Ray Ratto started his legendary sports writing career in 1973, just three years after the Buffalo Sabres franchise joined the NHL. More than five decades later, even he's surprised by the team's incredible turnaround amid the 2025-26 season.
Ratto, who's now a columnist for Defector, penned an article Friday titled: "Nobody Loves An Ex-Loser Like Buffalo," which examines the city's continued love for the Sabres and NFL's Bills despite their extended playoff droughts — an active 14-year one for the Sabres and a prior 17-year run of misery for the Bills.
The Blue and Gold, who started the season sluggishly and appeared destined for another postseason-less campaign, are suddenly one of the NHL's hottest teams with 15 wins in their past 17 games.
"They have been so profoundly irrelevant for so long that this sudden burst of excellence is catching everyone who pays attention by surprise," Ratto wrote. "At a time when even the Sacramento Kings are on a winning streak, the Sabres are cheating history at a prodigious rate. They haven't had a run like this in 20 years. Coincidentally, that 2005–06 team was honored Thursday night; not coincidentally, that was the last time the Sabres were noteworthy."
The longtime writer also questioned whether Buffalo's sudden reversal of fortune was related to the club's general manager change, as Jarmo Kekalainen replaced Kevyn Adams in December, or if it was simply dumb luck. He took a swipe at Terry Pegula, who owns both the Bills and Sabres, in the process.
"All of which incites a series of questions," Ratto opined. "Is this the rare new-general-manager bounce we've never heard of before? Are the lads winning to honor the freshly binned leader who assembled all this previously somnolent talent? Or is it just a big dumbassed coincidence that had nothing to do with Adams leaving, his replacement Jarmo Kekalainen entering, or Pegula tearing himself away from Josh Allen for five minutes?"
Quite frankly, Sabres fans probably couldn't care less. They've waited so long to witness playoff hockey in downtown Buffalo again it doesn't really matter how much luck is involved, though it's worth noting the eye test suggests the team is playing legitimately better as of late.
Buffalo Sabres' rapid climb up the Eastern Conference standings isn't enough to guarantee an NHL playoff berth
The Sabres woke up on the morning of Dec. 9 as the owner of last place in the East with a 11-14-4 record. A combination of key injuries, lackluster play from the roster's top players and goaltending struggles stemming from a three-goalie rotation were sinking the season.
Then suddenly everything changed.
Buffalo embarked on a 10-game winning streak — it's likely not a coincidence that separately timed injuries to netminders Colten Ellis and Alex Lyon removed the crease rotation during the ongoing five-week surge — and it vaulted the club back into the playoff picture.
The Blue and Gold's work is far from done, however, especially because almost the entirety of the Atlantic Division has been nearly as hot recently.
As it stands, the Sabres sit in the conference's top wild-card spot, but there are nine East teams within seven points of each other for the two wild-card positions. One ill-timed losing streak and they could slide down the standings just as quick as they rose them.
That's the why fact Buffalo is actually stringing together far better on-ice performances is important in the big-picture conversation. Past hot streaks during the playoff drought were usually a mirage where the underlying numbers suggested they were still a terrible team. That's not the case this time.
An interesting decision awaits Kekalainen and head coach Lindy Ruff, though. Lyon is nearing his return from a lower-body injury, which in theory is going to bring the three-goalie headache back into the equation with Ellis and resurgent starter Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen also healthy.
Will the Sabres move one of those netminders, either via trade or the waiver wire, or are they willing to put their success between the pipes at risk by carrying the trio on the active roster again?
Beyond that, Kekalainen heads toward the 2026 NHL trade deadline on March 6 with a clear need for a high-scoring forward to take some pressure off superstar Tage Thompson.
Can Buffalo's new GM prove he's different than the overly cautious Adams by swinging a blockbuster deal to provide a much-needed upgrade to the otherwise promising roster?
Those two questions are going to take center stage over the next six weeks, which includes a stretch where no NHL games will be contested as top players head to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.
Ultimately, pressure is going to keep rising on every aspect of the organization as more people from outside Western New York take notice of the hot streak. How the executives, coaches and players respond to the adversity that lies ahead will determine the Sabres' postseason fate.