Buffalo Sabres are building an organizational identity for 2023 and beyond
By Sion Fawkes
After scoring 10 goals in the first two games of their tripleheader, the Buffalo Sabres have made one thing clear: They have organizational identity.
Last season, we saw the Buffalo Sabres score an unprecedented 296 goals, but following some high-octane moments in the 2023 Calder Cup Playoffs, things trickled down to the AHL level. Here in the Prospects Challenge, we’re seeing it trickle down even further throughout the organization.
It literally doesn’t matter which line is on the ice, the high-octane game is becoming the norm. Sure, you have your scorers who can outskate opponents to put themselves and others in a position to find twine. But these days, even defensive forwards and defensemen are pitching in, to the point that it’s thoroughly unsurprising to see the Blue and Gold score six and four goals on back-to-back nights.
It’s clear that the entire organization has an identity, be it the Sabres, the Rochester Americans, or even those who will play in the junior leagues this year. If your name is attached to the Sabres in any way here in 2023, a fast, high-scoring team is the first thing that will come to someone’s mind.
Credit Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams for making this happen
When Kevyn Adams took the general manager role in 2020, the Sabres had no identity other than being known as the team that perpetually loses. If you mentioned the Sabres to someone this time three years ago, nothing positive would have crossed their minds. Maybe they would have quipped that, “Jack Eichel’s pretty good,” or, “Rasmus Dahlin at least has potential.”
What a difference three years make for an NHL franchise. Eichel is long gone, Dahlin is a perennial All-Star candidate, and from top to bottom, scoring has become synonymous with the Buffalo Sabres.
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Adams has effectively shown the NHL what it takes not just to build a team at the NHL level, but what it takes to build an entire organization. It will be a challenge to keep this thing going in the future when the inevitable trades occur around the deadline, but at this point, I refuse to doubt Adams.