Early prediction of where Buffalo Sabres will finish in Atlantic in 2024

The Buffalo Sabres play in what could be the toughest division in hockey, the Atlantic Division. So what will things look like next season?

There’s an argument to be made that the Atlantic Division is the toughest division in the NHL. For the second straight season, the Buffalo Sabres finished in fifth place. The teams in front of them: Boston (first), Toronto (second), Tampa Bay (third) and Florida (fourth).

Looking forward to next season, what place will the Sabres be in? It’s obviously tough because we are not in the offseason, but I’m going to brainstorm when it comes to the team themselves and the rest of the teams in the Atlantic.

I think it’s safe to say they will not finish sixth, seventh or eighth. Going back to last season, there were some people saying they’ll finish last in the division. Again, AS OF NOW, the Sabres are better than the Montreal Canadiens, who are going through a rebuild.

The Detroit Red Wings are a mystery. For a good part of last season, they were in the playoff race, but fell off as we got closer to the conclusion of the regular season. As for the Ottawa Senators, they are right there with the Sabres.

They have a good core of young talented players and are only a couple of solid additions away from contending for the postseason. Looking at next season for Buffalo, if they can make some solid moves in the offseason I can see them finishing somewhere in third or fourth.

This is a crazy stat but in the 2022-2023 regular season, the Sabres were only one point behind the Florida Panthers for the fourth place spot. With 91 points, they were only seven points behind the third place Tampa Bay. It’s pretty considering where this franchise was.

Like I mentioned earlier, this is a WAY TOO EARLY assumption. But going off from what happened this season and the possibility of getting better in the offseason, it’s definitely possible we can see the Buffalo Sabres in third or fourth.

While we don’t know what’s going to happen with the Boston Bruins, Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs, I think the Sabres could be poised to take the next step in 2023-2024.