The Buffalo Sabres are hoping a modest group of offseason moves, headlined by the arrivals of winger Josh Doan and defenseman Michael Kesselring in the JJ Peterka trade, will be enough for the franchise to finally break its 14-year playoff drought.
Those around the NHL aren't confident in the Sabres' chances, though. Dom Luszczyszyn and Scott Wheeler of The Athletic released the results of the outlet's review of each organization's present and future outlook, what it dubs the league's "Contention Cycle."
Buffalo received a 2 out of 10 present rating and a 5.4 out of 10 future rating, lending little hope of a significant turnaround in the near future.
"One thing became clear during this exercise: those inside hockey have really soured on Buffalo," The Athletic report stated. "With how awful the Sabres have been for over a decade, their players are going to have to actually prove it before being anointed."
Luszczyszyn and Wheeler noted it's possible the ratings underrate Buffalo a bit, but added: "Or perhaps it's a testament that what the team has built, and is in the process of building, just isn't good enough."
That's a harsh reality the Sabres, namely team owner Terry Pegula, will be forced to face if the club misses the playoffs once again during the 2025-26 season.
Analyzing the Sabres' 14 years of misery
What's made Buffalo's postseason absence so frustrating for the fanbase is the limited number of times the team has even remained in the playoff conversation for the entire campaign.
The Sabres have only eclipsed 80 points four times during the drought, and it's happened just twice since the 2016-17. They've made a bad habit of falling out of the race remarkably early, rendering an unacceptable number of games virtually meaningless.
Last season is a perfect example. Buffalo endured a 13-game losing streak from late November through mid-December. Its playoff hopes were essentially dead before the calendar even flipped to 2025 as general manager Kevyn Adams sat idly by making no changes to the roster.
"If I had to do it over again, I may have shook something up by making a trade," Adams said in March. "I maybe should've shook something up by bringing a couple players up from Rochester. Maybe that would've been just something to change the dynamic of our group."
Yet, despite those comments, Adams decided to run it back with a roster that's projected to feature 17 returning players from last year's squad, which missed the playoffs by 12 points.
That's another common theme of the drought era: Minimal season-to-season roster changes despite consistently underwhelming results. Players like Jordan Greenway and Jacob Bryson are constantly re-signed despite years of lackluster production. It's a vicious circle.
As a result, a Sabres fanbase that was once among the NHL's best has been beaten into submission. Most people in Buffalo are now firmly in "wait and see" mode with their NHL team. No more buying into front office quotes selling false hope or preseason projections.
Make no mistake, however, the City of Good Neighbors still loves hockey and support for the Sabres will come flooding back once a roster warrants that respect.
Can the Sabres turn it around in 2025-26?
As we've explored at Sabre Noise, outside prognosticators are providing consistent optimism about Buffalo's chances to make a serious push for a playoff spot this season.
Yes, Buffalo sports fans have been fooled before and reserve the right to shrug off those positive predictions, but maybe, just maybe, there's finally a light at the end of the tunnel.
The Sabres feature two true cornerstones in defenseman Rasmus Dahlin and forward Tage Thompson, and there's a group of young, hungry players behind them ready to take the next step.
Owen Power, Zach Benson, Jiri Kulich, Jack Quinn and Bowen Byram are all under 25 years of age and have provided reasons to believe they can take their games to another level. Doan and Kesselring also arrive with ample untapped potential.
There are still major question marks, of course.
Incumbent starting goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen struggled mightily last season and is now dealing with a "tweak" as training camp gets underway. In addition, the restructured defense lacks depth and secondary scoring is also a concern following the Peterka trade.
None of that is ideal for a Buffalo squad with limited margin for error. That said, you can make an argument the team's upside outweighs those potential downsides.
Ultimately, the Sabres are likely facing a make-or-break season. Either they make their long-awaited return to the playoffs or widespread organizational changes are probably on the horizon, led by the departures of Adams and head coach Lindy Ruff.
On the flip side, if the NHL-record postseason drought does finally end, Buffalo will have proved a lot of doubters wrong.