It’s widely assumed throughout the hockey world that Sabres and the Coyotes are vying to finish last in the NHL this season in order to obtain the best chance at Canadian wunderkind Shane Wright, the likely first overall pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. And what a co-inky-dink, these two teams were doing the exact same thing in in 2014-2015! The Sabres, of course, would win the battle (although ultimately lose the war to Edmonton), as the Sabres finished last but picked second and selected Jack Eichel.
That, uh, didn’t work out, so a couple of general managers and a few coaches later, it appears the Sabres are going to give it another go.
There’s been a lot of talk around the internet about the Sabres icing a historically bad team which begs the question if this roster could truly compare to the pure, unadulterated tank masterpiece assembled by Tim Murray nearly 7 years ago. With that in mind, this is a line-by-line comparison between the team from back then and the projected team from this season. The 2014 team’s line combinations are cobbled together mostly through production and also by using Dobber’s frozen tools, which, frankly aren’t super helpful for teams that far back. It’s also a fair bit of recollection but honestly the exact combinations aren’t super important; it’s the sum of the parts that makes the tank. As for this season’s projected roster, I’m using the projected lines from the series I just wrapped up which explored each individual Sabre. You can check out that roster by clicking
this link and scrolling to the bottom of the article to see the whole roster.
So let’s get to the comparisons!
Line 1:
Matt Moulson - Zemgus Girgensons - Tyler Ennis vs (Jeff Skinner – Casey Mittelstadt – Victor Olofsson)
On the surface it looks like the 2021-22 team has the clear advantage here, but it’s also important that we properly put in perspective who the players were at that point in their careers to give a better sense of the true identity of the line. This would be Moulson’s final 40+ point season (13g + 28a) before his decline truly and totally took hold, so while his skills were diminished, he hadn’t totally bottomed out yet. Tyler Ennis on the other hand almost had a career year with 46 points, 20 of which were goals. The Latvian Locomotive did indeed enjoy the best offensive season of his career with 15 goals and 15 assists in 61 games, leading many to believe that he had much more untapped offensive potential. Skinner and Olofsson figure to easily beat the combined goal total of Moulson and Ennis (33), and likewise, Mittelstadt easily bests the half-a-point-per-game pace of Girgensons and will almost certainly reach 50 points. This line comparison is the most likely to be a blowout as it’s a near given that the Sabres, under the offensively minded Granato, will have a forward get more than 50 points. Mittelstadt and Olofsson are both likely candidates to do so.
Edge: 2021-22 Sabres (by a mile)
Line 2:
Marcus Foligno – Brian Flynn – Brian Gionta vs (Anders Bjork – Dylan Cozens – Tage Thompson)
This one looks a bit closer on the surface so it might come down to other factors, but before talking intangibles and such, let’s look at the pure offensive numbers. Foligno had 20 points in 57 games, Flynn had 17 points in 54 games, and Gionta had 35 points in 69 games. None of these players played a full season which makes the task of projecting offensive totals a little trickier but we’ll muddle on nonetheless. Foligno’s point pace would have put him at around 29 points over an 82-game season which feels just about right for his counterpart on this year’s roster, Anders Bjork. Flynn’s point pace would have put him at 25 points over 82 games played and that seems very low for Cozens who figures to get a ton of ice time this season and will likely eclipse the 40-point mark. Lastly, we have the 40-point pace of Gionta against the potential of Thompson. I’m giving this one to Gio. Thompson hasn’t produced near a half-a-point-per-game yet and I’m not ready to believe he’s there. So, the tangibles lead us to a draw, and so too does the feistiness of Foligno and his counterpart Cozens. Likewise, the leadership of Cozens and Gionta is about equal in my eyes despite the fact that Gionta wore the “C” and Cozens likely will not (this season). Is that a hot take?
Edge: Draw
Line 3:
Chris Stewart – Cody Hodgson – Drew Stafford vs (Arttu Ruotsalainen – Rasmus Asplund – Vinnie Hinostroza)
Again, understood and accepted that the lines from 2014-2015 may not have looked exactly like this. Nearly everyone on that team seems to have missed sizable chunks of time or were traded at the deadline so piecing this back together is a wild endeavor. Anyway, Stewart had 25 points in 61 games (32 point pace), Cody “Coho” Hodgson had 13 points in 78 games and Stafford had 24 in 50 games. Man, this line comparison actually looks way closer than I thought it would be with the exception of Coho’s 13 points. Asplund definitely gets more than 13 points over 82 games, and Ruotsalainen could hit the 30-point mark, but it’s not a given that Hinostroza operates on a half-a-point-per game pace. In the end, the edge is going to go to this year’s team because Hodgson dragged those point totals way down, but this is nearly a draw.
Edge: 2021-2022 Sabres
Line 4:
Nicolas Deslauriers – Johan Larsson – Torrey Mitchell vs (Zemgus Girgensons – John Hayden – Kyle Okposo)
Sub in Cody Eakin here if you like, but it’s my opinion that Hayden will be getting a decent number of games this season because he brings a physical element that is mostly lacking on the team where Eakin does not. Deslauriers was the only Sabres player that season to suit up in all 82 contests and he managed 15 points in those games. Girgensons point totals over the last four seasons he played are 18, 15, 19 and 19, so Girgensons looks like he’ll probably squeak out the victory. Larsson played 39 games and put up 16 points, so he looks to have the easy win over Hayden whose career high is 13 points. Lastly, we have Okposo vs the 13 points in 51 games for Mitchell which equates to a 20-point pace. Okposo beats 20 points. The defensive acumen of Girgensons and Okposo is also superior to the singular presence of their former compatriot and long-time linemate Johan Larsson.
Edge: 2021-2022 Sabres
It’s worth noting that Pat Kaleta, Cody McCormick and current Sabres Assistant Coach Matt Ellis all played over 30 games for that team in addition to the players above. Overall, the first line is a blow out, but the rest of the lines all look more even matched than perhaps I had anticipated when setting out to create this comparison. The 2021-22 team scored a 3-0-1 record against Tim Murray’s squad although the second and third lines look pretty even when stacked against each other offensively. This year’s squad figures to have a sizable advantage when it comes to defensive play though, especially in the bottom-six.
Still, it’s perhaps an uncomfortable reality that there are meaningful parallels among the forwards of both squads.
Buffalo Sabres Blogger • 
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