The news officially dropped at around 3 PM EST on Saturday, April 4. When the New York Rangers defeated the Detroit Red Wings that afternoon, it was the clinching scenario for the Buffalo Sabres to finally have that coveted “x” next to their name in the standings.
Years of hard work, different players, goalie rotations, bad general managers (GMs), good and bad coaches, empty arena seats, epic win streaks, historic losing streaks, and so much more have cultivated the team that is before all of us today. It feels surreal to even think about the idea that the Sabres will be playing meaningful games in the month of April. How the times have changed, and how sweet the nectar of victory finally feels after 14 seasons and 15 long years of waiting for a return to the postseason.
What Was Endured To Get Here?
From the last moment that the Sabres were in the playoffs and lost Game 7 to the Philadelphia Flyers, there was a cloud that came creeping over them. From the signing of one of the worst contracts to former player Ville Leino, to drafting some of their most underwhelming first-round picks for a few straight years (Joel Armia in 2011, Mikhail Grigorenko in 2012, Zemgus Girgensons in 2012, and Rasmus Ristolainen in 2013), to trading away legacy players like Ryan Miller, Jason Pominville and Thomas Vanek, losing the 2015 Draft Lottery and then doubling down on their misery to rebuild a second time with the Jack Eichel drama in 2021, the cloud would just not go away. Even when there seemed to be a light somewhere at the end of the tunnel, there was always something new to come kick the team or the fans back down.
It was exhausting, it was painful, and it felt downright unfair for everyone involved. The teams that were constructed over the years sometimes had promise, and other times were designed to be outright terrible. The famous “tank” seasons of 2013-14 and 2014-15 may have been the easiest to bear as the rewards for the team’s failures (at the time) felt justified. I mean, at the time, it even felt like the right thing to do to try and do everything to draft Connor McDavid, but even when they tried to do that, the hockey gods just pointed at them and laughed.
It was the seasons that they did not intend to be horrible but still ended up that way anyway, or the seasons where the team showed so much potential, but could not live up to it, that hurt the most. Like the 2017-18 season, where they posted a 25-45-12 record to be last in the entire league. Or in 2020-21 when they made a big deal about pushing for a playoff spot, and winning a Stanley Cup by signing winger Taylor Hall in free agency that season and then proceeding to get the worst production out of him possible, starting drama with Eichel, having the worst record in the NHL (15-34-7) AND going on their historic 18-game winless streak in that same season.
Then there were the incompetent leaders; the GMs and odd coach that led this team to run headfirst with a full belief that they were doing right. Some may think it started with Tim Murray, but to this day, I stand by that he was a great scouting GM that was in over his head and was dealt a bad hand. Was he a great GM? No, but he was not the worst of the worst. That title has to go to one in particular. The same applies to the coaches.
Jason Botterill was the GM to take over after Murray, and his choices were some of the most questionable. From his decisions on the draft board, his only true hits being Rasmus Dahlin and maybe Dylan Cozens, while the only other NHLers produced were Jack Quinn, JJ Peterka, Casey Mittelstadt, Ukko Pekka Luukkonen, Mattias Samuelsson, and maybe Jacob Bryson.
The only player outside of the first two rounds to play more than 100 NHL games that Botterill drafted in his tenure was Bryson. Twelve out of the 23 players he picked played zero NHL games. Then on top of that, there is forever the mishandling of a player that he didn’t draft in Brandon Hagel, who he let walk out of the organization without even attempting to sign him to an entry-level contract. Hagel is now a premier NHL scoring threat with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Botterill, in his tenure, was also the one to hire the worst coach in the Sabres’ history.
On May 15, 2019, the Sabres hired Ralph Krueger as their head coach to replace Phil Housley. From there, he proceeded to coach the team to some of their worst-played hockey for two straight seasons, and amidst one of their worst seasons in 2020-21, he was responsible for a majority of their 18-game winless streak. He was fired after the 12th loss of the skid and after his interview, where it was clear that he had no more answers, and the room had been lost. Watching the team be coached by him was an abomination, but it did provide a singular bright spot for the Sabres to start their eventual rise to where they are now. His firing gave the Sabres one of their best head coaches during the drought in Don Granato.
The Brightest Spots Along The Way
With the lows also come some of their greatest moments to combat the pain along the way. From winning streaks to massive games and some incredible celebrations, the Sabres still managed to give us some fun along the way. These were the little sprinkles of hope that kept enough people coming back every year. Not just the “next hot draft picks” that they were selecting, but the moments, and series of events that really gave the fans something to grasp onto and believe in again.
Winning streaks came few and far between, but there was one in the 2018-19 season that had some incredible hype behind it. A team featuring the likes of Eichel, Sam Reinhart, a 40-goal Jeff Skinner, a rookie Rasmus Dahlin, and a freshly traded-for Tage Thompson managed to string together 10 wins between 11/8/18 and 11/27/18. The building was filling up for home games for a bit, the crowd was getting into it, and the Sabres won their tenth game of that streak with a fun overtime win against the San Jose Sharks, courtesy of Skinner. The hype was there, and it was easily one of the most fun moments amidst the drought.
