The Buffalo Sabres no longer own the NHL's longest active playoff drought, a dishonor that now belongs to the Atlantic Division rival Detroit Red Wings (10 years). Making it back to the postseason was merely the first step, though.
Sabres assistant general manager Josh Flynn is confident the organization is now on a clear upward trajectory, saying the "ultimate goal is to win the Stanley Cup."
"We're excited," Flynn told Amalie Benjamin of NHL.com. "We're excited about not just this year, but about what the next five or six years are going to hold for this organization. This last season was just the start and we had a lot of success, but the best is yet to come."
The Sabres got off to another miserable start last season, holding an 11-14-4 record in early December before one of the most remarkable turnarounds in recent memory.
Buffalo proceeded to post a 39-9-5 mark over its final 53 games. It captured the Atlantic Division title, while finishing with the second-best record in the Eastern Conference and the fourth-most points in the entire league (109).
The Sabres knocked off the Boston Bruins in the first round of the playoffs before falling short against the Montreal Canadiens in Round 2, with their season ending in a Game 7 overtime heartbreaker.
"You're there, you're in Game 7 in overtime and you're one bounce of the puck away from moving on and everybody feels it, from the players all the way to every staff member, and I think we all walked out of there saying, 'Look, we were good enough to go right up against Carolina and give Carolina a run for their money (in the Eastern Conference Final),'" Flynn told Benjamin.
Nevertheless, it was the farthest the Sabres advanced in the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2007, the second year of back-to-back trips to the conference finals.
It was a long-awaited breakthrough for a franchise that went through several failed rebuild iterations during the longest postseason absence in NHL history. Now the focus shifts toward trying to bring a championship parade to downtown Buffalo.
That'll be easier said than done given the immense strength of the Eastern Conference, and the Atlantic Division, ahead of the 2026-27 season.
Josh Flynn discusses Buffalo Sabres' belief in their young talent
Although the Sabres will return most of their key contributors from last season, led by forward Tage Thompson and defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, fans hoping to see a series of all-in moves this summer have been left disappointed.
Buffalo general manager Jarmo Kekalainen added a few high-upside pieces defensively in Olen Zellweger and Louis Crevier, but the story of the offseason has been the departures of Alex Tuch and Bowen Byram, neither of whom were going to sign a long-term contract extension.
The Blue and Gold haven't brought in any direct replacements for those two stars and, barring a late move, will enter the new campaign betting on improvement from emerging players.
"We expect internal growth from not only the guys like [Jiri] Kulich and [Konsta] Helenius, who didn't play much for us last year, but [Zach] Benson's going to take another step. We hope, and certainly believe, that he can do that," Flynn told Benjamin. "We have so many other guys that are in that under-25 age group — Jack Quinn, [Josh] Doan, [Noah] Ostlund — we haven't even gotten to. They all have so much room for growth."
It's an understandable bet, and the Sabres also have a strong farm system with several prospects nearing NHL readiness to help maintain organizational depth, but the loss of Tuch and Byram does create some short-term uncertainty while waiting to see whether those players do take a leap in production.
Kekalainen, Flynn and the rest of the Buffalo front office has shown no fear in the conservative approach, though. There's been no panic moves for overpaid veterans. They appear confident entering the season with the current roster if no blockbuster moves materialize. (Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck feels like the last realistic target.)
It does leave the club open to criticism if things don't work out, though.
As mentioned, the East looks like an absolute gauntlet this season. Pretty much every team in the conference has its eye on a playoff spot, especially if the Red Wings don't move forward with a Dylan Larkin trade. The margin for error in the battle for a postseason berth will be incredibly small.
So, it's impossible to rule out the Sabres taking a step back if their young players don't make the type of impact the front office is expecting. It'd be a massive disappointment for the fanbase to finally get a tase of playoff hockey again only to fall back below the cut line in 2027.
In the big picture, however, Buffalo is certainly trending toward sustainable success, and that's been Kekalainen's stated goal since he took over the front office in December.
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