Is it truly ‘playoffs or bust’ for the Buffalo Sabres in 2024-25?

Had the Buffalo Sabres kept Don Granato in town, ‘playoffs or bust’ would be a foregone conclusion for 2024-25. But the team would also look a little different, as it’s hard to see Jeff Skinner playing elsewhere and so much physicality on the team’s bottom-six if Granato were still the bench boss, considering the differences in style between him and current head coach Lindy Ruff. 

That seems to be the foreboding narrative around the league, something Nick Horwat of SI talked about when citing Elliotte Friedman of the 32 Thoughts Podcast. Maybe Ruff won’t be a one-and-done unless we’re talking about ‘playoffs or bust’ in the extreme sense that owner Terry Pegula will just tear everything down again and start over. 

As for general manager Kevyn Adams, he’s had plenty of time to fix this mess, and while he has a better track record than previous executives over the past decade-and-a-half, it’s no longer good enough. If you can’t get your team into the playoffs in what is now Year 5 of the current rebuild, you probably shouldn’t be a top executive for an NHL team. 

Buffalo Sabres will be better in 2024-25, but no playoffs means game over

Earning a trip to the playoffs in 2024-25, even a competitive first-round exit, would give Kevyn Adams another year as general manager unless the Sabres go in there and get embarrassed. If the latter is the case, it means changes may occur anyway, so perhaps a more accurate headline for this article would be ‘Is it truly playoffs and a respectable performance in at least the first round or likely bust for the Buffalo Sabres in 2024-25?’ 

This isn’t saying Adams would be finished in Buffalo if the Sabres make the playoffs and get swept. If they’re competitive in each game, it’s safe to say that he’ll get another chance in 2025-26. 

But if 2024-25 ends after 82 games, he’s done, and he should be done. Yeah, he put together a great prospects pool, and even those who criticize everything Adams does will at least give him credit there. Unfortunately, prospects are the future and not the present of any hockey organization, and they don’t win the team games by looking good in the AHL. 

That said, Adams better hope he did enough to at least put the Sabres through to the playoffs as a wild card team. If not, or if the Sabres get blown out in all four games in the first round, he’ll be the latest general manager of the Blue and Gold to get handed his walking papers.