How well did our preseason predictions stack up against reality?
As the Buffalo Sabres’ season has come to a close, it’s time for us to revisit our preseason predictions and see how things matched up with what really happened.
Team MVP: Our votes were a bit all over the place; Taylor, Calvin & Kerra said Dylan Cozens. I said Rasmus Dahlin. Ryan S. said Casey Mittelstadt, and Bryan said Tage Thompson. I think it’s safe to say that Bryan was spot-on. Thompson exploded offensively this season and was certainly the MVP, right?
Leading Goalscorer: Well…. none of us voted for Tage Thompson. We’d voted for Jeff Skinner (3), Dylan Cozens, Rasmus Dahlin & Victor Olofsson. You can’t exactly blame us, given that Thompson’s previous career-high for goals in a season was a whopping eight.
Surprise Player: Realistically, I’m not sure any of us got this one. I think Tage Thompson was the surprise player of the season with his offensive explosion, and none of us saw that coming.
Best Defenseman: Most of us voted for Rasmus Dahlin, and I think we’d agree at season’s end that he is the right choice.
Total Team Points: Most of us low-balled the Sabres on this one; they ended up doing better than we thought! Brian (78), Taylor (69) and Calvin (69) were closest.
Will the Sabres make the playoffs? Ding, ding, ding. Spot on for all of us.
Bold Prediction(s): Well…. we were all wrong. But hey, that’s why they were bold predictions, right? As a reminder, here’s what we predicted:
Taylor: JJ Peterka ends up 2C; Eichel does a SportsCenter exclusive interview fully airing out the Sabres’ dirty laundry.
Ryan S.: Arttu Ruotsalainen ends the season as the team’s second-line center.
Bryan: Will Butcher scores 40+ points.
Calvin: Dylan Cozens will take over Eichel’s mantle, be the team leader in points scored & get the ‘C’ early in 2022.
Melissa: The Sabres are unable to find a suitable trade partner and cannot move Jack Eichel before the Olympics.
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