Are the Buffalo Sabres poised to take control of the Atlantic?

This time last year, the Buffalo Sabres were still considered a bottom 10 team in the NHL. These days, they may enter the following year as a top 10 team. 

The Buffalo Sabres may not have made the playoffs this season, but when you look at the Atlantic Division’s top three teams, you can’t help but wonder if any of them will be even remotely the groups they were this past season. Last week, I touched on this, implying there could be a changing of the guard in the division, discussing how the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Boston Bruins may be facing some massive roster turnover, and that rebuilds may be necessary.

I didn’t mention the Toronto Maple Leafs, as at the time, they still had a chance to beat the Florida Panthers and find themselves in the Eastern Conference Finals. Since then, the inevitable happened, and Toronto once again lost a playoff series – I just didn’t want to get too far ahead of myself and look foolish had Toronto upended Florida.

Now that Toronto’s out, they may face more uncertainty than any other team in the Atlantic. And if that’s the case, then this division potentially belongs to your Buffalo Sabres….potentially. 

Buffalo Sabres biggest rival faces a plethora of issues

You can click the link at the beginning of this article to check out the issues surrounding Boston and Tampa, but let’s touch on Toronto. Here are just a few major things they need to figure out:

• Will they keep head coach Sheldon Keefe?
• What about general manager Kyle Dubas?
• What do you do with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner?
• What about the 10 pending unrestricted free agents?

At this point, it’s likely Toronto could start the rebuilding process. And in a best-case scenario for the Leafs, they will take a step back.

As for the Sabres, this couldn’t come as better news, as the team is once again on the rise. This past year, they snagged 91 points, and finished 42-33-7, one win behind the Panthers from making the playoffs, who are now playing the Carolina Hurricanes for the Eastern Conference Championship.

That said, it looks as though heading into next season, the Blue and Gold could be fighting this one out with Florida if the Lightning, Bruins, and now, the Leafs, start giving their rosters what could be inevitable makeovers.

So at this point, you can argue that the Buffalo Sabres, even if they’re still the league’s youngest team, could realistically, at worst, finish second in the division behind Florida. Not that the three teams mentioned earlier won’t still be tough to beat – they will be – but as it stands, the Sabres could enter next season, at least on paper, as the better hockey team than Tampa, Boston, and Toronto.

So yeah, they are in position, at the time of this writing, to take control of the Atlantic, or at least fight it out with Florida. We will see what ultimately happens, but Sabres fans everywhere have got to be loving this.

Source: Inside the NHL: Leafs’ demise is latest Atlantic Division news item that has to leave Sabres smirking by Mike Harrington, BuffaloNews.com