The Sabres were one of the few teams that did not make it into the expanded Stanley Cup Playoffs last season. Did this give them the extra motivation to make big moves this offseason?
The Buffalo Sabres have failed to make the playoffs for nine seasons and counting. When the NHL resumed play on August 1st and jumped right into the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, they included 24 of the 31 NHL teams. You would hope you could make a playoff format that included all the teams except seven. But the Sabres were the first team out and were on the outside looking in at the playoffs once again.
A lot has changed with the Sabres since the last time they played in a game. We lost a few players to other teams, we hired another new GM, but Buffalo also brought in some big names over the offseason. A few names that we did not expect to see join the Sabres this offseason.
Could one of the main reasons why we brought in some big names, like Taylor Hall and Eric Staal, be because the Sabres missed out on a 24 team playoff?
It is an interesting thing to think about. Say that Buffalo finished just ahead of Montreal to get the 12th seed in the east for the playoffs, are the Sabres just complacent with making the playoffs and taking the same team into the next season? Or are they still going to make the big moves, like bringing in Hall and Staal and new GM Kevyn Adams?
It seems to me, at least for the moment, that missing the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs may have lit a fire under the organization like we haven’t seen in a few years.
I know hiring a new GM is nothing new for the Sabres, as it seems like they have been in a recent endless cycle of general managers. But Buffalo finally brought in a second-line center in Eric Staal, something that has been a desperate need for this team.
And many people were surprised with the Sabres landing free agent Taylor Hall. Many thought that he would go to a team that was an obvious contender for the Stanley Cup.
It seems that this organization has made some recent moves to try and show that they are done finishing in the bottom tier of the league. A team that signs a recent Hart Trophy winner to a one year deal fully expects to make the playoffs and compete that season.
The Sabres are going to need to have one of their best seasons in recent memory to compete this year with the new division realignments. It is going to be a real test for this organization as a whole to see if they are ready to compete now, or if they are still a ways away.