instead will be competing with Chicago, Arizona and Montreal for last place and the right to draft the best players since Auston Matthews entered the NHL.

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