BY Nate Moser
April 26, 2011, was the last time the Buffalo Sabres played in an NHL postseason game. It was a Game 7 against the Philadelphia Flyers, and the final score was 5-2 Flyers. The only two goals that the Sabres mustered for that series-deciding clash were from defenseman Tyler Myers and veteran forward Brad Boyes. The Flyers goals came from Braydon Coburn, former Sabre captain Danny Briere, James van Riemsdyk, Ville Leino (before coming to play for the Sabres), and Daniel Carcillo. I remember watching that game like it was yesterday and feeling like that Sabres team was absolutely drained. They did not look as dominant as they had earlier in the series. They had some nice bouts with Philadelphia and even managed to get all three opposing goalies changed out of the net in the series (Brian Boucher, a young Sergei Bobrovsky, and Michael Leighton). As previously mentioned, that feels like it was yesterday. However, that was over 13 years ago! 13! This is June of 2024 when this is being written. How time does indeed fly!
Now, to try and go through everything that has happened between April 26, 2011 to today for the Sabres organization would take too long. To put things in full perspective, I was wrapping up my freshman year of high school when the Sabres were eliminated by the Flyers. I am about to turn 28 years old on June 6th. It has been a long time and there has been a bunch of hirings and firings among that management group in Buffalo. Head coaches and general managers have come and gone. Pat LaFontaine, who has his number 16 hanging in the rafters of KeyBank Center, was at one point the President of Hockey Operations for the team. That did not even last a full calendar year before he was gone and out of the organizational structure. Overall, it has just been a mess these last bunch of years.
One of the most frustrating parts about this whole playoff drought other than the fact that there was somehow room for another one of those for Buffalo in general after a 17-year one in football with the Bills, is the fact that every NHL postseason, there is a former Sabre on each of the teams in it. That includes this upcoming 2024 Stanley Cup Final between the Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers. The Panthers are probably the team with the most former Sabres on them. There is Sam Reinhart, who should get paid very well this offseason; Kyle Okposo, who was the Sabres captain and was shipped out before this past trade deadline; Evan Rodrigues; Dmitry Kulikov, and Brandon Montour; who had an absolute monster 2022-23 season. For players like Reinhart and Montour, they already went to last year’s Cup Final so they know what to expect. The Panthers did not win the Cup last postseason because that belonged to former Sabre star Jack Eichel and the Vegas Golden Knights. This Cup Final, while Vegas did not make it back to try and defend their trophy, the Edmonton Oilers have former Sabre winger Evander Kane gunning to win his first Cup in his career. Combining both Florida and Edmonton’s teams, there are quite a few former Sabres who are fighting for their first Cup, and at least one is going to get their first championship.
Every Sabres fan is tired of being out of the postseason. It has been so long that some Sabres fans have basically never experienced postseason Sabres hockey. I have been fortunate enough that I was able to attend Game 1 of the 2006 NHL quarterfinals between Buffalo and Philadelphia. I remember former Sabres defender Brian Campbell laying a massive hit on Flyers forward RJ Umberger. Fast forward to the following postseason run in 2007. I was in the building in Buffalo for Game 5 between the Sabres and New York Rangers. Game was 1-0 Rangers in the dying seconds of the game until Sabres co-captain Chris Drury tied the game with about seven seconds left on the game clock. The building erupted with crowd noise. There were people outside the arena jumping up and down with signs. It was insane. Then, in overtime, Maxim Afinogenov wins the game. The electricity was incredible from those moments. There are kids who were not born yet when the Sabres were last in the playoffs. That has to change.
