After their latest loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, it’s become clear that the Sabres need to start over again. Just not in the way you think.
Yep, the Buffalo Sabres are at their lowest of lows of the 2020s unless you count the 18-game losing streak in 2021. For me, this means changes are needed, and a lot of them. If I were owner Terry Pegula, I'd start them as soon as possible and make both a general manager and coaching change.
And yep, you read that right. Listen, Lindy Ruff may be a coaching legend in Buffalo, and I’ll concede I was glad to see him back behind the bench. But I’ve also come to the realization that some things are best left in the past, and that’s becoming the case with Ruff.
You can even say the writing was on the wall last season when his New Jersey Devils collapsed following what was an epic campaign in Newark the year before. Fast-forward to 2024-25, and the Devils picked up where they left off in 2022-23 while the Sabres continued to freefall.
Yeah, you can pin the blame on general manager Kevyn Adams, and you wouldn’t be wrong with that precedent. Adams didn’t do his job this past offseason and has yet to bring in that top-six scorer, something that likely isn’t happening at this point.
Plus, there are some players out there who the Blue and Gold can trade elsewhere, and they likely won’t be any worse off without them. The likes of Jason Zucker can go, and the Blue and Gold will likely get a good return. You can also say the same regarding some of those players who have underperformed this season, overall anyway, like Dylan Cozens and Jack Quinn.
Buffalo Sabres desperately need to start over, but with exceptions
If there’s any good news here, it’s not like this team needs to tear everything down and try to build back up. That said, they don’t need to see a Jack Eichel or Sam Reinhart-like trade involving someone like Tage Thompson or Rasmus Dahlin.
Instead, the Blue and Gold need to trade away their older, more productive players and youngsters who can be productive but haven’t been. I’d even throw in Jordan Greenway if he can get healthy again.
But keep the core consisting of Tage, Dahlin, Alex Tuch, JJ Peterka, Bowen Byram, Owen Power, Ryan McLeod, Peyton Krebs, and Zach Benson. A few of these names might strike you as odd, but McLeod and Krebs, for example, can win faceoffs, and that’s a plus. I’d also keep a hard-hitter like Beck Malenstyn around.
So, I’m not talking about this needing to be a complete rebuilding effort. Instead, the Sabres only need to make personnel changes in the front office and behind the bench. They also need to find a general manager who can sell the city to prospective free agents and trade targets, something Adams clearly had no interest in doing.
If they could land a general manager who’s built in the same mold as Doug Armstrong of the St. Louis Blues, then the Sabres could be in much better shape when the puck drops in October 2025.
