Former Sabres player sounds off on Buffalo tenure: 'I kind of lost myself'

Buffalo Sabres fans are no strangers to players leaving the 716 area code and proceeding to live their best hockey life. Sam Reinhart, Jack Eichel and Ryan O'Reilly headline the star-studded list, and defenseman Connor Clifton sounds hopeful of following a similar path.

Clifton held his Pittsburgh Penguins introductory press conference on Tuesday, per Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The 30-year-old New Jersey native expressed excitement about the new opportunity and admitted it was a tough two-year stay in Buffalo.

"I feel like I kind of lost myself. And the change of scenery—I got that call that I'm going to be a Pittsburgh Penguin, and I was really excited for the change," he told reporters. "I want to get back to my old self and how I played, the impact that I had on the game."

In late June, the Sabres traded Clifton and a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL draft to the Penguins in exchange for fellow defenseman Conor Timmins and prospect Issac Belliveau.

Clifton has one season remaining on the three-year, $30 million contract he signed with Buffalo in July 2023. He can become an unrestricted free agent next offseason.

Joining the Sabres, who are in the midst of a 14-year playoff drought, was a stark change for the blueliner. He started his career with the Boston Bruins, who'd won the Presidents' Trophy with an NHL-record 135 points in his final season with the organization.

In Buffalo, the Quinnipiac University product was expected to provide stability alongside Owen Power. Instead, he struggled to find his footing in various roles and even spent some time as a healthy scratch.

The Sabres were outscored 92-87 with Clifton on the ice at 5-on-5 over the past two seasons, and his 45.5% expected goals for percentage (xGF%) was the worst among the team's full-time defensemen over that stretch, according to Natural Stat Trick. He finished with just 34 points across 152 appearances in the blue and gold.

Clifton stated he dealt with "a lot of mental battles" while in Buffalo and felt like his career had hit a "standstill," per Vensel.

"There's always setbacks on your journey, and I'm pretty proud of the journey that I'm on. And I think I have a lot left to give," he told reporters. "I'm really excited for a fresh start in Pittsburgh. And I can't wait to get started."