Two men are responsible for playing a big role in ending this Sabres postseason drought in 2024-25. It is general manager Kevyn Adams and head coach Lindy Ruff. With Ruff, I am glad to see him back as the coach. It was heartbreaking watching his farewell press conference after he was relieved of his duties the first time around back in 2013 (even this was more recent than a playoff appearance for the team). It is no secret to the fanbase how important it is for Ruff to win a Cup, and it means that much more for him if he can help pull that off for the Sabres and the city of Buffalo itself. The first step has to be making the playoffs again. If anyone can help end the drought, it is him. He was, after all, the last coach to take them to the playoffs in 2011. The person in a more critical position, for me, is Adams. He is living a Buffalonian dream – he is the general manager for the franchise he grew up rooting for. As a Sabres fan though, Adams knows how important winning a championship is. After the team just missed making the playoffs by a point at the end of 2022-23, Adams had the opportunity to capitalize on the growth and success by bringing in enough talent to take the next step. Many fans believe Adams did not do enough last offseason. He knew he had to address the blueline, which he did by signing free agents Erik Johnson and Connor Clifton, but there was reason to try and pull off more change. Yes, he was able to get Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power locked up long-term and those were two crucial pieces of business that needed to be handled. However, there was not enough aggressiveness for some people. It is hard to argue that these people were not right after the team took a step backward following what was a promising 2022-23 campaign. The expectations rose and the franchise did not reach them. Adams deserves a certain amount of criticism for that. All this being said, Adams has another chance to take care of business and set the Sabres up for future success. The team has a stockpile of prospects. Matt Savoie was not with the organization and will be playing for either Buffalo or their AHL team Rochester Americans. Then, there are other prospects who have already been growing their game with the Americans, such as Jiri Kulich and Isak Rosen. Either one of those two has the possibility to fight their way through to claim a roster spot. The problem becomes that there are only so many roster spots to give to players. Tage Thompson is locked up long-term, Dylan Cozens is locked up long-term, Jeff Skinner has a few years left on his deal and I do not see the Sabres buying out his contract at this time. That is not even mentioning the fact that one of the open spots that appeared prior to last season went to 2023-first-round pick Zach Benson. The prospects that cannot fit on the Sabres should be traded for NHL talents who can fill in holes on other parts of the roster. Making a trade can go a long way.
Adams can also look at free agency. The Sabres do not have a lot of credibility given where they have been in the last number of seasons, but that should not scare them away from trying to make things work and reaching out to a number of very good players. Go take a shot at Jake Guentzel from Carolina. Is there a chance he says no, absolutely. Does that mean you should not try to contact him at all: No! The Sabres also have a lot of left-handed defensemen. They have Dahlin, Power, recently acquired Bowen Byram, and Mattias Samuelsson. That is not even including young defender Ryan Johnson. Go have a conversation with right-handed defenseman Brett Pesce. He is from Tarrytown, New York; so he can possibly be closer to home than rejoining the Hurricanes or going to another free agent destination. Does that mean Pesce will sign? No, of course, he could always say no. Keep trying with these different free agents. Not all of them are going to say no. Try to add some talent that will help take the Sabres to the next step – the playoffs. If Ruff and Adams cannot get this club on track and it becomes a 14-year playoff drought, it might be the end of the Kevyn Adams Era at GM.
Things have felt dire with the Sabres for a while. In the beginning, it was amplified with the Bills as both teams were in their own respective playoff droughts. Now, while the Bills still do not have a Lombardi Trophy to their name yet, they at least keep making the playoffs and fight through some competitive games and opponents. They have transformed their identity from the drought years thanks to head coach Sean McDermott, general manager Brandon Beane, and quarterback Josh Allen. The Bills are at least in the conversation to have a shot at winning a Super Bowl. The Sabres have not been able to get their ticket punched to the tournament. There have been so many times during this playoff drought where it seemed like rock bottom. The most recent example of this was when Eichel left and went to the Vegas Golden Knights. What was supposed to be a new era and becoming a contender became a mess that had to be cleaned up. Now, the pieces who were supposed to be part of the new era are all winning Cups. Ryan O’Reilly did it with the St. Louis Blues in 2019, Eichel did it with Vegas last postseason, and now either Reinhart or Kane are going to be next. It has been a nightmare these last 13 years. However, if Adams and Ruff take care of what they need to do between this offseason and in 2024-25, the fanbase may have a new era to look forward to. A refreshing era with more winning potential. It will certainly be interesting to see what happens in the Adams-Ruff tenure.
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