Sabres Lack Lottery Luck

Tonight the NHL held the draft lottery for the 2017 Entry Draft. Once again the Sabres were in the running due to a non-playoff finish and once again they did not win. Not only that, but their position feel by 2 spots to #8 overall. This is not a very strong draft, so there should be no expectation that the player taken at 8 will step in this year and help the team. Without a Head Coach or General Manager at the moment, the team has no defined direction. With the Expansion Draft also happening this year to welcome the Vegas Golden Knights it is not ideal to not have a GM planning the multi-part strategy that each team needs to navigate the Entry Draft, Expansion Draft, and Free Agency – all within a 10 day span. It will definitely be an interesting spring and summer for Buffalo.