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Next, in the ongoing roster review #4 Josh Gorges D (three years left at $3.9 million per, age 30) Buffalo 46/0/6/20/-28/16 Gorges was generally welcomed by the fanbase when Murray traded an extra second-round for him last summer. A gritty, fearless leader with a reputation as being a solid top-four defensive defenceman, he was considered a good guy to help show the kids the way through what was expected to be a tough season. The results were mixed. His commitment was evident, but the results were sketchy. Gorges appeared to wear down after night after night of throwing his body in front of shots playing against the other team's top shooters. The constant losing also appeared to chafe on him mentally to a greater degree than most. Injury ended his season prematurely. Whispers have since grown that perhaps Montreal traded him at just the right time because he has lost a step. And the revelation he has undergone micro fracture surgery, a procedure basketball players have been slow to return from, has many concerned he will be able to contribute much this year at all. However, it has also been argued that his injuries may have contributed to his disappointing play prior to his departure. He definitely enters the season with something to prove. Links to the rest of the series:

Two more new faces, each with question marks Carlo Colaiacovo D (one season left at $900,000 per, age 32) Philadelphia 33/2/6/8/0/10 Matt Donovan D (one season left at $825,000 per, age 25) New York Islanders 13/0/3/3/4/0 A year ago, Tim Murray dove head-first into the bargain bin of depth defencemen and came up with Andre Benoit and Tyson Strachan clutched between his teeth. It wasn’t the meal he was looking for. Each ended up forced into roles above their ability and weren’t invited back. This summer, Murray tried his luck again at the same store. You’d have to have been really paying attention to realize Matt Donovan and Carlo Colaiacovo were in the NHL from start to finish last season. Colaiacovo got good reviews and regular ice time with the Flyers, but his season — as it always is — was limited by injury. From 2008-12, he put up a nice run of 30–point seasons with the Blues — even then missing 15-20 games a year. He’s played just 64 games in the three seasons since. Donovan, meanwhile, defined press-box defenceman. Despite good health, he dressed just 13 times last year for an Islander team that was unwilling to trust him on the ice, or to the waiver wire. The flip side for this Oklahoma-born-and-raised 2010 WJC gold medal winner is that he has dominated offensively every time he has been given the opportunity — 53 points in 87 college games and 119 points 180 games in the AHL. Murray has given a pair of low-profile puck-movers the opportunity to show they are NHL-worthy. Given the lack of depth on the Sabre blueline, fans have to hope they are up to the challenge. Links to the rest of the series:

Next up in the series, a man who played playoff games for the Sabres #6 Mike Weber D (one year left at $1.67 million per, age 27) Buffalo 64/1/6/7/-22/68 Six years ago, in his first full NHL season, Mike Weber had 17 points and finished +13. No one would ever make the mistake of measuring Weber’s value in stats, but it is interesting to note that on a decent hockey team his stat line offered more than single-digit point totals and a minus-twenty-something. With Pat Kaleta unlikely to return, Weber is the Sabre of longest standing and his commitment to the team and to paying the price cannot be questioned. What has been questioned is his ability to be a legitimate NHL defenceman on a good team. Links to the rest of the series:

The ongoing roster review continues with the youngster generally regarded as the key to the team's defensive corps moving forward #55 Rasmus Ristolainen D (one year left at $925,000 million, age 20) Buffalo 78/8/12/20/-32/26 Eight defencemen were taken in the first ten picks of the 2012 draft. Two went off the board in 2013 before the Sabres called Rasmus Ristolainen’s name. It was a promising, perhaps unprecedented group. 2012’s Morgan Reilly, Hampus Lindholm, and Jacob Trouba, and 2013’s Seth Jones have already totaled more than 130 NHL games. Ristolainen is next in line with 112 and joins the four above as being touted by fans as possibly being among the game’s next great blueliners. Heavily targeted by the Sabres in 2013 (a team-produced video implied they ranked him higher than Jones), Ristolainen raised hopes among the fan base thanks to numerous reports of his commitment, maturity and dedication. These were fueled by making the team as an 18-year-old, dominating in the AHL and the World Juniors after being sent down, scoring the WJC-winning goal in overtime and dropping 20-pounds in the last off-season in a commitment to fitness that cemented his position on the team. Despite the positive reviews, and an obvious mix of size and skill, his NHL performance to date has been a mixed bag. He has flashes of edge, confidence and ability, leavened by periods where he has looked young and overmatched. The fans, especially after an impressive 20-game stretch to close the year, have been very forgiving of the down times, but there is no denying -32 is not a number typically attached to a number-one defenseman. The Sabres have done little to spoon-feed Ristolainen; unlike most young defencemen, he’s mostly been thrown to the wolves and asked to survive, and that won’t change. Number-one defenceman is the role being given to him as he enters this season. His ability to handle that role will play a big part in how — and if —the team grows into a contender. Links to the rest of the series: