The Buffalo Sabres had high hopes entering the 2024-25 season following a disastrous 2023-24. The Sabres hired Lindy Ruff as head coach to help lead this young team toward future glory. However, things have not gone to plan in the slightest. Buffalo has lost 10 straight games and are among the worst teams in the entire NHL.
You only have to go back two seasons to find a time when optimism around Buffalo was high. The Sabres came within a point of making the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in over a decade. With a core of Devon Levi, Dylan Cozens, Tage Thompson, and Rasmus Dahlin, it seemed as if Buffalo was on the cusp of becoming a powerhouse in the Eastern Conference.
In the end, it hasn’t worked out. And the Sabres have little reason to have hope things will turn around this season. Buffalo is hurdling toward a 14th consecutive season without playoff hockey. All they can do is watch it happen. Here are two reasons why Sabres fans should remain concerned for the 2024-25 campaign.
Sabres goaltending is not as bright as it once seemed
The Sabres once had an incredibly promising set of goaltenders. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Devon Levi formed what many believed would be one of the best tandems in the NHL down the line. Luukkonen has played well enough to earn a new contract. However, the overall potential of this tandem is not what it once seemed.
Luukkonen has played solidly enough in 2024-25. But it has been a far cry from the performance he turned in last season. He has a .903 save percentage, 0.66 Goals Saved Above Average, and 3.46 Goals Saved Above Expected this year, according to Evolving Hockey. In 2023-24, he posted a GSAA of 11.1 and a GSAx of 22.46.
The true underperformer is Levi. Many believed Levi to be the team’s goalie of the future and one of the brightest young goals in the league. But over the last two seasons, he has posted -7.52 GSAA. Though, to be fair, he has saved 3.39 GSAx.
In any event, it’s clear this tandem is not working as the team once hoped. Buffalo needs to improve their goaltending. Or, at the very least, they need to find more consistency in the crease. How the Sabres pull this off is up for discussion. The point is that something has to give, especially if they want to make the playoffs any time soon.
Once-promising players are struggling instead of developing
The Sabres have been chock-full of promising players for the better part of a decade. Buffalo can certainly scout high-potential players, but they have had brutal luck in actually developing them. This issue is rearing its head once again as some of Buffalo’s most promising players are struggling mightily on the ice.
Dylan Cozens is a trade candidate for the Sabres, but he has struggled. Cozens has scored six goals and 13 points through 31 games to this point. It’s a far cry from the 31-goal, 68-point performance he showed just two seasons prior.
Jack Quinn has struggled with injury in the past, to be fair. However, he has been mostly healthy in 2024-25. And entering play on Sunday, he had one goal through 24 games. That goal was an empty net goal. He did score twice against the Montreal Canadiens, however. In any event, he has three goals and seven points in 25 games.
Cozens, Quinn, and Devon Levi are a few examples of the issue at hand. The Sabres have high-potential players who could certainly make noise in 2024-25 and beyond. For whatever reason, these players are not putting it together on the ice. And that will only serve as a cause for concern moving forward.
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