When a team goes through a playoff drought as long as the Buffalo Sabres had, it is tough to convince players to join their team. For that reason, the Sabres were regularly on players' no-trade lists, and when it came time to make a move, the options would be limited.
That seemingly changed after the Sabres had the season they did, ending their playoff drought and getting to the second round of the NHL Playoffs. However, according to agent Todd Diamond, it wasn't so much just the winning but how close the locker room was from an outsider's perspective.
"I think the key thing for the guys from watching it from afar and a little bit closely, that they really enjoyed winning. The camaraderie was real and the group was, you could tell they were really tight," Diamond said.
"At the end of the day, winning is the only thing that matters. When you're dealing with high-level athletes, there has to be that commitment to winning. Most importantly, I think you have to enjoy it. I could point to a couple of teams maybe around the league where they're successful, but it's too medicinal. It's not maybe natural winning."
As Diamond notes, this is not something that can be forced, and it isn't the first time this has been mentioned about the Sabres. In April, Luke Schenn talked about how quickly he realized, after the Jets traded him to the Sabres, how close the players were with one another:
“I think guys really care for one another. That’s one of the things I experienced when I was in Tampa — how close the guys were off the ice," Schenn explained. "Guys wanted to be around each other, you’re doing massive dinners instead of little groups and cliques. When you get back from dinner, guys are still wanting to hang out."
The playoff drought was certainly taxing on players and fans alike, it was something that went on for too long (and at times felt like it was never going to end). The way the Sabres were struggling made it easy for players to add them to their no-trade list.
However, players on the Sabres didn't have that luxury, and it meant that Rasmus Dahlin, Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch, Mattias Samuelsson, and players who went through multiple seasons of it could only rely on one another. The group going through that together brought them together organically, and when the wins started to roll in, it helped them sustain that success.
Why the Buffalo Sabres locker room is now a destination for NHL players
It is also now what could be an advantage for the Sabres moving forward. There are players already who reportedly are willing to waive that no-trade clause to come to Buffalo, like Connor Hellebuyck.
The challenge for general manager Jarmo Kekalainen will be to protect that locker room and the connection the players have. As Todd Diamond noted, there are teams that bring good players together and expect to win. When going that route, winning isn't natural, and it doesn't have what the Sabres had last season.
For the Sabres, they seemingly did the hardest part and that is to end the playoff drought. They are going to need to continue that momentum in 2026-27. Fortunately with the roster still largely intact from last season, they should still keep the advantage of having a tight locker room, which should help Jarmo Kekalainen make the right trades when the opportunity presents itself.
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