The Buffalo Sabres have etched themselves into NHL history. With 14 straight seasons and counting of not making the playoffs, they have the longest such streak in NHL history by four seasons. They are also six campaigns away from tying the record for the longest time between postseason playoff series wins, currently sitting at 18 years. If the Sabres were aiming to break that streak, GM Kevyn Adams and company may have fallen short and needed to make another move this offseason.
The Sabres came into the summer with plenty of cap space at their disposal. They were in a prime position to improve from being the second-worst team in the Atlantic Division in 2024-25. Still, most of their moves this summer were retaining talent already on the roster. They did bring in Michael Kesselring to improve the right side of the defense, but that was via a trade that hurt the franchise overall.
The major free-agent signing this year was the addition of Alex Lyon to compete with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in goal. Meanwhile, the team lost JJ Peterka. He was sent to the Utah Mammoth in exchange for Kesselring and Josh Doan. This means the club lost its second-highest point-producing player from 2024-25 without replacing him. With multiple solid players on the team, but no real progress made towards breaking their playoff drought, the Sabres missed a great opportunity to change the course of the franchise.
Is it time for Sabres to admit defeat and reload again?
The loss of Peterka was major for the Sabres. It became clear they were not going to be able to retain him, so they moved him for other players as a restricted free agent. The German forward made another step forward in his progression in 2024-25, amassing 68 points. Still, as he has improved from 2023-23 through the 2024-25 campaign, the Sabres have gotten worse.
Meanwhile, many teams in the NHL were not selling assets this offseason. With more teams trying to amass talent than in years past, this created a perfect situation for the Sabres to admit the franchise is not going in the right direction and make some other major moves. Tage Thompson would have been sought after on the open market. The American-born center has been steadfast in his production in Buffalo. In each of the last four seasons, he has scored at least 55 points. This includes lighting the lamp 47 times while adding 47 assists in 2022-23. With still five years left on his contract, at a manageable rate of just over $7.1 million, a team looking for a solid second-line center could have tried to make a play for him.
Sabres should have traded Alex Tuch or Bowen Byram
Then there is Alex Tuch. He was part of the trade that sent Jack Eichel to the Vegas Golden Knights. Tuch has one year left on his deal at $4.75 million. With teams knowing their needs and cap space, they could have moved him now. Then, a team could have worked out a new contract. Now, if they move him at the trade deadline, he may be less valuable as a team could see him just as a rental. The American has scored 59 or more points in each of the last three years and is coming off tying his career high in goals. It was a perfect time to sell high on him.
Finally, the Sabres decided to keep Bowen Byram instead of trading him. Byram is a solid defender, plus he has offensive skills. He is coming off a career high of 38 points. Regardless, this defense was 29th in the NHL in goals against per game in 2024-25. Keeping Byram does not improve that. There was a connection to multiple teams this summer for the services of the blue liner. This would have brought in a solid haul for the Sabres.
These are all players who have been with the franchise and have been productive. Still, the team has regressed over the past three seasons. They just missed out on the playoffs in 2022-23. With their regression, plus the loss of Peterka, there is no clear reason to hold out hope. It is time to make a change in Buffalo. Getting value for the team's best assets would have been an amazing start.
Do the Sabres need to clean house?
Adams has proven he is not capable of building a winning franchise. This goes beyond his time as the GM. He was the assistant coach for the Sabres for the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons, the first two years of this playoff drought. Then, he was brought back to the franchise as the Senior Vice President of Business Administration in 2019 before moving to the GM role in the summer of 2020. The club initially improved, but has since regressed as Adams has made more moves.
Meanwhile, Adams brought his old boss back to be the head coach. When he was an assistant, he worked for Lindy Ruff, who had success in his first stint in Buffalo. Coaching from 1997 through 2013, Ruff had solid years, but it was time for a change when he was let go the first time. Six other guys sat behind the bench for the franchise, with none of them posting a career record over .500.
Moreover, Ruff has not been a great coach since leaving Buffalo the first time. He coached four seasons with the Dallas Stars and most of four seasons with the New Jersey Devils. He had mixed success in both stops, making the playoffs just three times overall. The seasoned coach missed four times and was fired in the middle of his final season with the Devils. It is clear this formula is not working in Buffalo, and it is time for wholesale changes, or they will continue to find themselves at sitting at home during the playoffs.
