[0:00]The Buffalo Sabres currently have the longest active playoff drought of any team in the National Hockey League. The 14-year drought is actually an NHL record for consecutive years having missed out on postseason play. Quite a bit has changed since the last time Buffalo played a playoff hockey game, back in the 2010-11 season. The Vegas Golden Knights, who became a team as an expansion in 2018, have made the playoffs seven out of the eight seasons they've been a franchise. Including two trips to the finals and a Stanley Cup win in 2023. Even the Seattle Kraken, who were an expansion team in the 2021-22 season, made the playoffs in 2023 and even won a playoff round that year. And of the 26 players who wore a Buffalo sweater at some point during the 2011 playoffs, Tyler Myers is the only one still playing hockey in the NHL. The franchise has had some close calls, missing out on postseason action by just a single point back in 2023. And over the last decade, they've had some incredibly talented players in the organization. Many of whom have gone on to win Stanley Cups shortly after being Sabres, including Ryan O'Reilly with the Blues, Sam Reinhart and Brandon Montour with the Panthers, and of course, Jack Eichel with the Vegas Golden Knights. After starting out this season going 11, 11 and 4 in the first two months, the Buffalo Sabres have battled back going 21, 8 and 2 since then, which included a 10-game winning streak during the month of December. The Sabres finally moved on from Kevin Adams, replacing him with Jarmo Kekalainen, who immediately lit a fire under the team upon his arrival as new general manager. In his first press conference, he set the tone for the rest of the year, saying that everyone in the organization was, quote, "under evaluation." And essentially saying that anyone could be expendable. And the team certainly understood the message, as they become one of the highest-scoring teams in the league, and a squad that at the Olympic break currently sit in the first wild-card spot in the Eastern conference. The Sabres are led by some extremely talented players who are in the primes of their careers. Top-line center Tage Thompson is having a fantastic year, already with 30 goals in 57 games, which puts him top 10 league-wide.
[2:07]He's an extremely electric player who can take over a game when he wants to, and with his 6'6" frame coupled with quick hands and one of the best shots in hockey, makes him a matchup nightmare for opposing teams. Sabres captain and top defenseman Rasmus Dahlin is one of the better two-way defenders in the league. He's a player that has elite skill, is a very effective puck mover and power-play quarterback, but he's also a fearless defender that backs down from no one. Can be a really tough player to play against. Power forward Alex Tuch is on pace for another 30-plus goal season, and is a player that complements Tage Thompson's game really well, being another big body that can score and play tough.
[2:45]He also led the league in short-handed goals last season with six, which is another big reason why he's so valuable to the Buffalo lineup. And being from Syracuse himself, there's probably not a single player more excited to potentially help the Sabres back into the playoffs other than him. Buffalo has also made some big trades over the past few seasons, trying to shake up their team and get some players who are tougher to play against. Back in the 2024 off-season, they acquired Ryan McLeod from the Oilers, trading one of their top prospects Matthew Savoie to Edmonton. And the deal has worked out very well so far for Buffalo, with McLeod setting career highs in goals and points last year, scoring 20 goals and 33 assists for 53 points in 79 games. He's having another very productive year as we speak, currently on pace for about 58 points. He's also currently leading the league in short-handed goals with four. This summer, the Sabres made another big trade, shipping off talented winger J.J. Peterka to the Utah Mammoth, in exchange for young winger Josh Doan, as well as right-shot defenseman Michael Kesselring. While many people, including myself, felt that Utah got the best player in the trade at the time, Josh Doan has been an extremely effective player for the Sabres, smashing his career high in points already, and is currently having a very similar season in terms of production compared to Peterka. He's also been making key plays on the defensive side of the puck that are directly leading to goals for Buffalo and has really finding his game as a Sabre. And although Kesselring hasn't been great this year yet, and has missed a lot of time due to injury, he still has a lot of potential, and as a 6'5" right-shot defender who can rip the puck, he's a rare commodity at the NHL level. The Sabres also have a lot of good young forwards who can chip in throughout the lineup, including Jack Quinn, Peyton Krebs, and Noah Ostlund. And even though he's currently injured, Zach Benson is another pesky guy to play against that also happens to be very skilled and is still just 20 years old. Josh Norris, when healthy, has produced at nearly a point per game, and can be a huge difference-maker when in the lineup. The rest of the Buffalo defense core is also very well-rounded. Mattias Samuelsson is having a career year, already with career highs in goals, assists and points, all while being a guy who blocks lots of shots and plays 23 minutes a night. Bowen Byram is a good young offensive defenseman who's on pace to crush his career high goal total, and the former number one overall pick, Owen Power, is a strong two-way defender who can play a lot of hard minutes. Veteran forward Jason Zucker has also been a solid top-six producer over the past two seasons with Buffalo, and is one of the few vets in that lineup, making him an extremely valuable piece of the puzzle. The Sabres have quite a few other good young forwards who've spent time in the NHL, including Isaac Rosen, Jiri Kulich, and Konsta Helenius. And maybe they'll use one or more of these young guys to make a move to bolster their lineup going into the final stretch of the season. When it comes to the netminders, this Buffalo team has gotten very solid goaltending from Alex Lyon this year, who's 912 save percentage is currently top 10 in the league. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has been solid as well, and even Kaapo Kähkönen has had some big games. Can someone tell me why Devon Levi hasn't gotten another shot this year yet with the big club? This Buffalo Sabres team seems to believe that they're good enough to finally make it back into the postseason. And not only do they believe, but they also have the personnel to be a tough team to play against and a force to be reckoned with around the league. I'm sure about 90% of hockey fans are rooting for Buffalo to finally break this curse. And with the Bills season ending the way it did, this city needs something to cheer for. And wouldn't it be fitting with Lindy Ruff in his second stint with Buffalo as head coach, that he be the one to help bring the team full circle and help them end the longest playoff drought in North American Pro Sports?
