Player by player you might make that argument, but Buffalo (for a change) has stable chemistry and stability behind the bench. I could see where Detroit in particular is a hot mess early due to the coaching change. The new players the Sabres brought in should "plug the leaks" in the roster, but the rest of the team was already playing at a playoff clip at the end of last season while Detroit and Ottawa were struggling at the end. Momentum from one season doesn't often carry into the next but in this case I think the relatively minor changes to the Sabres roster will enable them to pick up where they left off last season, which was in a pretty good spot.... and a playoff point pace.
So I will concede that player-by-player, Detroit and Ottawa may have improved more than the Sabres but would counter that there are factors outside of the roster that will make the Sabres a better team than them out of the gate.