The Sabres Are Still Stuck In Neutral

The Buffalo Sabres haven’t made the playoffs in a long time. They set an NHL record this season by missing the postseason for 14 consecutive seasons, and don’t appear to be on track to break that streak this season.

The last time the Sabres played in a playoff game was a 5-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on April 26th, 2011. To put the event into perspective, consider that current NHL general managers Mike Grier and Daniel Briere participated in the game, and over on NBC, the television series The Voice premiered that night.

Buffalo has been stuck in a constant state of rebuilding that hasn’t managed to gain any momentum. Just a few seasons ago, it looked like the Sabres were on the verge of becoming a contender. Still, a series of poor trades, bad signings, and unfortunate player development have kept the Sabres at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.

The fans in Buffalo are no doubt eager for something to cheer about, but unfortunately, the team hasn’t been able to satisfy that desire. The bad news for Buffalo is that much of their problems are self-inflicted, and since they haven’t course-corrected this summer, it’s fair to wonder: when will they turn things around?

It’s not as if Buffalo hasn’t had their fair share of good luck in the draft, selecting some terrific players late in the process, including Linus Ullmark in the sixth round back in 2012, Victor Olofsson in the seventh round in 2014, and Brandon Hagel in the sixth round in 2016. They’ve also managed to draft franchise cornerstones like Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power.

However, where the team has fallen short – arguably the most glaring issue in drafting and development – is that they haven’t been able to retain their stars or have traded them away for little value.

The most obvious example here is Sam Reinhart, who was drafted second overall in 2014 and scored 20+ goals in five of his six seasons with the Buffalo Sabres, including 25 goals in his final year during the shortened 2020-21 season. The Sabres then traded Reinhart in the summer of 2021 for a return that included goaltender Devon Levi and a first-round pick that was later used to select Jiri Kulich.

Now, Reinhart had one year left on his contract, and many felt he wouldn’t sign long-term with Buffalo as they were rebuilding, even though Reinhart said otherwise. The trade could still work out for Buffalo, depending on Levi’s development and how 21-year-old Kulich progresses.

However, for Reinhart and the Panthers, it has been a great match, having reached the Stanley Cup Final three times and won two championships. Reinhart was a solid player for Buffalo, but in Florida, he has reached another level and become a key part of the Panthers’ team, averaging a point per game. The emergence of players like him has become a bit of a theme for former Sabres, as shown by our next star.

Not many people would have predicted that Ullmark would develop into a Vezina Trophy winner; however, there were signs that he was better than his numbers in Buffalo. Ullmark spent two seasons with the Sabres’ AHL affiliate in Rochester and was one of the top netminders in the league before making the full-time jump to the NHL.

He began his career as a backup for Carter Hutton but quickly took the starting job, posting a 50-47-13 career record with the Sabres, along with a 2.78 goals-against average and a .912 SV%. In the summer of 2021, the Swedish netminder moved to Boston, where he thrived with the heavyweight Bruins and left Sabres fans wondering what might have been.

There are likely several personal and professional reasons why Ullmark chose to leave Buffalo. Still, it was ultimately clear that the Sabres were pivoting towards a rebuild around the time of his departure.

Another missed opportunity, and perhaps one of the most painful, is Hagel. The Sabres chose to give up his rights back in 2018, and he later signed an ELC with the Chicago Blackhawks before being traded to Tampa Bay for two first-round picks.

Hagel recently represented Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off and has become a genuine top-six player at the age of 26. It’s another clear example of Buffalo getting things right at the draft but missing out on player retention. Now, Hagel is undoubtedly a different case than Reinhart and Ullmark, but it shows how deep the Sabres’ issues run.

Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams has taken some heat in recent years, and rightfully so, since he is responsible for building the roster. However, his record includes three situations that have aged so poorly they overshadow his entire GM resume.

The Reinhart trade with Florida was mentioned earlier and could turn out alright in the future, but the situation doesn’t look good right now. The other two major missteps were the Jack Eichel deal with Vegas, which brought in a couple of good players but none of Eichel’s calibre.

The trade wasn’t that bad, but the worst part of the Eichel saga was the lead-up to the move. Then there is the Brandon Montour trade with Florida. The Montour trade is especially painful and quite different from the other two moves. But, each of these situations led Buffalo to trade away the best player in each deal, only to see those players raise the Stanley Cup with their new team.

Now, Adams’ moves haven’t been all bad. The trade for defenseman Bowen Byram looks like a win, given the decline of Casey Mittelstadt, and the Ryan McLeod trade with Edmonton also looks like a decent move.

The Sabres have managed to bring in players with potential, but it never seems to catapult the Sabres into a winning team. Getting Alex Tuch in the Eichel deal was a nice story, and he’s had some good years, but he could follow so many before him in less than 12 months when he becomes an unrestricted free agent.

All of this brings us to the current Sabres, who are once again fresh off trading away a talented young player. The Sabres traded JJ Peterka to the Utah Mammoth just a month ago in exchange for forward Josh Doan and defenseman Michael Kesselring.

The 23-year-old Peterka scored 27 goals and 41 assists in 77 games last season and was quick to sign a five-year extension with the Mammoth following the trade, something he wasn’t willing to do in Buffalo. Now, the verdict is still out on this trade because all three players involved are pretty young and aren’t yet finished products, but the return felt underwhelming at the time of the deal.

There does seem to be a pattern with players not signing long-term with the Sabres and opting to move to other cities. However, the Sabres have managed to secure their core players—Dahlin, Power, and Tage Thompson—with long-term contracts.

That said, it’s concerning that many players appear content to either ride out their current contract and bolt or use their leverage to pursue a trade. This doesn’t necessarily mean Reinhart or Ullmark did that, but it could explain a lot.

So here the Sabres are, down another potential star player in a long line of such players who never flourished in Buffalo. Sabres fans have watched star after star march to the Stanley Cup Final with other NHL teams without so much as a sniff of the playoffs in Buffalo. It’s a testament to Sabres fans that they continue to cheer for an organization that hasn’t given them much to cheer about in the last decade and a half, but it demonstrates the dedication of the fan base.

Photo by Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports