Ek's Note> We are so fortunate here to have Hank as our outstanding Sabres writer, so today we are featuring him in my spot!
The Sabres have been hit hard by Covid and Covid protocols. Last night’s game against the Islanders and the game on Wednesday against the Devils showed how much they miss certain pieces, starting with their coach.
Matt Ellis has been thrown into the deep end as acting head coach with Don Granato out of the picture due to Covid protocol. Don Granato has had health challenges in the past, so first and foremost, the important thing is for him to remain healthy. As for Ellis, things went badly early on last night as the Sabres took a too-many-men penalty inside the first two minutes of the game. It’s not fair to pin that entirely on Ellis, but it’s fair to call it a symptom of an inexperienced coach. The former development coach has always been something of a player/coach going back to his days with Lindy Ruff who clearly valued the work ethic that Ellis brings to the game. That said, his inexperience as a head man is evident.
Cody Eakin played the second-most minutes among forwards under Ellis last night. That can’t happen. Ellis and Eakin are somewhat of kindred souls as grinders who are seen as defensive stalwarts so it makes sense that Ellis would over rely on Eakin, even if it makes absolutely no sense to give Eakin big minutes when he has no future with the team.
Secondly, the Sabres have been exposed with some of their speedier pieces out of the lineup over the past two games, and that has given the Granato-less Sabres an excuse to overplay someone like Eakin. The good news for the team is that there is now a six-player taxi squad available to them which will afford the team the opportunity to stash some players there and play the young guys who have a future with the team. With that in mind, here’s a breakdown of who could be assigned to the taxi squad when players return, and which players will take their place.
Taxi Squad: John Hayden Roster: Brett Murray
John Hayden was conceivably brought aboard to bring some toughness and some size to a roster that was seen as smallish overall. Brett Murray has usurped that role as the bigger guy, along with a willingness to drop the gloves as demonstrated in the game against the Devils. Hayden has 2 points in 25 games while Murray has 5 points in 14. This seems like an easy decision
Extra Forward: Cody Eakin Roster: Dylan Cozens
Sabres fans don’t need to watch Cody Eakin anymore. Supposedly his specialty is faceoffs, although that he has gone 50% on faceoffs over the past two games and is 56% on the season. That’s not super good and it’s debatable how much of that even matters. Dylan Cozens is the future and this allows him a clear path back onto the roster without taking the place of another important forward.
Extra Forward: Anders Bjork Roster: Zemgus Girgensons
Simply put, Zemgus Girgensons is a superior 4th line player. Anders Bjork has disappointed in terms of offensive impact this season (4 goals, 1 assist) compared to Girgensons (6 goals, 5 assists) and the Latvian Locomotive also brings superior penalty kill expertise.
Rochester: JJ Peterka Roster: Vinnie Hinostroza
Peterka has looked fine over the past two games. Unfortunately, this is a numbers game and it doesn’t make sense to stash Peterka on the taxi squad. Hinostroza is having a nice season and he figures to be one of the top trade deadline pieces for the Sabres this year. He also brings an enormous amount of speed to the game.
Practice Squad: Arttu Ruotsalainen Roster: Mark Jankowski
Like Girgensons, Jankowski is the superior bottom-6 player at this juncture as compared to Ruotsalainen. Ruotsalainen was careless with the puck last night as he dished a softy over the middle in his own zone which led to a grade-A scoring chance against Malcolm Subban. The future for Ruotsalainen looks murky. Does he have more offense in him? Is he a grinder?
Taxi Squad: Malcolm Subban Roster: Dustin Tokarski
This one isn’t Covid-related, but Tokarski is returning soon. Subban has been just ok since coming aboard from the ‘Hawks earlier this season. Tokarski has the better save percentage, the better GAA and the better record. Pretty straight forward to swap Subban for Tokarski.
Taxi Squad: Ethan Prow Roster: Jeff Skinner
The Sabres need Jeff Skinner to score some goals for them. The Sabres have scored three goals over the past two games which isn’t going to get it done. With all the other moves shown above, there is a space for Skinner as shown in the roster breakdown below.
Final Roster (with taxi squad)
Skinner-Thompson-Tuch Asplund-Krebs-Olofsson Murray-Cozens-Okposo Girgensons-Jankowski-Hinostroza Eakin Bjork
Dahlin-Jokiharju Bryson-Pysyk Miller-Fitzgerald Butcher
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen Dustin Tokarski
Taxi Squad: Subban, Ethan Prow, Ruotsalainen, Hayden, Ryan MacInnis, Oskari Laaksonen
Final Thoughts:
It may be a little bit of wishful thinking to propose Krebs stays aboard rather than just leaving Cody Eakin in the lineup. Kevyn Adams has repeatedly preached the mantra of developing players in the minors, so it’s possible – and even likely – that Krebs gets returned to the Americans. The above roster is an attempt to balance the present and future needs of the Sabres while giving an entertaining product to the fans and some good players for Don Granato to utilize.