The End Of A Forgettable Era

It became official today: the Buffalo Sabres will break their streak of fourteen seasons without appearing the playoffs thanks to the Pittsburgh Penguins defeating the Florida Panthers, officially eliminating the two-time defending champions from the playoffs. The last time that Buffalo was in the playoffs was 2011 where the Lindy Ruff-led Sabres qualified as the seventh-seeded team and fell in the opening round in seven games to the Philadelphia Flyers.

They won't see the Flyers this year, but the Lindy Ruff-led Sabres could meet the Montreal Canadiens or Boston Bruins depending on where Buffalo finishes. Regardless of who they face, expect the city of Buffalo to be foaming at the mouth for the Sabres' first games at Keybank Center when the playoffs begin on April 18, 2026!

If fifteen years seems like a long time, consider all of the following when it comes to the last time the Sabres were in the playoffs:

• Amazon had not yet released the Kindle tablet.
• Neither Windows 10 nor Windows 11 had been developed.
• Steve Jobs, Dick Clark, and Roger Ebert were alive.
• Barbara Walters and Oprah Winfrey were still on TV.
• Steven Harper was the Prime Minister of Canada.
• Crimea was still part of Ukraine.
• England was still part of the European Union.
• No one had heard of "Gangnam Style".
• No one had heard of Bitcoin or cryptocurrency.
• COVID-19 was eight years away.
• Lance Armstrong was still an elite cyclist.
• The Chicago Cubs hadn't won a World Series since 1908.
• Russia was still at the Olympics and IIHF events.
• The Atlanta Thrashers still existed.
• The Phoenix Coyotes still existed.
• Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was still a Red Deer Rebels forward.
• Alexander Ovechkin only had 301 goals.
• Jaromir Jagr finished his third season in the KHL.
• The Hockey Show had not yet debuted on UMFM.
• Hockey Night in Canada was still owned by CBC.
• Only four Marvel movies had been released in theatres.
• Game of Thrones had yet to premiere.
• Keanu Reeves had not yet become John Wick.
• Tom Cruise had been in three Mission: Impossible films.
• The Hunger Games had yet to debut in theatres.

There were a pile of other major world events that happened during the fifteen years between playoff appearances for the Buffalo Sabres, but those listed above were some of the more fun ones that I found. What can't be overlooked is how much fun the Sabres seem to be having this year when it comes to playing hockey. Josh Norris told Elliotte Friedman that he and Tage Thompson were sitting beside one another on the bench in their first game after the Olympics, and
"[t]he crowd was so loud they couldn't have a conversation. They started laughing, marvelling at the enthusiasm." That's important.

Buffalo has always been a good playoff city, but the fans there may blow the roof off the Keybank Center this year. They've been waiting for so long for this moment, so it's plausible that scene experienced by Norris and Thompson will happen again. If the Sabres end up facing the Canadiens, it will feel like the old Adams Division rivalry between these two teams come April. If they were to face Boston as the Atlantic Division champions, the recordings of the "May Day" call with Rick Jeanneret will be played over and over again this spring!

You can talk about Gilbert Perreault and Danny Gare as legends. People will mention the likes of Pat Lafontaine, Alexander Mogilny, and Dave Andreychuk from the "good ol' days". Names like Stu Barnes, Chris Drury, Maxim Afinogenov, and Danny Briere are mentioned as part of unforgettable tomes. No one will question anyone if they bring up Dominik Hasek's or Ryan Miller's brilliance. But it's been fifteen years since fans have had those undeniable playoff moments, and this Sabres team is looking to make more of those memories.

Welcome back, Buffalo. Keep having fun, and bring the loud. You've been gone for far too long, but it's good to have you back!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!