Buffalo Sabres listed way too low in a recent NHL power ranking

We’re going to see a lot of outlets unleash their NHL power rankings, and one of the first came yesterday from Jason Chen of The Hockey News. For the most part, Chen’s rankings were spot on, with the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers taking the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, respectively, but he also listed the Buffalo Sabres a few slots too low. 

Now, I know there will be a lot of writers doing the same, and yes, this is a Sabres-based site, so maybe I’m overrating them. But I digress, and this is why. Chen has the Philadelphia Flyers, Minnesota Wild, Pittsburgh Penguins, and St. Louis Blues above the Blue and Gold right now, and to be frank, they’re all teams that, on paper, the Sabres have a better team. 

To be fair, there is another team I thought should have been higher than Buffalo that Chen ranked lower, and that’s the Utah Hockey Club, who are my dark horse pick for the playoffs in the Western Conference. But then again, maybe I’m overrating their acquisitions, a few of which were gambles but high-risk, high-reward ones. 

Anyway, as mentioned, Chen’s rankings were otherwise fantastic, and I was glad to see someone rank the Calgary Flames in the bottom five. Nothing against the Flames - one of the best names, logos, and color schemes in hockey - but if there’s one team I can see tanking at some point, it’s them. 

Where should the Buffalo Sabres have been ranked?

As noted, I felt Utah should have slid in one slot higher than Buffalo, but here’s my reasoning for putting the Sabres in front of the Flyers, Wild, Penguins, and Blues. For one, if there’s one team I’ve been following closely, it’s St. Louis, and judging by their preseason (yes, I do judge teams in preseason when they have most of their big club on the ice), this team looks flat. So much that I wrote extensively on the subject that it may be time to start moving some veterans. 

As for Minnesota, buying out veterans, and putting stock in youngsters isn’t a bad idea and I endorse it 100 percent. But in the short term, I can’t see this team competing in a year that I’ll call the Marc-Andre Fleury Farewell Tour. 

Because I’m a fan of Sidney Crosby, if there’s one team I wouldn’t mind seeing sneak into the playoffs in the East, it’s the Penguins. But other than extending Crosby to lead an aging and/or mediocre cast, that’s asking a lot. Maybe this would have worked in 2016, but it’s not working in 2024-25. 

I won’t lie: The Flyers are going to be a lot of fun to watch this season, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they led the league in goals allowed. Offensively, they’ll have their moments, but they’re neither good nor consistent enough to break through and score an average of four goals a night to bail out what could be a bad blue line and goaltending.

Why the Sabres should rank ahead of the four teams mentioned

For one, they have a tough bottom six and it’s something any team that plans on competing for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference needs. Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch are healthy, and when they’re not sidelined with injuries and sitting in the press box, they’re one of the league’s better one-two combos. 

Jack Quinn is also healthy and you don’t need to watch more than a few games from last season to see how badly the Sabres missed him. With JJ Peterka breaking out in 2023-24 though, and judging from the chemistry he’s built with Quinn, the two can once again become a strong combo, whether or not they regularly play on the same line this season. 

As for goaltending, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is proving to be better than every netminder playing for the teams mentioned. With a better bottom six and a young defensive rotation that has grown together, he could put up even better numbers when he’s not forced to bail his team out half the time. 

And let’s not forget how much of an upgrade Lindy Ruff is over Don Granato, something that should be a given. For these reasons, the Sabres should have at least found themselves in the top 20. But nevertheless, Chen’s rankings were great, and I enjoyed reading them.