With the NHL trade deadline now passed and teams going into the final stretch heading into the playoffs we can get a good sense of player re-rates next season. Since the playoffs are out of reach for the Sabres, we'll look ahead to next season and predict witch players will re-rate better than this year and which ones are due to take a hit. Obviously I'll leave out any players that won't be protected in expansion as they are not locks to stay with the team.

 

 

Trending positively:

 

 

C Nick Bjugstad

 

2016-2017 NHL Stats: 54GP 7AG 7A 14P 22PIM -19

 

2017-2018 NHL Stats: 59GP 11G 20A 31P 27PIM -6

 

After Bjugstad was injured he lost his spot in the Panthers line-up and found himself getting 8-10 minutes per night of ice-time. It was a tough adjustment and was llooking like a big hill to climb. This season though he's found his game again and is trending in the right direction. He won't see a massive boost to his stats, but it should be enough to make him a more desirable option for the Sabres next year.

 

 

RW Alexander Radulov

 

2016-2017 NHL Stats: 76GP 18G 36A 54P 62PIM +10

 

2017-2018 NHL Stats: 62GP 23G 33A 56P 56PIM +1

 

Radulov put up good numbers in his return to North America, but this season he's already surpassed his performance from last year and should easily eclipse 60+ points. The Sabres most skilled winger should see an improvement across the board to remain the top winger.

 

D Nate Schmidt

 

2016-2017 NHL Stats: 60GP 3G 14A 17P 16PIM +22

 

2017-2018 NHL Stats: 62GP 5G 25A 30P 14PIM +20

 

Schmidt has been a pro defender for the last 3 NHL seasons but has been rated as a minor leaguer. This year he can't be passed over as he has almost doubled his offensive output as well as being one of Vegas's best defenseman defensively. His ratings should go up across the board.

 

HM: C/RW Jack Roslovic & D Nikita Zadorov.

 

 

Trending the wrong way:

 

 

C Sidney Crosby

 

2016-2017 NHL Stats: 75GP 44G 45A 89P 24PIM +17

 

2017-2018 NHL Stats: 63GP 20G 48A 68P 44PIM -5

 

Ok, so one of the best players in the game shouldn't see his ratings drop too drastically. That said, his goal production is way down and he hasn't looked as good on both sides of the puck. The only bright spot is a spike in FO% this season. As I said, don't expect a big drop, but it will be significant enough to mention here.

 

 

LW Ondrej Palat

 

2016-2017 NHL Stats: 75GP 17G 35A 52P 39PIM +8

 

2017-2018 NHL Stats: 46GP 8G 22A 30P 4PIM +17 (Injured, out for the season)

 

Prior to the injury, Palat was already trending the wrong way with his scoring. Overall he was on pace to put up similar point totals so his offense shouldn't take a massive hit but SC will be down and due to the injury he will see DU take a hit.

 

 

D Brooks Orpik

 

2016-2017 NHL Stats: 79GP 0G 14A 14P 48PIM +32

 

2017-2018 NHL Stats: 62GP 0G 8A 8P 60PIM -11

 

Steady is how I would've described Orpik in previous years, but this year he has been anything but. His production has never been measured by point totals, but when his defensive play slips you know he's not going to re-rate well. He's struggled to stay out of the box this year and has seen more pucks go into his net than is scored when he's on the ice. How much does Orpik have left in the tank?

 

HM: LW/RW Joel Vermin

 

 

Next let's see who of the rookies coming in next season will get favorable ratings:

 

D Tomas Chabot

 

2017-2018 NHL Stats: 42GP 5G 11A 16P 10PIM -4

 

Chabot has been sheltered in his first full season but hasn't looked out of place. The numbers don't jump off the page at you but regardless he should receive ratings that will give him a legit shot at making the Sabres out of camp next year.

 

 

C Filip Chlapik

 

2017-2018 NHL Stats: 10GP 0G 2A 2P 0PIM -2

 

Another Senators prospect looking to turn pro next year in the BRHL, Chlapik has seen a few call-ups and only has 2 assists to show for it. He's behind some talented centers on the Sabres depth chart so making the team out of camp will almost certainly not happen.

 

 

C/W Justin Kloos

 

2017-2018 NHL Stats: 1GP 0G 0A 0P 2PIM +0

 

The Sabres last pick of the draft got an NHL game under his belt this year in a one game call-up. He only had a minor penalty to show for it but did play well. The versitile forward can play center or the wings and should be a good bottom 6 utility guy in the future. Kloos has almost no chance of making the BRHL pros next year as he'll probably be rated as a mediocre AHL player.

 

 

The following will also be rated next year and will debut with the Americans on the farm:

 

LW Ryan Gropp, C/W Nathan Noel, D Matthew Spencer, C/RW Blake Speers

 

Extreme long shots is an understatement for these guys to make the BRHL pros next season.

 

 

Next up from the Sabres: Spring prospect top 10 rankings