BUFFALO – Alex Tuch’s departure from the Sabres earlier this summer via a sign-and-trade deal with the Washington Capitals hardly surprised winger Josh Doan.
In the weeks before free agency opened, it appeared the veteran first-line winger’s run in Buffalo could be ending after five seasons.
“There was noise around whether or not he was staying or go,” Doan said prior to throwing out the first pitch at Saturday’s Bisons game against the Worcester Red Sox.
Bowen Byram’s surprising exit June 23, a day before the Sabres sent Tuch, an asset Doan called “huge,” to the Capitals, hit a little differently.
“Bo was tough,” Doan said outside the Sahlen Field clubhouses. “Obviously, you don’t know that one’s coming.”
The Sabres dished Byram, who wanted an opportunity to be a No. 1 defenseman, and winger Jordan Greenway to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for a significant package that included the fourth overall pick, which they used to draft defenseman Daxon Rudolph, and defenseman Louis Crevier.
“(Byram) means a lot to our group,” Doan said. “His personality, obviously, is huge, and he’s someone that we’re going to have to fill in terms of the locker room as well and just being a little bit more vocal.”
On paper at least, the Sabres, who open training camp Sept. 17, appear to be weaker. After ending their NHL-record 14-year playoff drought in grand fashion by winning the ultra-competitive Atlantic Division, they lost two of their top talents this offseason.
They’re banking on youngsters Konsta Helenius, Jiri Kulich and Noah Ostlund stepping in to fill the massive void losing Tuch, one of the NHL’s best two-way forwards, has created.
The Sabres still boast one of the league’s deepest defense corps, with captain Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power and Mattias Samuelsson comprising a dynamic top three.
They also acquired Olen Zellweger, an offensive-minded defenseman who possesses qualities similar to Byram, in a trade with the Anaheim Ducks.
“The way that our locker room is shaped up and the guys that we have in there, it’s not going to be something where you’re going to really, really notice huge, huge losses because of the people we’re bringing in to fill those voids,” said Doan, whose breakout 25-goal season earned him a seven-year, $48.65 million contract extension. “I think you’re going to see a lot of guys take the steps in terms of leadership and on ice.”
Doan believes the Sabres will be just fine, thank you.
“Everyone’s got their own opinion on us again this year on whether or not we’re going to take a step, or whether or not we lost and got worse this summer, which, I mean, you can guess all you want, no one really knows what anyone’s done,” he said. “I think our group’s pretty confident in that we’re a better team heading into this year.”
Doan knows Zellweger – “A pretty special hockey player,” he called him – from offseason skates in British Columbia.
“People are going to notice right away how offensively gifted he is and the difference he can make for us right away,” he said.
Doan said he “was shocked” the Sabres acquired the 6-foot-8 Crevier.
“He’s someone that’s so hard to play against, and I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that the piece coming from Chicago … was him.”