Looking at the defense, I'm wondering who gets the minutes based on ice time history. Here are the TOI/g last season for the likely candidates for NHL spots:
LHD
Gorges - 21:14 (66 games)
Meszaros - 17:47 (52 games)
Weber - 17:49 (68 games)
McCabe - 15:12 (7 games)
Zadorov - 17:10 (7 games)
RHD
Myers - 21:53 (62 games)
Pysyk - 19:37 (44 games)
Ristolainen - 19:07 (34 games) (saw regular 20:00+ usage after recall)
Ruhwedel - 17:52 (21 games)
I look at this and it makes me really nervous whether there are even enough bodies there for all the D minutes for 82 games.
Gorges is really the only one in our D corp who has played a full 82 games season recently, but that was 3 years ago (broken wrist last year, lockout the year before). Seems a sure thing the top pairing should be Gorges/Myers, but Myers has had some injury problems the past 3 seasons.
Meszaros played 81 games averaging 21:07 TOI/g 4 seasons ago in philly, but has been injury prone the past 3 seasons. He may be asked to play 82 games 2nd pairing minutes with the Sabres this season, but like myers will he stay healthy?
Weber has never been asked to play a full 82 games season. He's typically healthy scratched ~25% of the season. I don't see him slotted in as the 3rd pair D to start the season. I think he starts as the #7 and will need to earn regular playing time or wait for the injuries.
Pysyk and Risto I believe are by necessity going to be asked to play 82 games as Sabres this year, because really who else is there to get the minutes? I think they've both proven they're ready to become permanent sabres, and I think the sabres are really going to need them to be that this year.
Ruhwedel got a 1-way contract but I still don't think that makes him more than a #7 in the AHL to start. More likely than not he'll probably get 20-40 games with the sabres due to injuries.
Regarding Zadorov and McCabe, I think its likely 1 of them earns a spot on the sabres. Given that we're 3 dmen short of the number we used last year, it wouldn't surprise me if Zadorov made the roster (assuming he proves ready this preseason) while McCabe starts in the AHL. That way McCabe can be a callup when needed.
If Zadorov goes back to Juniors, then that means you're asking the remaining 8 Dmen to carry the remaining 483 Defensemen-games for the whole season (82*6 - 9game tryout for Zads). Ignoring pairings and RHD/LHD, it seems like we're both hoping for best case scenarios and/or asking players to do more than we should:
Gorges: 66 games
Myers: 62 games
Meszaros: 52 games
Weber: 68 games (and this was already probably asking too much)
Risto: 34 games
Pysyk: 44 games
Ruhwedel: 21 games
McCabe: 7 games
Total: 354 games
So we've still got 129 defenseman-games to make up based on how many games each of those players played last season. How would you allocate the remaining games?
Can Gorges be counted on for 82 games?
How many games can we expect for Myers? An optimistic 75?
What about Meszaros? Can he stay healthy for 70 games?
Do Risto and Pysyk both get 75 games?
Does Weber still get at least 60 games?
Ruhwedel and McCabe ~20 games apiece?
If you're not comfortable answering yes to the above 6 statements, then you gotta find another way to get to 492 defenseman-games.
