Where did it all go wrong for the Buffalo Sabres?
Well, that's certainly a loaded question. As the Sabres wrap up another disastrous season, let's look at some of the obvious answers to the question a lot of fans are thinking about heading into the 14th straight season without a trip to the playoffs.
Final record: 36-39-7 -- 79 points, five points fewer than 2023-2024
Here are five answers that help us better understand why this was such a disappointing season for the Sabres:
Goaltending was bad
After he was rewarded with a five-year extension in the summer, Sabres starting goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen saw his numbers plummet.
Last season, Luukkonen had an impressive 2.57 goals against average and a .910 save percentage. It was easily the most impressive season of his career and it began to look like he was becoming a true No. 1 NHL goaltender.
But this year he lost his confidence and starting job down the stretch to 37-year-old James Reimer. Luukkonen's goals-against average rose nearly an entire goal per game (3.20 GAA) and his save percentage dropped to .887, the worst mark of his career.
Making things even more complicated for the Sabres was Devon Levi's tough start to the season. Penciled in as the Sabres main backup, Levi had a worse save percentage than UPL and allowed more than four goals per game (4.12 goals against average). He's been a star in Rochester and that's promising, but when your top two goaltenders heading into a season don't work out, chances are it's going to be a messy season. This is a major storyline for the offseason.
Where's Power's partner?
We have been waiting for the Sabres to add a consistent partner for Owen Power since his first full season and GM Kevyn Adams still hasn't done it. They tried with Erik Johnson and it failed. They hoped Mattias Samuelsson could do it, but he's shown several times he can't.
This might be the Sabres' most obvious need in the off-season, but we've been saying this for years. And if they move Bowen Byram, they'll need to add a partner for Dahlin and Power. If they don't, it's hard to imagine next season ends differently.
13-game losing streak
My biggest gripe with the 13-game losing streak isn't the streak itself. It's that the front office didn't do anything to try and stop the bleeding. In the infamous Palm Tree press conference, Adams said the answer was in the locker room. At that point, the Sabres had lost five straight games.
After the press conference, they lost their next eight, including embarrassing losses to Utah and Montreal.
That would've been the time to make a major shake-up, like trading Dylan Cozens. I know it takes two teams to make a deal, but it's Adams' job to find a partner. By the trade deadline, their playoff chances were already a pipe dream. It felt like the team punted on their season before they even reached the 2025 calendar year.
Internal growth
Remember the answer is in the room comment from Adams? They probably expected much more growth with players like Jack Quinn and more offensive upside from Zach Benson. Of those two players, I still think Benson is going to be a really good NHL player, but I'm not sure what they do with Quinn.
On the blue line, Samuelsson had a forgettable season, Byram wasn't nearly as effective when he wasn't paired with Rasmus Dahlin, and Power showed flashes of promise but we didn't see it on a consistent enough basis.
If Adams is back as the general manager, and I expect him to be, he needs to shake up the core of this team. With so many players on contracts extending into next season, there probably won't be as many changes as fans are hoping for. So he better make the most of the few changes he'll likely make.
The power play is still bad
With players like Tage Thompson and Dahlin, the power play shouldn't be so inconsistent. For most of the season, it felt stale and was hardly ever effective when they needed it to be. First-year assistant coach Seth Appert, who has a bright coaching future, couldn't fix it in his first season.
So what happens next?
I'm not expecting wholesale changes to the front office or coaching staff like some people. There's certainly a chance they could surprise me, but with Adams and head coach Lindy Ruff scheduled to speak with reporters on Saturday, two days after the season ends, it appears the team is moving forward with the duo. That said, the Sabres fired Don Granato after scheduling his season-ending press conference last season.
If Adams and Ruff are back, I'd expect some changes with the assistant coaches. As for the players, we won't know much about the future until the summer as we approach the NHL Draft. 14 years is a long time and Sabres fans deserve much better. But we've been saying that for years.
