The 2024/25 regular season starts this weekend for the Buffalo Sabres. After a winning preseason which saw the club lose only one game, all eyes are set on Friday as the Sabres will open their season overseas against the New Jersey Devils. When it comes to how the club will do, that will be determined.
Fans were hoping the team would drastically improve in the offseason. While Buffalo lowkey did improve, it still didn't meet the satisfaction for some of the fanbase. In terms of where the Sabres could finish within the Atlantic Division, this is what I will be talking about in this article.
Right away, I am eliminating top three in the division. When all is said and done, the big three in the Atlantic will be the Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers. That order we will not know until April.
With that being said, could fourth place be a possible scenario for Buffalo?
The Boston Bruins will be the darkhorse in the division. They traded Linus Ullmark in the offseason to the Ottawa Senators and when it comes to Jeremy Swayman, him and Boston are in a standoff. Ottawa, Detroit and Montreal are the other teams who will be competing with Buffalo.
We all know that the Sabres have the talent to make a run for the playoffs. I truly do believe last year was a fluke and I expect them to be similar to the team we saw in 2022/23 where they missed the playoffs by a point.
At the conclusion of the 2022/23 campaign, Buffalo finished fifth in the Atlantic, one point behind fourth-place Florida. Last season which was a disappointment, the Sabres finished sixth. While it's crazy to think about, I could see Buffalo finishing fourth.
As long as they can take care of business and not be inconsistent like they were last year, I would not be shocked if fourth or fifth place is where Buffalo could land after the season concludes.