Buffalo Sabres roasted on social media for sad Home Opener ticket offer

The Buffalo Sabres are scheduled to open the 2025-26 NHL season with a home game against the New York Rangers on Oct. 9. Although a team's Home Opener is typically one of its biggest events of the campaign, it appears fans aren't rushing to buy KeyBank Center tickets.

On Tuesday, the Sabres posted a message on Twitter/X offering tickets to the season opener for just $25 as part of a flash sale:

It's a moment that highlights the current sad state of the franchise, which finds itself in the midst of a 14-year playoff drought, the longest in NHL history.

Comments on the social media platform flooded into the replies of the Sabres' ticket offer. Although some of them were positive — "easy cop" one fan wrote — most of them took aim at the organization for allowing the situation to reach this lowly point.

"Probably the most embarrassing thing the Sabres have had to do the past 15 years," a fan commented. "Struggling to sell out a home opener."

Another added: "Y'all getting desperate."

It's amazing an organization that used to have a waiting list for season tickets is now staring down the potential of a poorly attended Home Opener.

"Start listening to and respecting your fans and you won't have to beg people on twitter to buy tickets!" another fan replied to the post.

Last week, the Sabres offered free tickets to the opener with the purchase of a 10-game flex plan, further illustrating the team's struggles selling out the Rangers game.

Buffalo sports fans are diehards. They supported the Bills through a similar 17-year playoff drought, but the NFL franchise at least gave them reasons for optimism during that extended postseason absence. That's rarely been the case for the Sabres in recent years.

Make no mistake: Sabres fans want to care. It's a dormant fandom that will return in a heartbeat if the team shows legitimate signs of progress at any point. These are supporters who fondly remember the Party in the Plaza events for playoff games.

Yet, it's also clear people in Buffalo have started to reach their breaking point. They aren't going to spend their hard-earned money on tickets when the front office has consistently spent well under the salary cap in recent years. Why should they be all-in if the team itself isn't?

Perhaps at some point Sabres owner Terry Pegula will get the message. Maybe if he does everything in his power to ensure the front office is icing the best possible team using every financial resource, the fans will reward that effort by visiting the KeyBank Center more often.

For now, however, it appears the Sabres, who ranked 27th in average attendance last season, are at risk of falling even further down that list in 2025-26.

Of course, there's one caveat: Winning solves all problems, especially in sports-crazy Buffalo.