Is it just me or does it not seem like the Sabres have been in a rebuilding mode for a really long time now?  It's only been four seasons since the Sabres last made the playoffs, but every season the team seems optimistic about some group of youngsters or another.  The problem is, the Sabres are still waiting for some of those same youngsters to make an impact while the franchise essentially treads water until they do.  There's certainly a lot of "ifs" on the Sabres; if one of their goalies step up, if three or four of their young forwards break out, if the defense gels somehow, etc.  Unfortunately, there's far too many "ifs" and not enough certainties for this to be considered anywhere near a playoff team.

These previews will appear, two a day, until the season starts on October 5th.  They will be put on-site by division, roughly in order of predicted finish.  Note that the rookies listed are only those most likely to make the team, not necessarily ones who have already sewn up a spot, and surprises always occur in training camp.  The In/Out portion represents significant players added and lost since the end of the 2003-04 season.  And now, on with the show...

In: Teppo Numminen, Toni Lydman

Out: Eric Boulton, Miroslav Satan, Alexei Zhitnik, James Patrick, Brad Brown

Rookies: Ryan Miller, Thomas Vanek, Jason Pominville, Paul Gaustad, Doug Janik

Sure, another season has passed, and it’s a brand new NHL, but it’s hard to tell if you’re looking at Buffalo.  Unless, of course, you’re looking at the lineup and wondering what happened to longtime Sabres Satan and Zhitnik, both of whom signed with the Islanders this summer.  Seems like the Sabres have gone into camp saying the same thing the past three, non-playoff seasons: lots of goaltending depth, some good young talent up front, wait until next year.

Strengths: 1. This may finally be the year prospect Ryan Miller makes his mark in the NHL.  Miller was named the top goaltender in the AHL last season with the Sabres farm team in Rochester, and after three standout AHL seasons after a fine college career with Michigan State, the Sabres swear that this time Miller will make the team for sure.  That means that unlike the last two seasons when pundits said the Sabres would have to deal a goaltender to make room for him, this time it’s really true.  2003-04 backup Mika Noronen had an excellent season in Finland last year, which means that that season’s starter, Martin Biron, the oldest and only one of the three who didn’t play last season, might be the odd man out.  Unfortunately for the Sabres, the market for goaltenders right now strongly favors the buyer.  Still, it’s an asset the Sabres will have, and hopefully two of their three goalies will combine to form a first-rate tandem.

2. Since we’ve talked about the goalies, that must mean we’ve moved on to the good young talent up front.  Mike Grier, at 30, and Chris Drury, 29, are the old men of the bunch.  The line of Daniel Briere, J-P Dumont and Jochen Hecht is expected to lead the team’s offense once again, while an intriguing new addition will be Vanek, who scored 42 goals as a rookie pro in the AHL last season.  Behind Briere and Drury at center will be young Derek Roy, who played very well for the Sabres towards the end of 2003-04 and was good again last season in the AHL, and a fully-recovered Tim Connolly, who’s concussion problems sidelined him for all of 2003-04.  Connolly has never lived up to expectations as a pro, but at 24 is still young enough to prove his doubters wrong.

Weaknesses: 1. Losing Zhitnik and Brown to free agency and Patrick to retirement leaves the Sabres with a dearth of veteran leadership on defense and a lot of minutes to make up.  In an attempt to address both problems the team signed Numminen, but at 37 and coming off a particularly uninspired 2003-04 in Dallas, just how much he can contribute is an issue.  Luckily for the team Dmitri Kalinin emerged as a defensive leader in 2003-04, playing both special teams and leading the defense in points.  He and young Henrik Tallinder are ready for even more responsibility, and if the team can get a full season out of oft-injured Jay McKee, that will help.  Still, even if those four perform well that’ll only give the team a decent, not great, defense, as the rest of the blueline contingent is filled with suspect performers.

2. While Buffalo has some talent up front, the do have some issues in terms of size and physical play, particularly at center.  Only one of their top four centers is over six feet, Connolly, and he is less than renowned for his physical play.  The wings aren’t much better, with several players over six feet, but only a handful, enforcer Andrew Peters, sparkplug Adam Mair, and Grier having any sort of physical element to their game.  Grier was a nice addition late in 2003-04, and he is an excellent hitter and forechecker, but he’s the only winger on the top three lines that can claim either distinction.  The team could conceivably play Drury, who does have some bite to his game, on the wing, but he’s by far the team’s best faceoff man and is needed at center because of it.

Don’t be Surprised If: Vanek ends up a serious rookie of the year candidate.  After a bit of a slow start in the AHL last season, one that affected pretty much the entire Rochester roster, Vanek caught fire and finished second in the league in goals.  The Sabres have some centers who can get him the puck in good scoring position and are more than willing to make room for him on their top two lines, so Vanek, who is only 21, could excel this season.

Outlook: Virtually the same lineup failed to make the playoffs in 2003-04 with Satan and Zhitnik.  There’s little reason to believe that it will make the playoffs this season.  Look for the Sabres to occupy the basement of the Northeast division and finish well out of the post-season.

Centres: 1. Daniel Briere  2. Chris Drury  3. Derek Roy  4. Tim Connolly  4. Adam Mair  5. Chris Taylor  6. Paul Gaustad

Wingers: 1. Jochen Hecht  2. J.P. Dumont  3. Maxim Afinogenov  4. Ales Kotalik  5. Mike Grier  6. Thomas Vanek  7. Taylor Pyatt  8. Milan Bartovic  9. Andrew Peters  10. Jason Pominville

Defensemen: 1. Dmitri Kalinin  2. Jay McKee  3. Teppo Numminen  4. Toni Lydman  5. Henrik Tallinder  6. Jeff Jillson  7. Brian Campbell  8. Rory Fitzpatrick  9. Doug Janik

Goalies: 1. Martin Biron  2. Mika Noronen  3. Ryan Miller