The Buffalo Sabres are keeping a watchful eye on their competition in the Atlantic Division in their goal to snap their 13-year playoff drought. Earlier this week, the Montreal Canadiens made a bold move to improve their offense with the acquisition of winger Patrik Laine from the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The deal did not cost the Habs anything of major consequence (24-year-old defenseman Jordan Harris went to Columbus, while Laine and a 2026 second-round pick went to Montreal), but there are a lot of questions surrounding the 26-year-old former second-overall pick after missing half of last season in spending in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program.
View the original article to see embedded media.
Laine wanted a fresh start after spending three seasons in Columbus, but going to Montreal and the pressure that goes with that hockey-mad city is a questionable fit. Assuming all the off-the-ice issues are squared away, the big winger should boost to Montreal’s sagging offense, which scored 236 goals (10 less than the Sabres) and had only three players: Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Juraj Slafkovsky that scored over 20 goals, but that would not appear to give the Habs enough of a leg up over Buffalo in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
The Sabres bolstered their forward depth with the additions of Beck Malenstyn, Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Sam Lafferty, Ryan McLeod, and Jason Zucker, but have not to this point been able to fill the hole in their top six created by the buyout of winger Jeff Skinner.
With the addition of Laine, Montreal’s top-six is improved, but their offensive progress will depend on whether Kirby Dach can stay healthy, and Martin St. Louis can get production out of Alex Newhook, Christian Dvorak, Joel Armia, and aging veterans Brendan Gallagher and Josh Anderson.
The Sabres appear more solid in goal with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen coming off a career year and possibly Devon Levi over Montreal’s young pair of Samuel Montembeault and Cayden Primeau, and have a distinct advantage on defense with a top-four of Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, Bowen Byram, and Mattias Samuelsson. St. Louis is looking for growth from youngsters Kaiden Guhle, Lane Hutson, and Arber Xhekaj, and is depending on veteran Mike Matheson to at least equal his career-high 62-point season.
LATEST THN BUFFALO STORIES
Sabres Say They Are Ready For Accountability
Ruff Sees Similarities Between Sabres And Former Club
Ruff Hopes To Bring Winning Culture Back To Buffalo
Follow Michael on X @MikeInBuffalo
