Buffalo finished with a 39-37-6 record in 2023 – 24
The Buffalo Sabres took a step back after barely missing the playoffs in 2023, finishing seven points out of the Eastern Conference playoffs with a 39-37-6 record (84 points). The regression cost head coach Don Granato his job and put more pressure on GM Kevyn Adams to snap the league’s longest playoff drought of 13 seasons.
Adams brought back veteran head coach Lindy Ruff to stress accountability and has made trades and free-agent signings to remedy the Sabres' forward depth issues, but the question now is whether they are as good or better than their competition in the Eastern Conference.
The Sabres appear to have finally found their starting goalie in Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who posted a solid .910 save percentage and 27-22-4 record in a career-high 51 starts last season. It is likely that Ruff will lean heavily on UPL after being goalie-starved during his tenure in New Jersey. Along with talented youngster Devon Levi, Buffalo could have an excellent tandem next season if the club continues to improve defensively.
Buffalo did not make any significant changes on the blueline this summer, adding only veteran journeyman Dennis Gilbert to the fold, but after the addition of Bowen Byram in March, the Sabres have an excellent group of Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, Byram, Mattias Samuelsson, Henri Jokiharju, Connor Clifton.
At forward, the additions of Ryan McLeod and Beck Malenstyn in trades, and free agents Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Jason Zucker, and Sam Lafferty have greatly upgraded the Sabres bottom-six, but the club dropped from 296 to 246 goals last season and lost another 24 goals with the buyout of winger Jeff Skinner.
Adams is relying on Tage Thompson, Dylan Cozens, and Alex Tuch to bounce back after off-seasons and continued growth from J-J Peterka, but the absence of a top-six addition to replace Skinner at this point likely means that Buffalo is relying on youngster Zach Benson or Jack Quinn to take the next step and both are risky propositions.
Over the next few weeks, we will take a look at each of the Sabres conference foes as they are currently constructed to see whether Buffalo is still behind, equal to or better than they are.
