Sabres have options come draft day

BUFFALO – The Buffalo Sabres looked like a playoff team for the most part of the 2011-12 season only to fall short of making the playoffs.   The second guessing and complaining among Sabres fans ran rampant after the season but no matter how much they griped the bottom line is the team missed the playoffs and had to pick up the pieces from another disappointing season.
Statically speaking the Sabres were once again around the middle of the pack ranking 17^th in offense and 18^th in defense, 16^th on the power play and 19^th on the penalty kill, and 19^th in face-offs.   With stats like that it’s hard to pinpoint any one issue that plagued the team.
The top three scorers on the team were wingers, Jason Pominville, Thomas Vanuk, and Drew Stafford. In fact they were the only scorers on the team with over 20 goals with Pominville reaching the 30 goal mark. Five other players had 10 or more goals, three were centerman, one left winger, and one a defenseman.
Like the offense the defense was solid but not great.   Jordan Leopold led the blueliners in goals but   Christian Ehrhoff led the defense in points. Of the teams 10 defensemen only four were a positive in the plus/minus category.  
The goaltending wasn’t great as in past years but all of the Sabres three goaltenders were over 90 percent in save percentage and below 3.00 in goals against.   The only Sabres prospects on their radar is Connor Knapp so the look for Buffalo to add a goalie or two at the draft.
Buffalo has a few UFA’s, mostly at the forward positions so look for the Sabres to   attack the forward positions in the draft. They have two first round picks thanks to the Paul Gaustad trade with Nashville. Rarely do teams address the same position twice in the same round. The Sabres pick 12^th and 21^st overall. They could move one or both for proven players but with needs in all positions it’s hard to see the Sabres, who generally go the draft route rather than through free agency to build their teams, to stay put on both picks.
Buffalo has mostly wingers and defenseman as their top prospects. The way the draft is falling the way PHN is going look for the Sabres to go after a center with the teams pick at 12. Radek Faksa, Brendan Gaunce, and Zemgus Girgensons should be waiting for the Sabres at 12 but if the Sabres want to move up they could. All three are considered power forwards but unless the Sabres can move up from 21 they will only be able to get one of the three.
That said, look for the Sabres to make the following announcement come draft day.
“With the 12^th overall pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, the Buffalo Sabres select, from the Kitchener Rangers,   Radek Faksa.”
To learn more about Radek Faksa click here .
Contact the author at Brian.Jennings@prohockeynews.com
Contact the photographer at Lewis.Bleiman@prohockeynews.com