Jan 18, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Buffalo Sabres center Jack Eichel (15) celebrates with defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen (55) after scoring a power play goal in the second period against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Top Five Moments of the Buffalo Sabres’ Season So Far

Top Five Moments of the Buffalo Sabres’ Season So Far by Melissa Kania

The structure of the Buffalo Sabres has changed pretty significantly over the past few years.

Annually, I like to look at the NHL team’s roster and see how it’s been composed: trades, free agency, draft picks, waivers.

Each year, the results are different, but it’s great to be able to compare how the 2012 squad was made compared to the present year.

It’s also always interesting to see how many players remain, or don’t, from years past.

Today, we’ll take a look at three years of results: 2012, 2015 and 2016.

First, a glance back at 2012:

The Buffalo Sabres team of 2012 is almost entirely gone now, some four years later.

Since I’ve looked at players only on the current NHL roster, we can literally slice off everything from 2005 and below, since all of those players are not with the Buffalo Sabres at this time in 2016. (Patrick Kaleta *is* still in the organization, but again, I’ve looked at NHL-only.)

In addition, much of the players listed in 2006-2011 are also gone.

Only three players from this 2012 list remain with the team today: Mike Weber, drafted in 2006 and now the longest-tenured player on the Buffalo Sabres; Tyler Ennis, drafted in 2008, and Cody McCormick, who technically doesn’t even count since he left the team and came back.

That 2012 team was composed largely of drafted players, with 65% of the roster made up of Buffalo Sabres draft picks. Seventeen (17%) percent of the team was developed through free agency, with 13% coming through trades and five percent through waivers.

Now, let’s fast-forward three years to 2015.

Again, this team was composed largely of draft picks – 40%, in fact.

But there was also a large percentage of players acquired through free agency (28%) and trade (28%). Again, Matt Ellis remained the lone player acquired via waivers (4%).

Looking at this team, a lot more of the players remain with the Buffalo Sabres today – but still, there’s been a lot of turnover.

Excluding Kaleta and Ellis (for the aforementioned reasons), just 10 of the 25 players listed here are still with the Buffalo Sabres today, exactly one year later.

Finally, let’s look at the 2016 roster. The following infographic is accurate as of February 2, 2016.

The current Buffalo Sabres roster looks a little different than in the years past.

This year’s roster is composed largely of players acquired via trade; they account for 10 of 23 players, or 43 percent of the roster. Include among them: Evander Kane, Zach Bogosian, Ryan O’Reilly, Jamie McGinn, Josh Gorges and both Robin Lehner and Chad Johnson.

An additional 39 percent of the roster comes via the draft, which is about equal to last year (9/23 players), including Marcus Foligno, Mark Pysyk, Rasmus Ristolainen and of course, Jack Eichel.

Then there’s the other 18 percent, all of which are through free agency (4/23 players). Compare that to the 28 percent from last season, and you can see how the team has fallen heavier on utilizing its drafted players and Tim Murray has been a strong trademaker.

It’s interesting to think now about what this team could look like in a year. How many more players will be gone? How many new players will have arrived? Will they come via trade or free agency? How many of the Buffalo Sabres’ past draftees will make the NHL squad next season?