Revamped Sabres roster faces familiar challenge in trying to end 13-year playoff drought

The Buffalo Sabres person a caller manager successful Lindy Ruff and a caller skipper successful Rasmus Dahlin. They person an arena with a flashy caller scoreboard and a recently installed extortion to plug its galore leaks.

And with that comes a past of unfulfilled hopes accompanying the team’s NHL-record 13-year playoff drought.

So what separates this twelvemonth from the past?

“I conjecture the champion mode to reply that is, I understand,” wide manager Kevyn Adams told The Associated Press earlier leaving for Europe, wherever Buffalo opens its play successful Prague against New Jersey with a brace of games.

“Until you get the results, until you go a contending squad and winning successful the playoffs and putting yourself successful presumption to win, past there’s going to beryllium radical that question decisions you make.”

Adams past outlined spending the past 3 years overhauling the roster — highlighted by trading skipper Jack Eichel to Vegas successful November 2021 — and rebuilding done youth.

“Our program has been to get into this spot wherever we tin get this young halfway that wanted to beryllium present for the close reasons and play together,” Adams said. “That’s the simplest mode for maine to accidental that I judge successful the radical successful our locker room.

It was Adams who declared the model of contention unfastened a twelvemonth agone — earlier the Sabres stumbled done a play which ended with Don Granato’s firing, marking Buffalo’s seventh coaching alteration since Ruff was fto spell successful 2013.

The franchise ranked eighth successful the NHL with an mean attendance of 18,690 successful 2006-07, the past clip Buffalo won a playoff round. Last year, the Sabres ranked 28th with an mean turnout of 15,981.

These are the challenges facing a squad that’s finished past wide 4 times and nary amended than 19th successful the NHL standings since 2010-11.

Much of the drought coincides with the accomplishment of Terry and Kim Pegula, who bought the Sabres successful February 2011, followed by the NFL’s Bills successful 2014. Despite assorted approaches — free-agent spending, bottoming retired and younker movements — undertaken by 4 GMs, the Pegulas person small successful instrumentality but a squad that was losing millions earlier the pandemic.

The concern of selling the Sabres present falls connected Pete Guelli, who was hired arsenic CEO of some franchises successful March. Aside from assorted front-office shakeups, Kim Pegula was incapable to proceed her relation arsenic president of some teams aft suffering a cardiac apprehension successful June 2022.

“Look, we decidedly person to amended the financials,” said Guelli, a erstwhile Bills VP of concern ventures who near successful 2009 for the NBA successful Charlotte, wherever helium oversaw the Bobcats go the Hornets. He spent the past 5 years overseeing the New York Giants concern operations.

Guelli sees similarities betwixt the Hornets and Sabres successful presumption of their struggles and imaginable by focusing connected improving the instrumentality experience.

“Obviously, you tin ne'er power what happens connected the court, connected the field, connected the ice,” helium said.

“What you effort to bash is acceptable up a sustainable concern exemplary that tin assistance you maximize occurrence successful immoderate ways careless of performance.”

The caller scoreboard and extortion help. Guelli is introducing different amenities to gully fans into the gathering with a content the on-ice merchandise volition crook around.

Trending Now

“Just due to the fact that radical mightiness beryllium skeptical, you can’t deviate from that strategy,” added Guelli, who is from adjacent Rochester.

The Sabres stay Pegula’s passionateness project, having been a instrumentality of the squad since the aboriginal 1970s portion increasing up successful Pennsylvania. It’s reflected successful Pegula’s committedness by investing his ain wealth for arena improvements portion besides being connected the hook for astir $1 cardinal successful backing the operation of the Bills caller stadium acceptable to unfastened successful 2026.

The Bills are the AFC East’s four-time defending champions. The closest the Sabres person travel successful caller years was successful 2022-23 erstwhile they finished a triumph abbreviated of ending the drought.

“I don’t deliberation there’s a disconnect. I deliberation the concern is not an nonstop science,” Guelli said, comparing the franchises. “Sometimes you tin spot things populate the mode that they did with the Bills, and look wherever they are today.

And yet, the Sabres are remembered much for their missteps:

— Forward Ville Leino spent much clip connected Buffalo’s payroll, 9 years, than connected the existent roster, three, aft having his declaration bought retired successful 2014.

— This is simply a squad Ryan O’Reilly accused of having a losing mentality successful closing the 2017-18 season, starring to his commercialized to St. Louis wherever helium won the Stanley Cup the pursuing year.

— In February 2020, Eichel vowed the wheels weren’t going to autumn disconnected arsenic happened successful erstwhile playoff runs, earlier they did.

Adams closed the 2022-23 play dismissing a question connected whether helium considered it a mislaid opportunity. He’s somewhat softened his stance since.

“You miss the playoffs by a constituent and it’s not an casual to league to marque the playoffs. So I understand,” Adams said, earlier reiterating the invaluable acquisition players received for being successful the hunt.

“For me, it was a maturation opportunity. And that’s benignant of what I inactive believe. And I judge it’ll assistance america this year.”