Some of the better moments for the Sabres as a whole were their team Hall of Fame induction ceremonies. While some were done in a lesser fashion than the player deserved (i.e., Dominik Hasek), the remainder of them were outstanding and heartfelt to their core. Two in particular stood out, both bringing the whole of the Buffalo community together and lighting up the atmosphere of the building more than it had been in years. Those ceremonies would be those of Ryan Miller and legendary play-by-play voice Rick Jeanneret.
When the Sabres and all the fans gathered to celebrate Miller and hoist his number “30” into their rafters forever, there was no negative energy anywhere to be found. The fans walked in with smiles on their face, the alumni present were all beyond happy to be back in the city, and by the time Miller himself spoke, the tear-jerking moments from the speeches just kept flowing. Then, to cap the night off, the team gutted out a big overtime win as Dylan Cozens scored one of the more exciting goals in a long while, scoring just 12 seconds into overtime after a brilliant lob pass from Dahlin.
Then, the most emotional and more monumental moment in Sabres’ history was the retirement and induction of Jeanneret into the Sabres’ Hall of Fame, while also hoisting his name up into the rafters along with an iconic microphone. With his wife present, every important person in the organization, and a sold-out crowd in attendance, making the building so loud that I remember it legitimately shaking, the man who brought up generations of Sabres fans was immortalized forever for everyone to see.
Cheers rose, tears flowed, and it was a wholesome moment that got capped off by the team playing their hearts out for a big 4-3 victory over the Nashville Predators that night. It was a shame that he passed away just over a year later in 2023 and was not able to see this team accomplish this amazing feat of breaking the drought, but it was incredible to be able to honor him in person one last time and let the whole of the city stand with him.
How the Current Team Did It
When the 2025-26 season started, the energy was low. Morale was even lower as the team looked sluggish and down on their luck. News came out that Sabres’ captain Rasmus Dahlin’s fiancée had some terrible medical issues that she had been dealing with, and it was clear that it was affecting him. Everything was just trending downward for them as a whole for the first portion of the season and going into December. It wasn’t until after Dec. 9, 2025, that things really started to get rolling. It was their first win on what would become only the fourth ten-game winning streak in franchise history.
The pivotal turnaround point was when owner Terry Pegula finally made the decision to move on from Kevyn Adams as GM at the time, and fired him in favor of Jarmo Kekalainen, who now serves as the GM. The change in team dynamic and the change in how they played as a whole was so different once Adams was removed from the organization. It looked like the boys were out there having fun, and they were winning games with a passion that had been unseen since the mid 2000s.
The Sabres rode their win streak from 12/9/25 all the way until 12/31/25, then proceeded to continue winning games in stacks up until their clinching moment; even posting an eight-game winning streak from 2/25/26 – 3/10/26. Their consistency, drive, and ability to play for one another all culminated into a team that looked unstoppable, and it gave us one of the greatest moments of the 2025-26 season, when they played the Tampa Bay Lightning for first-place in the Atlantic Division on March 8, 2026. It was a thriller of a game as the team traded blows both with their bodies and with their scoring talents. By the end of it all, the Sabres mounted a comeback to secure an 8-7 victory and solidified their standing as a force in the NHL.
From the moment that this team decide that losing was not acceptable anymore, they have been one of the most difficult teams in the NHL to take down. It has been a sight that is strange to see after so many years of disappointment, but it has been a welcome one. Dahlin has looked like a premier NHL defenseman and has grown into a top-notch leader. Thompson has so many moments where he looks legitimately unstoppable and could score at will. Zach Benson looks like a creature possessed, ready to torment the opponent every single night with his gimmicks and mouth. Jason Zucker looks like he doesn’t care that he is getting older, and just keeps scoring goals. Then there is Mattias Samuelsson who has come back from his abysmal season last year to be one of the team’s best all-around defensive threats.
Related: Sabres’ Contention Window Is Just Opening
This is a team that plays with heart; a team that plays for one another. Gone are the days of letting Thompson get run over and having nobody respond to it. Now, every one of them stands up for the other, ready to go to battle every single night, and play the game the right way. They battle hard in corners, make good offensive plays, and clean up their own zone well before trying to get greedy with their offense. This is a team with the right tools, and they proved it the day they hit the 100-point mark.
What The Playoff Berth Means
Speaking as a lifelong Sabres fan who last witnessed a playoff game in 2011 while cheering alongside his teenage friends in a basement somewhere, this means everything. Everyone can say that winning the Stanley Cup in their ultimate goal, and it would be incredible to make it that far, but after so many years of sitting in the league basement, so many years of watching this team crumble under pressure, and so many more years of disappointment and saying the words “well, maybe next year”, simply making it and clinching a spot in the postseason lifts a weight off this city heavier than anything words could describe. When the news came through, the Sabres posted it alongside the perfect video, a video with a recording from Jeanneret showcasing what it means to wear that uniform. What it means to play for this city.
I remember the moment I let it all sink in as the video played on. I stood there just taking it in, a small tear forming at the corner of my eye as I realized it was over. The past 14 seasons don’t matter anymore. Forward… forward is the only way to look now for this team. There is that glimmer of hope again. There is that underlying sense of “we can do this” that courses through our veins as Sabres fans. I have waited so long to type these words… The Buffalo Sabres are going to the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
