Toronto was bad for several years while the Sabres were trying to be good. They're on like year 4 or 5 of their rebuild. Someone upthread posted about that many of their good players now were top-10 picks. That's why they're ahead. Matthews, Marner, Nylander, and Reilly are all top-5 picks in the last 5 years. The Sabres last 3 are Eichel, Reinhart, and Vanek, and before that Turgeon? The Maple Leafs were bad for years, stock piled talent, and have had a great coach for the last two years. They are at least a year, if not 2 or 3 ahead of the Sabres in rebuild.