4th in the atlantic, 7th overall. 1st round loss in 6 games to tampa

hopefully a wildcard. goaltending is iffy

Fighting for a WC spot with 5 other teams

Going to make some transactions at Trade Deadline. Will get in as a wild card spot and lose in the 1st rd 6 games tough series

If the goaltending holds up they take one of the last 2 playoff spots in the East.

2nd in Division
4th in Conference
1st round winner
2nd round loser

6th in a tight division.

Wild card spot, along with Ottawa.

Out in the first round in either 6 or 7 games.

if the goaltending is awful (which is expected), they'll finish with around 88-91 points imo. If the goaltending is somehow above average, they'll get 100 points. Won't win any rounds though I don't think.

Stand by my prediction 100 pts., third in division, in a dog fight with Tampa for second.
Buffalo was only 7 pts behind Tampa and the Sabres got better with Clifton, Johnson. Levi, Stillman and Greenway for an entire season.
We will see breakout seasons by Peterka, Quinn, Krebs, Power and Levi just as Cozens and Mittlestadt did last year.
Florida could suffer from playoff hang over and made the playoffs by only one point over Buffalo.
Both Boston and Tampa are much weaker than last year, while the Sabres who were the youngest team in the NHL are more mature and improved upgraded their Defense and GK.
Last season Bryson, Pilut, Clague, Lyubushkin and Fitzgerald played 200 games, those games will be played by Clifton, Johnson and Stillman.
It appears Buffalo Pundits are under rating Stillman. he played wtih every Sabre defenseman and exceeded 55% corsi with every one, he will be fine.
Add Quinn to that line up and Buffalo will have 3 scoring lines.
Detroit and Ottawa and will surprise every one both getting over 80 pts and could be in the hunt for a playoff late into the season.
Toronto should never have let Dubas leave as he has been masterful making the Penguins better.
Not only did he add the biggest fish Karlsson, but he also stole Ryan Graves from the devils to bolster the defense.
Then improved the bottom six with Accari and Eller while taking advantage of Veges cap issues adding Smith for only a third.

We can all check back in April on this, but the Sabres will be much better next year.

Ottawa finished with 86pts last year. No Chychrun or Norris . Minimum is 92-93

Yeah the leafs should have never let him go. He has turned the Penguins back to a legit threat now

I see them either getting a wildcard spot or barely missing this season. Next season though, I am quite confident they can make it. My big concern for this team is the goaltending. If they had a good backup for Levi I would say this team is a WC lock, but it is just too shaky for me to sya that right now

The prevailing theory amongst the media and many fans is that the Sabres will take the kind of leap this season like the Devils did last season - and surprise a lot of people in not only making the playoffs but going well beyond that.