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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:

The ongoing roster review returns with a look at a veteran who seems to have been forgotten in the shuffle. #8 Cody McCormick F (two years left at $1.5 million per, age 32) Buffalo 33/1/3/4/-9/40 Most Sabre fans developed a soft spot for Cody during his first appearance, watching him battle like a warrior during a first-round playoff loss to the Bruins. He cemented that spot with 20 points and 142 PIMs the following year. It’s unclear whether Buffalo hearts have grown fonder, but according to the cliché, they should have because McCormick has been frequently absent following that breakout year, totaling just three goals and 120 games in a Sabres uniform in the four seasons since. Tim Murray clearly likes him, re-signing him to a three-year deal last summer, after his brief trade-deadline side trip to Minnesota. His most significant absence happened this year when he was hospitalized for a mysterious blood clot in his leg — a similar ailment to the one that ended the career of Thomas Vokoun and threatened the life of Pascal Dupuis. At last report, McCormick remained on blood thinners, recuperating with the intent of returning to the ice, but his NHL future is an open question. Links to the rest of the series: Anders Lindback: http://forums.sabres...nders-lindback/ Pat Kaleta: http://forums.sabres...patrick-kaleta/ Johan Larsson: http://forums.sabres...-johan-larsson/ Matt Hackett: http://forums.sabres...1-matt-hackett/ Andrej Meszaros: http://forums.sabres...ndrej-meszaros/ Phil Varone, Zac Dalpe, Jerry D'Amigo: http://forums.sabres...e-dalpe-damigo/ Mikhail Grigorenko: http://forums.sabres...ail-grigorenko/ Tyson Strachan, Andre Benoit: http://forums.sabres...han-and-benoit/ Mark Pysyk: http://forums.sabres...w-3-mark-pysyk/ Tim Schaller: http://forums.sabres...9-tim-schaller/ Matt Ellis: http://forums.sabres...-37-matt-ellis/ Cody Hodgson: http://forums.sabres...9-cody-hodgson/ Tyler Ennis: http://forums.sabres...63-tyler-ennis/ Chad Johnson: http://forums.sabres...3-chad-johnson/ Nick Deslauriers: http://forums.sabrespace.com/topic/23446-roster-review-44-nick-deslauriers/