>The negative: It’s been 13 years since their last playoff game. Four years since the fan base appeared to hit rock bottom. Ten months since they watched the franchise savior who quit on them be rewarded with a Stanley Cup. And most important of all, one year since they finished a 91-point season, their first time finishing over .500 since 2012, to finally signal that better days were ahead and they were ready to contend for the playoffs.
>And then… they took a big step backward. Again. Again!
>I’ve been doing this column gimmick since the Grantland days, and the Sabres have been in every single one. In 2019 I wrote, “It could be worse”. In 2021 I wrote, “It can’t get any worse”. In 2017 I wrote “Eventually some super volcano will erupt and none of this will matter”, and I’m kind of mad about that because I could sure use that line now.
>Honestly, I don’t know how you Sabres fans do it.
>**Positive thought #1:** No team in the league has a better young blue line core. Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power and Bowen Byram should all be studs for the next decade. There are more than a few teams out there that don’t have a single defenseman anywhere in the system with the outlook of any of those guys, and the Sabres have all three on the NHL roster. If the old adage about building from the net out still holds, the Sabres should be in great shape.
>**Positive thought #2:**Oh, right, the net. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has looked good and is only 25, right? And while Devon Levi’s season was a major letdown, he’s looked sharp in March and just turned 22. The Sabres could re-sign Luukkonen and ride that duo and see where it takes them. Or maybe more enticingly, Kevyn Adams could hold onto one young goalie while moving the other for veteran help, and go into next season without the position looking like a question mark.
>**Positive thought #3:** The future is extremely bright. I realize Sabres fans might be sick of hearing that after over a decade of rebuilds, but they’ve got lots of young talent at the NHL level, plus Wheeler’s top-ranked prospect pool. The torch is being passed, as we saw this week when Jeff Skinner’s 1,000th game turned into the JJ Peterka show. There’s plenty to work with, for Don Granato or whoever replaces him. The pieces are in place for future success.
>It’s just not here quite yet. Again.
Wow, even the Athletic writer realizes the future is bright
prodgodq2
Old guy Bills fan here, just starting to get interested in hockey again after a long absence, so I’m looking at the Sabres from an “outside” perspective. Based on what I’ve been seeing, the Sabres seem to be a young team with a lot of talent but not a lot of maturity or consistency. They also seem to have great talent on their top line, but not enough talent when the top line is out. I think they’re not ready to be consistently competitive enough to be a playoff team. Most of the people on this sub have forgotten more about hockey than I know, so I’m likely missing out on a lot, and it’s probably a lot more complex than my simple observation. Maybe they need more maturity, more veterans, or a new coach? But it seems like when the team is “on their game”, they can beat anybody.
3 Comments
>1st. Buffalo Sabres
>The negative: It’s been 13 years since their last playoff game. Four years since the fan base appeared to hit rock bottom. Ten months since they watched the franchise savior who quit on them be rewarded with a Stanley Cup. And most important of all, one year since they finished a 91-point season, their first time finishing over .500 since 2012, to finally signal that better days were ahead and they were ready to contend for the playoffs.
>And then… they took a big step backward. Again. Again!
>I’ve been doing this column gimmick since the Grantland days, and the Sabres have been in every single one. In 2019 I wrote, “It could be worse”. In 2021 I wrote, “It can’t get any worse”. In 2017 I wrote “Eventually some super volcano will erupt and none of this will matter”, and I’m kind of mad about that because I could sure use that line now.
>Honestly, I don’t know how you Sabres fans do it.
>**Positive thought #1:** No team in the league has a better young blue line core. Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power and Bowen Byram should all be studs for the next decade. There are more than a few teams out there that don’t have a single defenseman anywhere in the system with the outlook of any of those guys, and the Sabres have all three on the NHL roster. If the old adage about building from the net out still holds, the Sabres should be in great shape.
>**Positive thought #2:**Oh, right, the net. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has looked good and is only 25, right? And while Devon Levi’s season was a major letdown, he’s looked sharp in March and just turned 22. The Sabres could re-sign Luukkonen and ride that duo and see where it takes them. Or maybe more enticingly, Kevyn Adams could hold onto one young goalie while moving the other for veteran help, and go into next season without the position looking like a question mark.
>**Positive thought #3:** The future is extremely bright. I realize Sabres fans might be sick of hearing that after over a decade of rebuilds, but they’ve got lots of young talent at the NHL level, plus Wheeler’s top-ranked prospect pool. The torch is being passed, as we saw this week when Jeff Skinner’s 1,000th game turned into the JJ Peterka show. There’s plenty to work with, for Don Granato or whoever replaces him. The pieces are in place for future success.
>It’s just not here quite yet. Again.
Wow, even the Athletic writer realizes the future is bright
Old guy Bills fan here, just starting to get interested in hockey again after a long absence, so I’m looking at the Sabres from an “outside” perspective. Based on what I’ve been seeing, the Sabres seem to be a young team with a lot of talent but not a lot of maturity or consistency. They also seem to have great talent on their top line, but not enough talent when the top line is out. I think they’re not ready to be consistently competitive enough to be a playoff team. Most of the people on this sub have forgotten more about hockey than I know, so I’m likely missing out on a lot, and it’s probably a lot more complex than my simple observation. Maybe they need more maturity, more veterans, or a new coach? But it seems like when the team is “on their game”, they can beat anybody.
It’s hopeless man
Same shit. Different faces.