The Buffalo Sabres, after seeing nothing but a mess for a decade, have been trending north over the past two seasons. And that brings a lot of positives.
The Buffalo Sabres have toiled through adversity, adversity, and more adversity since they last made the playoffs in 2010-11. And the decade-long tunnel has been the darkest in franchise history, with seemingly no end in sight.
Following a successful 2022-23 campaign, there is more than just a ray of light at the end of that long tunnel. The Sabres are close to exiting it and breaking through the threshold that is the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
While it didn’t happen this season, the time is near. And so are three huge intangibles that you may not have otherwise considered. Let’s check them out.
3 intangibles the Buffalo Sabres and their fans can get excited for
1 – Players who want to stick around
Earlier today, I wrote about how Patrik Berglund became arguably the most infamous Sabre in franchise history since he had zero regrets of quitting on the team. Let’s be honest: If the Buffalo Sabres were better, Berglund sticks it out, Eichel probably would have, too (not that I’m complaining), and ditto for possibly Sam Reinhart…again, not complaining.
These guys didn’t want to be Sabres. The team was terrible, they were firing coaches every two seasons, and when they did win, it was short-lived. There was no positive culture here, and the franchise was suffering through its darkest period.
That’s not the case these days. Having finished a point from claiming their first playoff berth in 12 seasons, you have players who want to play in the Queen City not just for the present, but also into the distant future. Just listening and reading about what these players had to say during their respective exit interviews all but confirms it.
2 – Free agents and potential trade assets who want to be here
As it stands, the Buffalo Sabres have an annual Norris Trophy contender in Rasmus Dahlin, a Calder Trophy contender next season in Devon Levi, plus a potential Hart contender in (at least) Tage Thompson, also for 2023-24 and beyond. This trio alone will attract would-be free agents and trade assets who are eyeing championships.
And who cares if Buffalo is a small market and that the franchise has been maligned in failure over the past 10-plus seasons? The NHL has a plethora of veterans looking to win a Stanley Cup, and when they see a young, talented team like Buffalo, their eyes light up, knowing the rest of the decade is bright for this group.
Expect players who otherwise wouldn’t have played here just a season or two ago to reconsider. They know what the Sabres have, and they will be more than willing to jump on board.
3 – Returning fan support
It’s no secret that the Buffalo Sabres have one of the NHL’s best and most loyal fanbases. But even those who stick to their team under almost any circumstance have their breaking point, and if you didn’t notice, you saw waning attendance and different colored jerseys in the stands often over these past few seasons.
That won’t be the case moving forward. While the most loyal fans would always turn up for games, opposing fanbases were still taking over the KeyBank Center. Now that the Sabres turned in a season full of hope, expect to see more blue and gold (or black, silver, and red) in the stands for 2023-24 and beyond.
Source: Sabres ready for the future, assume ‘playoffs every year from now on’ by Matthew Fairburn, TheAthletic.com