The Buffalo Sabres lost to the Montreal Canadiens 6-1 on Tuesday. It was Buffalo’s 11th consecutive loss and came after owner Terry Pegula spoke to the team. The Bills and Sabres owner flew to Montreal to reassure the team that the answer to their winless streak was in the room. And then they gave up a hat trick to Patrick Laine. Lindy Ruff spoke about the importance of Pegula’s appearance and where the Sabres can improve.
“Any time the owner cares that much to come in, it sends a message that resonates throughout the locker room,” Ruff told reporters, per Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic.
The Sabres did not respond as if Pegula’s message resonated. They were down 6-1 at the end of the second period and finally held the Habs scoreless in the third. One game is unlikely to change Pegula’s message, so don’t expect any moves from Buffalo soon. General manager Kevyn Adams also expressed faith in the roster early in the winless streak.
“I believe our roster is talented and should be a team that is competing and in the playoffs,” Adams said in early December. “I’ve said that since the summer. I truly believe that.”
What is next for the Sabres?
The meeting from Pegula or the speech from Kevyn Adams did not snap the Sabres into contention. Their roster has not performed well at all during this streak and has stopped them from making the playoffs at all in 14 years. While the path appears to be keeping this core, they should look to tear it apart.
There are few more prominent voices in hockey than Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. On his podcast, 32 Thoughts, he floated the idea of the Canucks trading Elias Petterson to the Sabres. Whether that would ever happen is a different conversation but it shows that the Sabres may be open for trades.
The Sabres have to rip apart this core to build a sustainable contender. After they missed the playoffs by one point in 2022-23, this seemed like the contending core they’d been waiting for. But Dylan Cozens, Tage Thompson, and JJ Peterka have not taken a step forward. Trading one of those players to shake things up would be beneficial.
This does not mean that the Sabres need to rebuild starting at the trade deadline. While that is an option, they could trade just one or two members of their core in a hockey trade. Bringing in other young players looking for a change of scenery could get the Sabres into the playoffs soon.
