A Sliver of Hope for Buffalo Sabres’ Fans

Written by Nick Lenahan

With the 2021-22 season beginning tonight for Buffalo Sabres and their fans alike , many questions still loom over the organization. I can’t sit here and write this article with blinding optimism, but I
can confidently tell you that there’s hope.

The Sabres are gonna need them (image via @carliz35 on IG)

It’s difficult to lose the captain of your team, especially with how things are right now – but weren’t changes warranted? We lost some players this offseason that were seen as the faces of our franchise, but without the chemistry and results after all of these years, I can’t help but feel excited about this young group.

After almost a decade of keeping their same core players and yielding 0 playoff berths, something big had to change with the Sabres’ roster. I’m not saying those players weren’t good enough, because they were. And I’m definitely not saying the organization has properly handled some of it’s most important off ice issues, because they haven’t. I am saying though, that the Buffalo Sabres needed a facelift.

Buffalo Sabres captain Jack EIchel breaks his stick at the end of the Jan. 30 game in KeyBank Center after the Montreal Canadiens scored an empty-net goal. (Harry Scull Jr./Buffalo News)

At least now we have some young players with real optimism, a desire to take back the city and give us something to hope for again. Obviously, it’s difficult to look at a lineup like Tampa Bay or Boston and size up against them…but all of these teams built a winning franchise similarly. Developing youth in their well managed systems and carrying that chemistry with them every year playing together. When a losing mentality becomes too methodical, changes need to be made and I think we are about 5-7 years past the initial breaking point.

With the rewarding style of earning your spot and letting the best players
get their shot through the system, I think that chemistry from Rochester to Buffalo is going to
develop depth for years to come. We certainly don’t have the flashiest lineup with the
biggest names, but I remember a guy named Herb Brooks who thrived under similar
circumstances. Now I’m not saying the Sabres are on track to beat whatever the U.S.S.R
equivalent in the NHL would be today (probably Tampa). And I’m not saying that Don Granato is comparable to the late, great Herb Brooks. I am saying that I think with a different coaching mentality and a hub of young & hungry players with chemistry and a raw mindset adds pieces to accent this lineup and finding their identity becomes a lot easier.

Buffalo Sabres Coach Don Granato and Dylan Cozens image via Sabres.com


At the end of the day, and for lack of a better term, I’m ready to get hurt again. There will definitely
be difficult times this season as fans, but hoping for a better future, especially when
risky moves are made in the off-season, is what being a Buffalo sports fan is all about. You all
know that feeling when the Bills made the playoffs after the drought. How many coaches did we
go through? How many star players did we add and lose over the past 20 years? As cliche as it
may be, the biggest change was with the culture surrounding the team and we found the right
coach/GM to do it.

With the bar set low, and a coach that rewards and pushes his players, the Sabres could actually be building the right culture. As painful as it is to think of how far the Sabres have drifted from “Better Days” to present day, I do think that this young team could be a sliver of hope and a nice hat tilt to Rick Jeanneret on his encore tour this season.

Keep expectations low and enjoy the season Buffalo – It’s always darkest before the dawn.

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