After a disappointing season in 2023-24 for the Sabres under head coach Don Granato, the Sabres front office went into a new direction and brought back one of their storied coaches that brought the Sabres to one of their two Stanley Cup appearances.
The hope under Lindy Ruff that he will bring more accountability to the Sabres squad this season. Tage Thompson, after the disappointing season concluded, was one of the few Sabres who asked for accountability to be installed into the locker room saying, “I think we need to be OK with calling guys out. … Obviously it’s coming from a place of love and that underlying belief that you know they have better…”.
Throughout training camp, Lindy has shown you have to work hard in practice to win in the National Hockey League. Saying in a press conference just a few days ago, “Where we want to get to be going to take a lot of hard work”. So, it leads to this question: How far can this Buffalo Sabres team go in Lindy’s first season back with the Sabres
Let’s break this down into three categories, a prediction, what need to go right for the Sabres, and finally a position to watch players that will lead the Sabres to success this season.
Atlantic Outlook
The Buffalo Sabres last season according to Dan Rosen the Sabres were a “lock” to get into the playoff last season even with a loaded Atlantic Division. It seems the Atlantic division has gotten a little weaker.
First, Tampa Bay losing their long-time captain Steven Stamkos brings maybe an irreplaceable hole to the Lightning lineup. Current projection shows Brayden Point will take over the number one center role for Tampa Bay, but will it be enough to fill the void that Stamkos left behind? Tampa Bay with Stamkos had the best power play in the NHL, scoring on the PP 28.6% of the time.
That carried into the postseason as they had the eighth-best PP out of all the teams who qualified for the postseason. 39 of Stamkos’s 81 points came via the power play, and since 2021-22, Stamkos has scored at least 34 or more goals for the Lightning. Last season Tampa struggled once off the power play, ranking 16th in 5v5 goals averaging 2.58 and averaging 58.3 attempt shots per game ranking Tampa 20th in that category.
If teams can keep the Lightning off the power play, the Sabres have a shot to take Tampa’s spot in the division. The Sabres enter this season this season being the youngest NHL team, while the Tampa Bay Lightning are projected to be the oldest entering a new season.
Meanwhile, Boston lost 2022-23 Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark in a trade to Ottawa. The Swedish goalie in 39 starts last season won 22 games and had 2.57 goals against average ranking in 10th behind the Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
Pasta gives out good carbs for energy, and that is what Pastrnak did for the Bruins last season, scoring 41% of Boston goals last season. If the Sabres can successfully neutralize David Pastrnak. Making the DeBrusk departure much more crucial as he was a consistent 20-goal scorer for the Bruins the last two season. Making Buffalo's chances of overtaking the Bruins in the 2024-2025 season better than many fans may think.
What needs to go right for the Sabres this season
Buffalo had 91-points two seasons ago and missed the playoff by one point. Last season, the Sabres finished sixth in the Atlantic and finished with 84 points. First, the Sabres need to stay healthy this season. Thompson, Quinn, Tuch and Cozens all combined to miss 76 games for the Sabres last season. Each player brings their own skill set that brings a high-powered offense to Buffalo. If one of them is not on the ice or each of them is not in the lineup, it brings an offensive imbalance to the squad.
Additionally, Buffalo needs to rediscover their special teams’ magic. In 2022-23, the Sabres ranked eighth on the power play, which propelled them to being the third-highest scoring team in the NHL. Buffalo in a full season later the Sabres had the fourth worst power play in the entire NHL last season and ranked 23rd in points per game.
Thompson scored only nine goals on the power play last season, which was an 11-goal drop off from the previous season. Scoring goals on the power play was a struggle last season and was painful to watch. If Buffalo is going to have a success this season, they need to get the power play back in place. The penalty kill seems to be an improvement heading into this season as the team ranked 13th last year.
Finally, more physical play on a consistent measure. Last season it seemed the Sabres were too soft in the offensive zone losing puck battles to keep the rush alive, and in the defensive zone allowing the opposing teams to generate chance after chance. Buffalo didn’t have a skater in the top 25 in the NHL in hits last season, as other teams like Washington and Toronto had two while Ottawa had one. If the Sabres are going to stay alive in a playoff race and win big games when it matters the most, they will need to be more physical this season.
Position to watch
If the Sabres are going to be a contender this season, they will need UPL to play at the same level as he did last season for the Sabres. As he ranked ninth-best last season in the NHL for goals against average, keeping the Sabres in many close games last season.
The bigger question: who will back him up? Devon Levi seems to be the leading apprentice behind UPL this season, as he comes off an impressive season in the AHL in 2023. Levi with Rochester last year ranked 12th in GAA, 4th in save percentage, and 28th in wins. Buffalo needs this kind of production out of the goaltending position to keep up with the fast-moving NHL.
Final Outlook
If everything goes right for the Blue and Gold this season,. The Sabres can be one of the top three teams in the Atlantic this season behind Florida and Toronto. Buffalo will need to rely on Thompson and that top line for reliable goals and the defense to bring the heat in the D-zone. If all works out, the Sabres will end the NHL’s longest playoff drought.