For too long, the Buffalo Sabres were cellar dwellers in the NHL, but they changed that last season with their first playoff trip in nearly 15 years. They were able to show that this team can compete with the best in the league and were one game away from the conference finals.
With how young this team is, their window to compete is wide open, and that couldn't be more evident with a recent fan survey conducted by The Athletic. While the Sabres were in the Top 10 among teams voted on winning the Stanley Cup next season, there was another question that is even more telling about how far this team has come and the direction they are going.
One of the questions that was asked in this survey of 20,000 fans was which teams fans believe won't win a Stanley Cup in the next 10 years. The group was led by the Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames, and Columbus Blue Jackets, with each receiving 10% or more of the responses.
However, among the Top 10 teams, the Buffalo Sabres were nowhere on the list and received less than 2% of all votes. For a team with such a history of struggles, it is amazing to see what one season of success can do in changing the perspective.
Why might the hockey world be sold on the Buffalo Sabres' future
This is probably a reflection not only of the players on the team, from the veterans like Rasmus Dahlin and Tage Thompson to the potential of some of the younger players like Konsta Helenius, Noah Ostlund, and Jiri Kulich, but also the front office.
During their playoff drought, the Sabres have had concerns about the general managers and the direction of the roster. That has changed with Jarmo Kekalainen, who took over as general manager in December, and has made some excellent moves in a short period of time, notably the extensions for Josh Doan and Zach Benson.
The fact that the Sabres weren't on this list doesn't guarantee that they will win a Stanley Cup, but they certainly have made believers out of a lot of people quickly, which should have fans excited about the next couple of years.
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