The Buffalo Sabres mid-season awards

          Ok, it's February 15th, 2022.....The Buffalo Sabres are 16-24-8 and to be honest? I'm not even close to being mad about this season. We've played 6 different goalies, we've had stretches where 6 or more players and coaches were put in COVID protocol but this team has been fun to watch in all seriousness. Something about this team is scrappy, It's not like it was under Ralph Krueger when they just folded and gave up, under Donnie Meatballs this team doesn't give up and the fact that we've had goalies that shouldn't even be in the NHL picking up wins is a testament for how good Granato is behind the bench. Some players have for sure stood out from the rest of the team this year so let's take a look

TEAM MVP: Tage Thompson
         This may be a weird pick for a lot of people out there but Tage Thompson has been outstanding this year, turns out all he needed was the right coach. Thompson has 33 points(15G 18A) in 43 games, I know those numbers aren't jaw dropping but for all the shit he's been through and all the coaches changes he's been through since being in Buffalo he's more than deserving of this award. Thompson is a big dude who has done it all this year but I think what sets this season apart from the other is how physical he's been. The kid isn't afraid to throw the body around or fight when he needs to.

Defensman of the year: Rasmus Dahlin
          This should come as no shock at all, Dahlin is having a tremendous year and even made his first all-star game appearance. The young swede signed a 3 year extension with Buffalo in the off-season and has played up to the contract thus far. With 30 points(8G 22A) in 46 games this year you can't complain about him so far this season, yeah he makes the occasional defensive blunder but that will happen for an offensive d-man like Dahlin. The thing with him is, Granato is letting him play his game and isn't making him be that stay at home defenseman like Krueger was trying to do.

Rookie of the year: Craig Anderson
          Craig Anderson isn't going to win a Vezina trophy any time soon but the 40 year old has really stood on his head in net. Anderson is 6-3 with a 2.67GAA. We didn't bring Anderson to be the future goalie and that's pretty obvious but imagine if he didn't get hurt for all those months, what kind of position would Buffalo be in if we didn't have to start fucking Aaron Dell and Dustin Tokarski for months? In my opinion Anderson has far exceeded expectations.

Rookie of the Year: Peyton Krebs
            Yeah, Krebs hasn't lit the world on fire but you can see promise in this kid. Krebs has just 8 points (3G 5A) but he comes to play night in and night out, he has no problem getting dirty in the corners or in front of the net. Krebs came over when we traded that piece of shit Eichel to Vegas and he's going be to the corner stone of finally ending this effing rebuild. 

Newcomer of the Year: Alex Tuch
            No surprise here whatsoever. Tuch has been on an absolute teasr since coming back from injury and joining the Sabres. Tuch has 19 points (7G 12A) in just 16 game and the line of Tuch, Skinner and Thompson may be one of the best five lines lately in the entire league. The best part of all? Tuch wants to be here, he loves Buffalo and has been a lifelong Sabres fan. He isn't a cancer to the locker room and honestly may be the next captain of this team.

Comeback Player of the Year: Jeff Skinner
            We all know since his first season wit Buffalo when he scored 40 goals, Jeff Skinner has been less than spectacular. Personally for me it was coaching, I can't state enough how far back Ralph Krueger set this team back and Skinner was one of the casualties of the Krueger era. This year in 46 games Skinner has 20 goals and 14 assists and leads the team in scoring. Skinner is coming off a huge 4 goal, 5 point performance against Montreal and like I stated before.....Skinner, Tuch and Thompson have been so fucking good lately, much in part to do with Don Granato's philosophy. Granato is letting guys play their game and it's showing on the ice, especially with skinner