AIDAN POLLARD
Staff Writer
The NHL trade deadline is approaching, and the Sabres are missing their star player, Jack Eichel.
It’s hard to believe that the Sabres’ luck could have possibly gotten worse, but they lost Eichel to a high-ankle sprain which will likely take him out for the rest of the regular season. Not that the Sabres were going to make the playoffs, anyway.
Losing Eichel should lead to a trying rest of the season for the Sabres. So far, they have been performing decently without him, but there’s no way to spin this as a minor loss.
Eichel leads the team in goals by four, followed by Ryan O’Reilly and Evander Kane even though Eichel has been out since Feb. 10. It’s possible for the Sabres to pull some more wins out of this season, but they are going to have to step up a pretty ridiculous amount as a team, and not as individuals.
Eichel brought a lot to the Sabres as their only true star player, and without him, the gap for a new standout needs to be filled.
Looking forward optimistically, though, the trade deadline is on Feb. 26, and the Sabres should be looking to rebuild anywhere and everywhere they can.
With Eichel out, the Sabres have had to look to other players to step up and show what they are worth. O’Reilly has shown great promise in the games lacking Eichel. He’s proven himself as a high-caliber center.
The Sabres can use this newfound proof that they have quality players to their advantage during this trade season.
It could be beneficial for Buffalo if they toyed with the idea of letting go of the new step-up players like O’Reilly and Sam Reinhart to bring in some tried and true reliable players. It is also extremely likely that the Sabres will let Kane go.
Thinking more on the defensive side, the Sabres need to do something — anything — with their goaltending.
It’s hard to say who would want to pick up Robin Lehner, Chad Johnson though.
The Sabres desperately need to find a way to at least bring a mid-tier goalie into the program. No matter how well the offensive and defensive lines on the team begin to gel, without a respectable goalie the Sabres won’t be able to pull together a playoff level team.
The Sabres are in a point of their season where all they can really do is prove that they have potential. Without Eichel on the ice, it’s necessary for Buffalo’s players to prove themselves as strong hockey players who can hold their own without a flagship player on the team.
Under the circumstances, there’s really no way to look at the Sabres and call them a playoff contender, but it’s possible to look at them as a team that can have a shot later on down the road.
If the Sabres can pull some good deals out before the trade deadline and first-year General Manager Jason Botterill can begin to build a team that can gel with itself, there’s a shot for them.
Maybe not this year or even the next couple years, but there’s a shot.