The Sabres went into UFA targeting two main pieces in a #1 starting goalie, and a #2 center. The team has never had a true #1 goalie in net since GM Jared Mitchell took an odd approach by moving Marc-Andre Fleury when he joined the Sabres organization. The team had also not had a legit #2 center since winning the cup with Ryan Kesler in that spot. There were other more minor spots to fill, like on D since the team moved veteran Brooks Orpik ourt for center Matt Cullen, and there was a RW spot open in the bottom 6.

The good news is the team signed an Orpik replacement in big Zdeno Chara, that should be a big step up on D. He does arrive in Buffalo with a hefty price tag of $8,000,000 over the course of this year before he hits the UFA market again. The team also filled the hole in their bottom 6 with the signing of Cal Clutterbuck, not a block buster by any means but he should help the team become harder to play against. Also coming in is Antoine Vermette, who should be a solid option as the #3 center in town.

The bad news, there is still no #1 goalie in town and Ryan Strome is still the teams best option as the #2 center. Goaltender Michal Neuvirth was brought in from Philly for a 3rd, a steep price to pay for a platoon type of goalie. He won't be the every day #1 though as he'll share the net with Petr Mrazek. Most would say running with a Neuvirth/Mrazek tandem in net is a good recipe for a lottery pick.

So what are now the expectations for the Sabres next year? Well, as far as predictions go, I've heard rumblings as high as 8th in the east and as low as 14th. That's a pretty wide range there, it's generally thought that star center Sidney Crosby keeps this team out of the basement in what is being called a "waste of Crosby". We caught up with Sidney the other day for his thoughts on his teams off-season. "Winning is obviously my top priority. I've talked with GM Mitchell and let him know my concerns, he and I share the same concerns for the team and I have faith that he'll make the right decisions moving forward." Rumour has it, if the team is struggling to be a playoff team leading up to the deadline that a full on rebuild might take place. That means stars Crosby & Radulov might be names you hear moving out of Buffalo for picks and prospects.

"We were priced out of the goalie market again this year." Quipped the GM. "I had 9 million set aside for us to pursue a tender, but we just couldn't compete with the signing bonuses offered by other teams. Carter Hutton was our top target, I figured 9 million was a lofty number and that would be enough. I was wrong, we don't have the cash available to sign a #1 this year." Said a dejected Mitchell. Carter Hutton signed with another team for $12,240,000 and another target for the Sabres was Jonathan Bernier who ended up signing for $9,500,000. Just out of reach from the Sabres.

So now we wait, will we see a rebuild start if the team comes out of the gate flat? Can this team manage to squeak into the playoffs as is? Time will tell, but until training camp starts this is the projected lineup:

Gustav Nyqvist - Sidney Crosby - Nick Bjugstad

Ondrej Palat - Ryan Strome - Alexander Radulov

Kevin Roy - Antoine Vermette - Jack Roslovic

Ivan Barbashev - Matt Cullen - Cal Clutterbuck

Daniel O'Regan

Zdeno Chara - Rasmus Ristolainen

Nikita Zadorov - Nate Schmidt

Ian McCoshen - Jordan Schmaltz

Michal Neuvirth

Petr Mrazek

GM's take on the roster:

These lines aren't set in stone, we still need to hire a coach and go through training camp where we'll tinker with the line-up as we go. I do feel the centers on the team are decent possession players, starting off with the puck when you win a draw is a big key to success. Our checking line is good too, Clutterbuck hits everything that moves and Vermette & Cullen are good defensive centers. On the back end we have a solid top 4, the 3rd pairing will be have to be decided in camp. We have some good young Dmen coming up in our system in Chabot, Clague, and Cholowski. So help is on the way. In net what more can I say, that horse has been betten to death.

Our prediction is the team finishes 10th in the east and is never really a threat to make the playoffs...of course crazier things have happened. Stay tuned!