(Ed. Note: It’s an Olympic year in the NHL. So, naturally, we decided to use the trappings of the Winter Games to preview all 30 teams for the 2013-14 NHL season. Who takes the gold? Who falls on their triple-axel? Read on and find out!)

The season began with Thomas Vanek involved in pretty much every scoring play for Coach Lindy Ruff ... and ended with Vanek (and Ryan Miller) on the trading block, Ruff fired and the Sabres outside the playoffs for the second straight season.

The story, of course, was Ruff’s dismissal after 16 years at the head coach of the Sabres. About 170 coaches had been fired between his hiring by Buffalo and his firing on Feb. 20, replaced by interim coach Ron Rolston of the Sabres’ AHL affiliate. That signaled Buffalo was headed into rebuilding mode, which continued into a trade deadline selloff of players like captain Jason Pominville.

GM Darcy Regier orchestrated those deadline deals, and stayed on with the Sabres after his friend Ruff took the fall. He made it clear that Miller, Vanek and other veterans could be sacrificed in the name of rebuilding, but both veterans remained with Buffalo through the summer, as their final contract years loomed.

Buffalo was 21-21-6 last season, good for 12th in the East. Are they destined for another year in the lottery, or can these Sabres surprise the Atlantic?

Here’s what Cody Hodgson can do. In a related story, Zack Kassian spent the afternoon punching heavy things.

The big news is that the Sabres kept both Vanek and Miller entering into a “transition” season. They bought out diminutive Nathan Gerbe, who signed with the Carolina Hurricanes. Andrej Sekera is also a Hurricane, traded for defenseman Jamie McBain and a pick.

The other big acquisition was also on defense: Henrik Tallinder, who spent eight years with Buffalo, came back to the Sabres in a trade with the Devils. He was limited to 39 games and 25 games in the previous two seasons due to injuries that included a blood clot.

The Sabres didn’t do much in the way of free agent signings, with defenseman Drew Bagnall from Minnesota the only one of significance.

Jochen Hecht retired, for those of you who remember Jochen Hecht was still playing.

Forward: Vanek remains one of the few players in the NHL that’s able to carry a team on his own for weeks on end. He had 21 points in his first 10 games last season, including two 5-point games. His durability and ability to sustain that offense is sometimes in question, but when he’s on he’s dominant. One imagines this is his swan song with Buffalo, as he’s in the last year of his deal.

Hodgson, who is currently an RFA, showed more of his offensive potential with 34 points in 48 games, but his defensive ability continues to be in question. One expects he’ll get top line minutes with Vanek, likely with Tyler Ennis (31 points) on his other wing.

The Sabres’ second line center to start the season should be Mikhail Grigorenko, provided he earns the chance in camp. There’s no question he was rushed to the NHL as a rookie and looked overwhelmed, but it’ll be interesting to see what he provides after getting a taste in 2013.

Drew Stafford (six goals in 46 games) is a veteran winger with two more years at $4 million left on his deal, which compared to Ville Leino’s $4.5 million through 2017 boondoggle looks like a steal. They’ll both vie for second line minutes along with Marcus Foligno, who had 18 points in 47 games last season.

Steve Ott brings his brilliantly annoying game and startling faceoff acumen to the rink every game. Patrick Kaleta will probably be suspended at some point in the season. John Scott will beat up someone smaller than him and then get beat up by Shawn Thornton. Kevin Porter provides quality minutes down the lineup.

Story continues