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Buffalo Sabres: Biggest disappointment in the 2021 season

By Jacob LeBlanc

Apr 3, 2021; Buffalo, New York, USA; Buffalo Sabres left wing Taylor Hall (4) skates with the puck against the New York Rangers during the third period at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 3, 2021; Buffalo, New York, USA; Buffalo Sabres left wing Taylor Hall (4) skates with the puck against the New York Rangers during the third period at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports /
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The 2021 NHL season was full of disappointments for the Buffalo Sabres. In a season that many thought would be the one to end Buffalo’s playoff drought, it ended up being just another year of bottom-tier hockey. So out of all the things that happened over the past season, it is hard to pick only one to be the biggest disappointment.

But if I had to pick just one, I would have to say the entire Taylor Hall experiment was the biggest disappointment for the Sabres this year. It was a surprise signing by Buffalo last offseason to bring Hall in. And it was even more surprising that the front office told him that they expected to compete for a Stanley Cup. They really could not have been much more wrong with that one.

Coming into Buffalo as a former Hart Trophy winner, fans of Buffalo expected Hall to put up massive numbers. But that never happened. In 37 games, Hall tallied two goals and 17 assists. Not the numbers fans expected out of him. He also had an awful +/- of -21 to go along with his lack of production.

It became clear that Hall did not want to be in Buffalo during the team’s 18-game winless streak, and you really cannot blame the guy. He was told that Buffalo would be competing for a championship, not the best odds at the number one pick in the draft. When he basically confirmed that he was willing to be traded in a postgame interview, Sabres fans knew it was over.

The end of the very short Taylor Hall era in Buffalo even concluded in a ball of flames. Hall held most of the leverage in all the trade talks. Buffalo ended up trading him to a team that we see very regularly each year in the Boston Bruins, and they did not receive nearly as much as fans expected. The Sabres sent Hall and Curtis Lazar to Boston in exchange for Andres Bjork and a 2021 second-round draft pick. Plus, the Sabres retained 50% of Hall’s contract.

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A move that seemed like it was putting Buffalo on the map for the first time in 10 years in the NHL turned out to just be a waste of Sabres fan’s time. That is why, out of all the dysfunctional things this team has gone through over the past season, the Taylor Hall experiment is the biggest disappointment.

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