The Buffalo Sabres were founded in 1970 and they have yet to win a Stanley Cup. But that could change thanks to the franchise’s current course.
The Buffalo Sabres haven’t won the Eastern Conference since 1999, and they haven’t even been close to winning it since 2007. Since 2010-11, this team hasn’t even been able to make the playoffs, and that drought continued this season after they put up a remarkable push in the season’s final two weeks.
But that could be changing soon, and perhaps a Stanley Cup is FINALLY in their (somewhat near) future. Per Yahoo Sports’ Nick Ashbourne, the Sabres current roster and cap situation is putting the team in position not only to bust the playoff drought, but to perhaps achieve even more:
"“Nobody is going to pick the Sabres to win the Stanley Cup in 2023-24, but no one would be surprised if they earned their first title in franchise history before 2030.” via Yahoo Sports"
Source: State of the Stanley Cup drought: How close are the Sabres to winning? by Nick Ashbourne, Yahoo Sports
Most of you reading this article are Sabres fans, and we can agree with Ashbourne’s quip. Sure, winning the whole thing this season is farfetched, since the Blue and Gold are still one of the NHL’s youngest teams.
But thanks to the ever-increasing roster stability at solid prices, this is going to be one powerful team throughout the rest of the decade. As Ashbourne noted, having key players on long-term deals at their current salary couldn’t have worked out better for Buffalo, and that trend could continue if Owen Power signs a long-term deal.
Buffalo Sabres are setting the stage to be one of the 2020s’ better teams
If Power opts for a long-term agreement, then that would leave Rasmus Dahlin as the one player on the team set to make over $10 million a year when he signs his inevitable extension. So, adding Power and Dahlin to the mix, let’s list the players who will be in the Queen City for three or more seasons.
- Jeff Skinner
- Tage Thompson
- Alex Tuch
- Dylan Cozens
- Mattias Samuelsson
- Rasmus Dahlin
- Owen Power
This list also doesn’t include Jack Quinn, J.J. Peterka, and Jordan Greenway, who the Sabres will have for at least another two years. Nor does it count Peyton Krebs and Casey Mittelstadt, a pair of productive forwards who will be restricted free agents at the end of the 2023-24 season, and could re-sign for another two-to-three years on bridge deals.
Overall, the Buffalo Sabres look like a team poised to take yet another step on the championship ladder. And although few, if anyone expects Buffalo to win it all this season, Asbourne is absolutely right when they implied the Blue and Gold could win their first Cup by decade’s end.