Buffalo Sabres Offseason: Ville Leino and the Top 5 Sabres Poised To Break Out

After an explosive start to the offseason, the Terry Pegula-owned Buffalo Sabres have cooled down in recent weeks, but not before bringing in defensemen Robyn Regehr and Christian Ehrhoff and forward Ville Leino. It now appears as though the Sabres are comfortable with their roster and are willing to go into battle with it as is.

With that said, the time for free agency and trade speculation is likely over, but the handicapping has just begun. Most hockey pundits expect the Sabres to be much improved, but it doesn’t seem as though the team is being placed among the Eastern Conference’s elites at this point.

While rating teams based upon how they look on paper is certainly a dangerous game, there is reason to believe that the Sabres could be Stanley Cup contenders in 2011-12. Not only will the additions of Regehr, Ehrhoff and Leino help immensely, but there are a number of young players on Buffalo’s roster who should improve due to natural progression.

Should the development of said players happen to stall, in all likelihood the Sabres will be little more than an ordinary playoff team. If they continue to improve, however, the Sabres are certainly poised to make a run. Here are five Sabres who are poised for a breakout season in 2011-12.

D Mike Weber

Sometimes a player’s development is apparent through statistics, and that is likely to be the case with defenseman Mike Weber. The 6’2”, 211-pound rearguard is likely to lead the Buffalo in the physicality department just like he did last season. Weber led the team in hits with 158 and was second in blocked shots with 99 despite playing in just 58 games.

For much of the early part of the 2010-11 season, Weber found himself in the press box. When he got his opportunity to play, however, Weber earned a spot in the starting lineup and never relinquished it. Weber played sparingly for the Sabres in years prior to last season with mixed results. He spent the entire 2009-10 season in AHL Portland, earning All-Star honors in the process.

Weber may very well have been the Sabres’ most consistent blueliner last season as he compiled a plus-13 rating and actually contributed offensively as well with four goals and 13 assists. Weber enters this season as an unquestioned top-six defenseman for the first time in his career.

In a full season, Weber should improve upon his defensive numbers and be among the team’s leaders in hits and blocked shots along with Robyn Regehr. Weber is also poised to become one of the Sabres’ top penalty killers and perhaps their most reliable defender.

F Nathan Gerbe

Listed at (a generous) 5’5”, it’s easy to understand why forward Nathan Gerbe has been dismissed for much of his hockey career. He proved his naysayers wrong by leading Boston College to a National Championship and he continued to do so last season by developing into a key component of the playoff-bound Sabres.

Like Mike Weber, Gerbe found himself out of the lineup at certain points early last season, but his tenacity and will to win was simply too strong for head coach Lindy Ruff to ignore. Gerbe developed into a significant offensive contributor last season despite playing the bulk of his minutes on the third line. He also displayed a fine defensive acumen as evidenced by his plus-11 rating.

The diminutive winger has a size disadvantage against literally every opponent he faces, but he has found ways to be effective. Not only is he among the Sabres’ fastest skaters, but he may also have the quickest release on the team. Gerbe totaled 16 goals and 15 assists in just 64 games last season, and those numbers are likely to only ascend this year.

In a full season, Gerbe certainly has the potential to put up between 20 and 25 goals, which is incredible production for a third-line player. Even if his offensive numbers don’t increase that noticeably, his never-say-die attitude makes him invaluable to the Sabres.

F Drew Stafford

Over the past couple seasons, forward Drew Stafford has teased Sabres fans with his incredible potential. For the most part, he only showed flashes, leaving most fans with the feeling that he would never become the player he could be. However, Stafford reminded those very fans why the Sabres selected him with the 13th-overall pick in the 2004 NHL draft by recording his first career 30-goal season last year.

At just 25 years of age, Stafford is entering his prime, making him a fine candidate to break out even further this season. Stafford’s 31-goal season is even more impressive when you consider the fact that he missed 20 games due to injury. When you take his goals per game average (which happened to be one of the best in the league) into account, he likely would have scored 40 goals over a full slate of games.

Stafford was rewarded for his stellar 2010-11 season with a new four-year, $16 million contract. While it is certainly possible that Stafford could regress under the weight of his hefty new deal, I get the feeling that he is ready to thrive. The most encouraging part of Stafford’s career-year was the manner in which he scored his goals. He drove to the net with great regularity and good things happened when he did so more often than not.

The addition of Ville Leino and the return of Derek Roy for a full season will only strengthen Buffalo’s group of top-six forwards, and Stafford will likely have even more scoring opportunities. As long as he stays healthy, Stafford should be able to chip in another 30 goals at the minimum.

F Tyler Ennis

After being called up by the Sabres late in the 2009-10 campaign and producing in the season’s final 10 games as well as the playoffs, hopes were very high for Tyler Ennis heading into the 2011-12 season. The casual observer may look at his 49-point year and call it a disappointment, but I feel as though it was a great stepping stone toward what could very well be a breakout performance this season.

The main blessing and curse for Ennis last season was his streakiness. Although Ennis will ideally develop into a player who consistently produces throughout the season, his streakiness did allow him to dominate during stretches last year. If he can learn to play at that level throughout an entire 82-game schedule, he will be an extremely dangerous weapon. Despite a slight 5’9”, 163-pound frame, Ennis proved that he is a very durable player by being the only Sabre to play in every game last season.

Ennis proved to be one of the Sabres’ top offensive threats last season, even as a rookie. He ranked third on the team in assists (29) and shots (210), and fourth in goals (20). Ennis will be just 22 years old come the start of the season, meaning he still has plenty of time for growth. With the potential of a line featuring Ennis, Derek Roy and Drew Stafford, Ennis could certainly develop into an elite playmaking winger.

Ennis has steadily improved throughout his career in both the AHL and NHL, so there is no reason to believe that his progress would be halted at this point. Anything less than a 60-point season out of Ennis would be surprising, especially considering his potential to one day become an 80 to 90-point man.

F Ville Leino

With the Sabres seemingly planted squarely in the Brad Richards sweepstakes, the thought of signing Ville Leino was essentially non-existent. When it became abundantly clear that Richards would sign with the Rangers, however, the Sabres called an audible and reached a deal for Leino. While it may seem like they settled on Leino as a fallback option to Richards, his contract could very well look like a bargain when compared to Richards’ a couple years from now.

Leino appears to be a bit of a late bloomer as he didn’t receive consistent NHL playing time until two years ago. He was traded from Detroit to Philadelphia at the trade deadline that season, and while he didn’t produce immediately, he made is presence known in the postseason. Leino pitched in 21 points in 19 games en route to the Flyers’ appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Last season was Leino’s first full campaign at the NHL level and he didn’t disappoint. In 81 games, Leino tallied 19 goals and 34 assists for 53 points. Although those numbers don’t jump off the page, he was essentially a third-line player in Philadelphia due to their considerable forward depth. Despite that fact that Leino has played on the wing throughout his NHL career, the Sabres signed him to be a center.

Due to his status as one of the more creative and better playmaking wingers in the league, Leino’s transition to center should be fairly smooth. With more emphasis being placed on Leino as an offensive option in Buffalo, he was definitely in position to have a career year, and 70 points certainly isn’t out of the question.