The Buffalo Sabres owned the highest odds to land Connor McDavid in the 2015 NHL Draft at 20% but lottery misfortune prevented them from bringing the most highly touted prospect since Sidney Crosby to Western New York. The franchise has never recovered.
McDavid indirectly delivered another crushing blow to Sabres fans on Monday when he signed an extremely team-friendly two-year, $25 million contract extension with the Edmonton Oilers. It's at least $5 million per season below his market value.
Buffalo's inability to attract high-end talent and then retain it at a reasonable price is one of the main reasons for the organization's laughable 14-year playoff drought. That decade-plus of misery wouldn't have occurred if No. 97 donned a Sabres sweater.
The Sabres tanked for Connor McDavid. His success and new contract with the Edmonton Oilers is a painful glimpse at what could have been in Buffalo.
Former Sabres general manager Tim Murray tore the team's roster down to the studs during the 2014-15 season with a singular goal: Win the right to draft McDavid.
Any player who threatened Buffalo's quest to secure the best lottery odds with a burst of strong play was quickly traded to another organization or sent to the minor leagues. Murray got what he wanted as the team finished at the bottom of the NHL standings with 54 points.
The ping pong balls didn't bounce the Sabres' way, however, and McDavid headed to Edmonton to begin what's now clearly a Hall of Fame career.
Buffalo thought it received a terrific consolation prize in Jack Eichel. The franchise's lack of effective depth, a consequence of the roster decisions made amid the "McEichel" sweepstakes, prevented the team from turning things around, though.
Eichel enjoyed individual success with the Sabres, but the lack of progress toward contention combined with a disagreement over the treatment of a neck injury led him to seek a trade. He was sent to the Vegas Golden Knights, where he won a Stanley Cup.
So the 2015 NHL Draft, which was supposed to change Buffalo's fortunes for a generation, ultimately left the team with nothing but "what if" question marks.
Meanwhile, the Sabres more recent rebuilding efforts under GM Kevyn Adams have been hampered by a severe weakness when it comes to attracting outside talent. Adams has struggled mightily to supplement a roster led by Rasmus Dahlin and Tage Thompson with marquee talent.
That's why it's so frustrating for Buffalo sports fans to see McDavid, at the height of his remarkable powers, accept a contract so far below what he deserves in an effort to maximize Edmonton's financial flexibility to build the roster around him.
McDavid has carried the Oilers to perennial Stanley Cup contention, while it takes a minor miracle just for the Sabres to remain in the the playoff race for an entire season.
The contrast couldn't be more stark, and it's impossible for Sabres supporters to not think about what could have been if McDavid was playing his home games in the City of Good Neighbors.
Instead, the Sabres are set to open their new campaign Thursday night against the New York Rangers with no clear timetable to become seriously competitive again.