"They never quit."
Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff expressed immense satisfaction with how his players rose to challenges throughout the 2025-26 NHL season, even if the club fell short of its ultimate goal with a 3-2 overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens in Game 7 of the teams' second-round playoff series on Monday night. He's proud of the never-quit mentality that finally emerged.
Ruff, a finalist for the Jack Adams Award as the NHL's Coach of the Year, returned to Buffalo for a second stint behind the Sabres bench in 2024 with hope of bringing the organization out of an endless cycle of pain and suffering.
It didn't happen immediately as the Blue and Gold missed the postseason in 2024-25, marking the 14th straight year without playoff hockey in downtown Buffalo.
The recently ended campaign didn't get off to the most auspicious start, either. The Sabres owned an 11-14-4 record on the morning of Dec. 9. They were four points clear at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. It would have been easy for the players, especially those who've been in Western New York for awhile, to chalk it up as another lost season.
That didn't happen. Instead, Buffalo went on one of the best runs in NHL history, winning 39 of its final 53 regular-season games to capture the Atlantic Division title. It proceeded to knock off the Boston Bruins in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"This is a giant step for us," Ruff told reporters. "A giant step for all the players to really get a feel of what it's really like. To be proud of being a Buffalo Sabre, to be proud of playing here. When I took the job, I thought, number one, I wanted these guys to like being a Buffalo Sabre. I think they like being a Sabre and I think they made our city proud. It wasn't the result we wanted, and to a man, they're all disappointed. But they gave (the fans) everything they had in the can."
It's impossible to argue with that sentiment. The Sabres transformed from a group of players who rolled over at the first sign of adversity into a team that fought for every inch of ice, and the fans showed their support as the handshake line wrapped up despite the heartbreaking loss.
"Just the energy in the city, the energy around our team again," Ruff said. "I'm so proud of our fans. And I know that this hurts them as much as it hurts us, but the energy around our team, around the city, in this building, outside the building: This was the first time our players got to experience something like this."
It'll take some time for the frustration, both inside the locker room and around the City of Good Neighbors, to subside. Yet, this feels like a genuine turning point for a franchise that features some of the most passionate supporters in all of sports.
Changes are surely on the horizon, starting with a tough decision about whether to re-sign winger Alex Tuch, a choice that'll have a trickle-down effect on the other offseason moves.
That said, the foundation is in place for the Sabres to emerge as a perennial contender. Key cornerstones like Rasmus Dahlin, Tage Thompson, Josh Doan, Owen Power and Mattias Samuelsson are already locked into long-term contracts, and Zach Benson should join that group this summer.
More internal help is on the way, too. Prized prospect Konsta Helenius was outstanding after joining Buffalo's lineup midway through the Habs series and defenseman Radim Mrtka, the team's 2025 first-round pick, is probably a year away from a full-time NHL role.
General manager Jarmo Kekalainen should go big-game hunting for a difference-making forward — making another push to land St. Louis Blues center Robert Thomas would be a fantastic place to start — but the team is finally in a promising position for the first time in over a decade.
The Sabres never quit, and that alone is enough to showcase how much has changed over the past six memorable months for Buffalo hockey fans.
So, for the last time this season, let's dive into the final installment of our Sabres playoff player grades series as the Canadiens move on to face the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final.
Buffalo Sabres' memorable turnaround season ends with Game 7 heartbreak against the Montreal Canadiens
Sabres player grades
Player | Grade (1-10) |
|---|---|
Rasmus Dahlin | 9 |
Owen Power | 8.5 |
Mattias Samuelsson | 8.5 |
Josh Doan | 8 |
Ryan McLeod | 8 |
Jordan Greenway | 7.5 |
Beck Malenstyn | 7 |
Konsta Helenius | 6.5 |
Jack Quinn | 6.5 |
Zach Benson | 6 |
Jason Zucker | 6 |
Alex Tuch | 6 |
Bowen Byram | 5.5 |
Josh Norris | 5 |
Conor Timmins | 5 |
Tage Thompson | 4.5 |
Peyton Krebs | 4 |
Zach Metsa | 4 |
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen | 3.5 |
Buffalo Player of the Game: Rasmus Dahlin
Dahlin did everything in his power to will the Sabres to the next round. He scored five points in the Game 6 win, setting an NHL record for a defenseman on a team facing elimination, and scored the tying goal in the third period of Monday's season-ending loss.
The Norris Trophy finalist was all over the ice in Game 7 while seeing over 33 minutes of ice time, and he was the best player for either side in the series finale. It just wasn't enough to push Buffalo across the finish line at the end of a hard-fought, back-and-forth battle of Atlantic Division rivals.
Dahlin finished the regular season with 74 points (19 goals and 55 assists) across 77 appearances. He added 14 points (four goals and 10 helpers) in 13 playoff contests.
The 26-year-old Swede is now firmly entrenched as one of the NHL's best blueliners, and he should still be in the midst of his prime years for at least a few more seasons. It's perfect timing as the Sabres finally open a window of legitimate contention for the first time in a decades.
Sabres quick hits
- Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made some key saves that allowed Buffalo the opportunity to mount a comeback, but the overtime goal he allowed can't go in. It just can't.
- Alex Tuch, who failed to record a single point in the series, did play better on Monday night, but there's a real chance he just played his final game with the Sabres. You can't lay an egg like that and then command upwards of $10 million annually on a long-term contract at age 30.
- Tage Thompson should be viewed as a winger going into the offseason. Finding a true No. 1 center (the aforementioned Thomas?) must be the top priority on Kekalainen's summer to-do list.
- The hardest part of an unexpected playoff run ending is there are no guarantees about what happens next. Yes, the Sabres roster looks like it's in a good spot, but every journey to the second round or deeper that doesn't result in a championship is a missed opportunity.
- And so, the offseason arrives and the wait for puck drop in October begins in Buffalo.
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