Very Dull Blades

No wonder people in Buffalo have been extra, extra arrogant regarding Josh Allen and the Bills, because they're coping with the fact that the Sabres are Grade-A fucked.

I don't know what to say regarding this Buffalo Sabres team. I know this: this year was supposed to be the year where the suffering ends. The Sabres have always been kinda cursed. They and the Vancouver Canucks debuted in the same year: 1970. Neither team has a Stanley Cup, so they share that unfortunate distinction of having the longest wait for their first Cup. However, while the Canucks have shown some promise, and are still showing it, the Sabres have been faltering. They haven't reached the Final since 1999. Hell, they haven't reached the playoffs since the 2010-11 season.

Let's talk about the 2010-11 season, shall we? The Atlanta Thrashers existed, but they would move to Winnipeg and become Jets 2.0 a season later. The NHL had six divisions back then. Nathan MacKinnon wasn't in the NHL yet. Neither were Gabriel Landeskog, Auston Matthews, Connor McDavid, or Cale Makar. That's how long ago that was, and that's how long it's been since the Sabres have even tasted the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Each of the last two seasons were supposed to show some promise, even after trading their longtime top star, Jack Eichel, to the Vegas Golden Knights. Back-to-back seasons of winning records and coming close to a playoff appearance have left some fans feeling that the drought would come to an end this year. The Sabres were actually in a playoff position prior to American Thanksgiving. They were 11-9-1 and just a hair out by that holiday, but things were looking up for the Sabres.

And then, the next 11 games happened. The Sabres didn't win any of them. Only three of the losses were in extra time (two in OT, one via shootout). Buffalo was only shutout twice, but that terrible streak also included blowing a 4-0 lead at home against the Colorado Avalanche. They also lost to a struggling New York Rangers team on national TV, but that's not the worst of it:

The Sabres' 11th straight loss came on Tuesday, December 17, and it was embarrassing. A 6-1 drubbing at the hands of the Montréal Canadiens, of all teams. As a result of this embarrassing loss, the Sabres went from being on the verge of a playoff position, to being in the bottom of the Eastern Conference in just over three weeks. They are 30th in the entire league. Ironically, one of the two teams with a worse record is the heavily hyped Nashville Predators, but that's another story for another time.

As I said before, the Sabres have always been a mess. As any hockey fan knows, the Sabres were part of the old Adams Division back in the 80s, and as a Quebec Nordiques fan, I once said that regarding the Adams, the Canadiens and Bruins owned that division, the Nordiques were close, but at least we weren't the Whalers, and that all four teams could definitely be glad that they weren't the Sabres. Let me put it this way: the Sabres were to the Adams Division what the Chicago Bears are to the NFC North--the punching bag.

Regarding stats, Tage Thompson leads the team in goals with 16, but nobody else has 10. Thompson, who has been a marvel with the team since they drafted him, is tied for the team lead in points with 25, with Alex Tuch (one of the players who joined the Sabres in the Eichel deal) having that same total (9 G/16 A). Surprisingly, the top scoring defenseman on the team is Owen Power with 20 points (4 G?16 A), which is one more than team captain Rasmus Dahlin. Bowen Byram is also having quite the season with 18 points (4 G/14 A).

I mentioned Rasmus Dahlin. He is a young superstar defenseman on this team, and the Sabres know it, hence why he received a huge eight-year deal that began this season: $11M/year. Here's the thing, though. We've seen a lot of big names dealt away from the Sabres, and look at the result. They traded Eichel because he wanted to undergo a procedure that would save his career, and the Sabres didn't want to take that chance. They would watch Eichel win the Stanley Cup in his first playoff appearance with Vegas. Last year's Florida Panthers were full of ex-Sabres: Brandon Montour, Kyle Okposo, Evan Rodrigues, and Sam Reinhart. Buffalo would watch all four of them win that Cup, and Reinhart became a goal scoring dynamo in Sunrise. Casey Mittelstadt will be next, just watch. Buffalo traded Mittelstadt to the Avs, and it's only a matter of time before Mighty Casey hoist a Cup in Denver.

So with all of that, who's to say Dahlin won't be next? Yes, he's being paid handsomely, and he won't be a UFA until the end of the 2031-32 season, at the age of 32--which is still relatively young. However, who's to say that Dahlin won't want out even while he's under contract? This Sabres team is dead, and chances are, they'll be dead for the next few seasons. Dahlin hasn't shown any signs of frustration yet, but they have to be coming, especially since he's seen a few of his ex-teammates get playoff experience, and even Stanley Cups. The same can be said regarding Tage Thompson. How long will he settle for being a big fish in a polluted pond?

I know it's too early to talk about the playoff picture, but the Sabres currently stand eight points out of a playoff position, with the last position being held by--of all teams--the Ottawa Senators. That's right, folks. Even the Senators, who have had a black cloud hover over them since that Matt Duchene trade, seem to be on track to snag a playoff spot this season, while the Sabres continue to suffer and suffer and suffer. If they miss out this year, and it looks like they will, it'll be 14 years without playoffs for Buffalo, the longest current playoff drought in the NHL. Buffalo fans better hope that the Bills finally get over the hump and win the Super Bowl this year, because another year of playoff failure for that team will shatter that sports city--especially if they lose to Mahomes yet again.