What do David Legwand, Phil Varone and Anders Bjork have in common?
Give up?
They have all scored more goals in a Sabres sweater than Taylor Hall.
Yeah, the tenure of the eight-million-dollar man in Buffalo went just about as badly as it could have gone. At the time of his signing in October of 2020, Sabres faithful were positively giddy about the addition of a former league MVP joining the team who looked poised to bolster the team’s scoring and solidify the top-6. Add to that the trade that brought an old-but-still-productive Eric Staal to the blue-and-gold and things looked pretty decent for the Sabres, even if they were in a stacked league* with the likes of the Bruins, Islanders, Penguins and Capitals. Only four teams were getting out of there to make the post-season tournament though, and with the Rangers and Flyers knocking on the door, it was always a longshot for the Sabres to get there.
The season that ensued was a complete disaster which culminated in an 18-game losing streak following injuries to Jack Eichel, Linus Ullmark, Carter Hutton, Jake McCabe and Zemgus Girgensons. I don’t need to rehash all that really, but I’m just setting the scene for the departure of Taylor Hall, who finished his Sabres career with 2 goals and 17 assists in 37 games prior to being dealt at the trade deadline to the Boston Bruins with Curtis Lazar in exchange for a 2021 2nd round pick (Aleksandr Kisakov) and Anders Bjork.
One final note on the former number one overall pick lest this article reads like a roast-mode article about Taylor Hall: I don’t believe his lack of production is his fault, really. He came here to play with Jack Eichel with whom he only briefly played while Eichel was dealing with both a rib injury and a carry-over soft tissue injury the year before. Then Eichel would injure his back and that was that. He also had to play in Ralph Krueger’s low-event system and that’s why you see the stats that you see. Paradoxically, Krueger is also the reason Hall signed in Buffalo, to which I say: the universe sure is a strange place.
Back to the topic at hand.
Anders Bjork is a 25-year-old left wing who had played parts of four NHL seasons prior to being dealt to the Sabres as part of the Hall deal. Bjork will look to find his place with some other former USNTDP players under former USNTDP coach Don Granato in the upcoming season after an inaugural campaign with the Sabres that could best be called “so-so.” Bjork never played under Don Granato, but following the trade, Granato believed he knew what to expect.
“Very familiar with his game,” Granato said after the trade. “He plays a high-speed, high-tempo game. He has a lot of skill.”
The 6’0” 197-pound Bjork managed 6 points in 15 games under Don Granato which probably isn’t going to blow anyone away, much like his 45 career points in 153 games played. He did display good speed during that time but was unable to finish many opportunities during his brief time (so far) as a Sabre. Bjork will likely be given an opportunity to battle for a second-line left wing spot with fellow youngster Arttu Ruotsalainen, although it seems currently like neither are bona fide second line options. Still, with plenty of ice time available for Bjork, he will likely have a good amount of playing time to prove that he is a capable 2nd or 3rd line forward in the NHL. Let’s take a look at his player card via evolvinghockey.com:
This data indicates that Bjork is solid at generating offensive opportunities but is not as well suited to cashing those opportunities in for goals. Perhaps by pairing Bjork with a shooter like Tage Thompson, the Sabres could open up an opportunity for the 6’7” Thompson to get his shot off while Bjork drives the offensive zone with speed. Bjork also looks perfectly cromulent at the defensive end of the ice which could be a nice counterbalance for Thompson who is not so well suited to that area at this early point in his career. Bjork also looks to be a capable penalty killer which is a nice bonus attribute for the Mequon, Wisconsin native to have moving forward.
Overall Bjork looks like a probable 3rd liner moving forward but he’ll have his shot this season to prove he can be more than that. The Sabres will need a surprising performance from an unexpected player if they are to avoid a repeat of last year’s disaster and perhaps he can be one such name.
* I will not refer to the NHL alignment of the 2020-21 season as four divisions. If a team only plays the 6-7 other teams in the “division” and no other teams, then that is a league, not a division. What transpired is more akin to Major League Baseball prior to the adoption of inter-league play, only with much, much smaller leagues. May we never see it again.
We're back with some more of the top-10 moments from the 10-year playoff drought.
#5:
This one is included for notoriety and hilarity. Enormous pugilist John Scott goes after Phil Kessel following an ugly incident which saw Scott’s teammate, Corey Tropp, bloodied. But none of that really matters. What will always be remembered is Phil Kessel going full Jedi and two-handing Scott’s legs with his stick while Scott chases him around the ice. David Clarkson then hopped off the bench to help Kessel and would receive a 10-game suspension for his trouble. Pure comedy gold.
Bonus Moment:
Two David Legwand references in one article is an improbable situation perhaps never to be repeated, but here we are. During the 2015-2016 season, David Legwand unleashed this beauty of a three-quarter court shot for a goal:
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