With one game left in the Buffalo Sabres' regular season slate, the hype surrounding the team's first postseason chase in 14 seasons is starting to reach a full boil. Not only are the Sabres now guaranteed home-ice advantage for at least the first two rounds of the playoffs, but they will open their campaign against one of the NHL's most notorious postseason teams: the Boston Bruins.
While waiting for the Sabres to open their postseason campaign against the Bruins, it's worth taking the time to look back at the roster from the last time that the Sabres made the Stanley Cup Playoffs. I won't be going over every member of that roster, but I am going to highlight three of the noteworthy names from that 2010-11 Sabres team.
Tyler Myers: a proven playoff veteran and the last Sabres player from an old age
After being drafted by the Sabres 12th overall in 2008, Myers joined the Sabres the season before the 2010-11 campaign, fresh off of a 40-plus point campaign with the WHL's Kelowna Rockets. He would score 48 points during that 2009-10 season but just one assist during his six postseason games. During the 2010-11 campaign, Myers would record 37 points, 11 fewer than his 2009-10 total, however he would record a point-per-game pace during the Sabres' seven-game series against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Myers would remain with the Sabres for the next three-and-a-half seasons, ultimately acting as a piece in the trade that saw Buffalo acquire Zach Bogosian and Evander Kane from the Winnipeg Jets. While with the Jets, Myers helped get the team into the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs; three years later, he played a part in getting Winnipeg to the Western Conference Final, which they lost in five games to the then-inaugural Vegas Golden Knights.
Following the 2018-19 campaign, Myers would join the Vancouver Canucks. While his offensive production would drop from that of his final two years with Winnipeg, he would nonetheless play a pivotal role in Vancouver's strong 2023-24 campaign, which saw the team win the Pacific Division before forcing the Edmonton Oilers to seven games in their second-round encounter.
Just recently, Myers was traded to the Dallas Stars in what could be an important move to shore up Dallas' defense ahead of a Cup-or-bust postseason.
Not only is Myers the last remaining member of the 2010-11 Sabres that is currently active in the NHL, but him and his Stars team represent Buffalo's final regular-season opponent before their playoff return.
Paul Byron went from being a Sabres draft pick to a Habs legend
Despite signing a contract with the Sabres in 2009, Paul Byron spent the vast majority of the next two seasons in the minor leagues before playing eight games at the end of the 2010-11 campaign.
During the 2011 NHL Draft, the Sabres would include Byron in a trade with the Calgary Flames. He would once again split time between the Flames and their AHL affiliate at the time, the Abbotsford Heat. After recording just shy of 50 points through 130 games played, he would be acquired off waivers by the Montreal Canadiens just before the beginning of the 2015-16 season. While he would record just 18 points that year, he would remain in Montreal for the full season and avoid demotion to the AHL.
Byron's 2016-17 campaign would be his best yet to that point of his career. Not only did he score 43 points in 81 games, but he was also able to help get a Habs team that consisted of a mix of veterans and young talents to an Atlantic Division title. That said, the Habs ultimately lost their first-round series against the New York Rangers in six games.
Byron would put together another two 30-plus point seasons before a COVID-shortened 2019-20 season saw him record just 10 points through 29 games. That said, he would record four points during the Habs' mini-run in the league's summer playoff bubble.
After being forced to miss nine of the Habs' 56 games in 2021, Byron would play a pivotal role in Montreal's run to the Stanley Cup Final. Among other highlights, he scored the game-winning, short-handed goal in Game 1 against Toronto and a game-winning goal in Game 2 of their third-round series against the Golden Knights.
Thomas Vanek led Buffalo's offense but couldn't really find such success elsewhere
A longtime Sabre heading into the 2010-11 season, Thomas Vanek would lead the Sabres in scoring during the regular season with 73 points, 21 more than the next Sabre on the list. Despite only holding a one-goal advantage over Drew Stafford, Vanek would record 11 more assists than Jason Pominville, who was third in scoring that season.
During the postseason, Vanek would record just five points during the Sabres' first-round series against the Flyers. That tally consisted of two goals in a 5-4 loss in Game 2, one goal in the Sabres' 4-3 overtime win in Game 5, and two goals in Buffalo's 5-4 overtime loss in Game 6.
Following the 2011 postseason, Vanek would play another 139 games with the Sabres, recording 111 points over that span, before being traded to the New York Islanders early in the 2013-14 campaign. Playing alongside future Toronto Maple Leaf John Tavares and future Stanley Cup champion Kyle Okposo, Vanek would record 44 points (17 goals and 27 assists) during the 47 games that he played with the Islanders before being dealt to the Habs.
While in Montreal, Vanek would record 15 points (six goals and nine assists) during 18 games played. He would also record 10 points through 17 playoff games as the Habs advanced all the way to the Eastern Conference Final, which they lost in five games to the Henrik Lundqvist-led Rangers.
His remaining career highlights included a two-year stay in Minnesota, where he recorded 103 total points while also advancing to the second round in the 2015 postseason, as well as two stints with the Detroit Red Wings.
Add us as a preferred source on Google