FUTURE BRIGHT BEHIND BYLSMA
BY: JONATHAN EDWARDS
Throw it back to May 2015. The Buffalo Sabres finished another miserable year for the timely “Tank for McEichel” sweepstakes. At the time, their draft spot had been determined and it was known that they would be selecting Jack Eichel.
They were getting a new face of the franchise on the ice. They needed to add the face of the franchise on the bench. Sabres fans expected Mike Babcock. They wanted Mike Babcock.
There was just one problem: Babcock didn’t want Buffalo.
The storied Canadian coach spurned Buffalo and the Sabres for an opportunity to be the head coach of their north of the border rival Toronto Maple Leafs. He signed for over six million dollars per year and the Sabres were left searching for their man in charge.
Enter Dan Bylsma. On May 28, 2015, Bylsma was named the 17th dead coach in Sabres franchise history. And while Buffalo fans may not yet realize it, this move put the franchise in very good hands for the foreseeable future.
Bylsma has had fantastic experience with a highly-talented squad. He took over the head coaching position in Pittsburgh midway through the 2008-2009 season after Michel Therrien was relieved of his duties. It was no coincidence that team went on to hoist the Stanley Cup.
Sure, Bylsma inherited two young superstars in the form of 21 year-old Sidney Crosby and 22 year-old Evgeni Malkin. But it was more than that. He got the entire team, from the young flashy playmakers (Jordan Staal and Kris Letang along with the previously mentioned) to the grizzled veterans (Petr Sykora, Ruslan Fedotenko, Miroslav Satan) to believe in him and his system.
He has a similar situation ahead of him in Buffalo, but with possibly even more talent at his disposal this time. He doesn’t have the high-end flair to work with a la Crosby and Malkin. But what he does have is a group of young guys that know their roles and can perform well enough together to mimic what Bylsma had in Pittsburgh.
Jack Eichel and Ryan O’Reilly are leading the charge. Sam Reinhart, Evander Kane and budding superstar defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen follow closely behind. And the veterans the Sabres possess have loads more skill than those that Bylsma inherited from the Penguins. Matt Moulson, Brian Gionta and the newly acquired Kyle Okposo provide not only great leadership, but also the ability to affect the scoreboard.
The Sabres’ depth has already been challenged so early in Bylsma’s tenure, and I believe this is one plus that Bylsma has never previously had. O’Reilly, Tyler Ennis and Robin Lehner were forced out of extensive time last year. Eichel and Kane are already on the shelf this season with unknown return dates. And while these are negative actions in the sense that you want your best players playing, it has given Bylsma an opportunity to learn the depth of the system.
The cupboards are not bare. We’ve seen Hudson Fasching, Derek Grant and Casey Nelson among others fill in admirably. Bylsma has had to deal with losing his superstars before in Crosby and Malkin for extended periods. But the Penguins didn’t necessarily have the skill with their depth to replace them. Bylsma still never faltered to make the playoffs, and routinely go deep into them. If he can replace his injured players in Buffalo with more skilled players than in Pittsburgh, I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t see similar results.
Finally, one of the things that has impressed me the most about Dan Bylsma is his team doesn’t seem to make the same mistake twice. The Sabres are a very young team, they are going to make mistakes and likely lots of them. They are still learning the game that Bylsma wants them to play. The most important part about mistakes are learning from them.
This Sabres team is massively skilled, plays hard and will only continue to get better throughout this year and then in ensuing seasons. And even though he may not have been the initial choice for fans, I don’t think you can ask for a better coach in this situation than Dan Bylsma.