Do you believe the Sabres will make the playoffs in 2026?

[PerreaultForever]

6 minutes ago, GoPuckYourself said:

We have a clown show in the front office with no idication after 5 seasons that Adams has any clue what he's doing and will now be given a 6th year. There is no way imo that this team makes the playoffs as he continues to roll with the same 2 goalies and expecting different results. The only way we turn this around is basically like the Bills, Pegula gets lucky and hires a legit GM.

Yes, Adams will think Levi will get it done next year and that's all he will need to roll out the same basic line up (with one or two minor depth moves maybe). The presser will talk about how they are committed to "seeing it through" or "getting it done" or something like that from both Ruff and Adams. They will talk about how the team "learned" from the losing streak and "grew" and they "like where they are" at the end of the year. All a big pile of crap. 

[Archie Lee]

The off-season is a time for optimism. Once we get to the draft and free agency, I will likely be able to squint hard enough to see a scenario where whatever moves Adams makes could, possibly, if multiple things fall into place, and a couple of teams unexpectedly falter, get the Sabres into a wildcard spot. With Adams as GM and Ruff as HC, I can’t imagine anything unfolding between now and October that would have me believing that they ARE a playoff team, though. 

[clink]

Baring a series of uncharacteristic, and miraculous off-season moves, I don't see a path for this "team" as it is currently "constructed"

 

GD it, being a fan of this team is just a confession of being a masochist 😵‍💫

[clink]

4 hours ago, DarthEbriate said:

On the other hand...  they'll all be a year older? Pretty soon they won't be the youngest roster in the league. They'll be the third youngest.

Watch 'em trade away our disgruntled captain for..... prospects, because Kevyn only wants palmtree phobic, tax indifferent players who WANT to play here 😵‍💫

 

1) the roster will get younger, again 

2) the light at the end of the tunnel will get farther away, again.... 

[DarthEbriate]

11 hours ago, clink said:

Watch 'em trade away our disgruntled captain for..... prospects, because Kevyn only wants palmtree phobic, tax indifferent players who WANT to play here 😵‍💫

 

1) the roster will get younger, again 

2) the light at the end of the tunnel will get farther away, again.... 

Well, yes. Eventually, the current core of TNT/Dahlin/Tuch will want out or be sold as being rotten. And the only folks to remain will be ELCs.

Keep this going long enough and we won’t see Benson smiling as he starts a ruckus. Because what would be the point?

[JP51]

20 hours ago, Stoner said:

Belief is an article of faith. This is my 50 year anniversary of becoming a Sabres fan. I have learned to not believe anything about an upcoming season. I have no belief they will make or miss.

Feel has to wait until the offseason dust settles.

All that said, I think right at the moment I would be more surprised if they missed again than if they made it. You just can't go 15 years. You can't, right? Hello?

So for me my first game was the Schoenfeld Cashman thru the zamboni doors game at 5 years old... so we are similar in our fan tenure... and one would not think 15 years is possible... but... no one thought 14 was either... I guess my view here is like a roulette wheel... just because a number came up, doesnt mean that it is less likely to come up the next spin... they are independent trials... and after 14 years of neglect and abject ineptitude and incompetence if we continue with the same... I fear we get the same result... in perpetuity... 

[LGR4GM]

20 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Impossible to answer until I see what transpires in the off-season.  Right now the odds don’t look good.  Adams and Ruff will be returning and the entire failed roster except Reimer is under contract or control.

This includes the following players who had a negative impact on the team this season including Power, Clifton, Samuelsson, UPL, Malenstyn, Lafferty, Greenway, Bryson and Norris (who got injured for the season 3 games after being acquired).  Krebs and Quinn were marginally positive players and only because of the low salaries.  So basically 50% of the team had zero or a negative impact on the team this season.  Hard to win that way.  
 

We need an extra Poll answer - No, not as currently constructed.  

To that I would say, feel free to wait until summer or to change your vote if things change. I think that is fair. 

[SabresVet]

Time has a way of revealing the truth. 

Owners are always going to have a say, but the degree of control TPegs believes he should have in light of continued losing...shows a level of ego hard to imagine.  

As in, the owner cannot compromise at all on control over hockey operations and installs the puppet who'll ensure that.  A GM whose blunders are so numerous and bad that either he's not making any decisions and someone more idiotic is...or this guy takes inept to another level.  

Not even the Great Depression lasted this long.  

 

[Palm Trees And Taxes]

Just looking at the Eastern Conference:

Tier 1 Almost Virtual Locks:

1. Florida: Loaded roster and low tax. Enough said.
2. Tampa Bay: Loaded roster and low tax. Enough said.
3. Toronto: Marner leaving? Even if, excellent roster and enough to make playoffs.
4. Washington: Thought their demise was coming but made incredible moves this past year.
5. Carolina: IMO still a bit of a paper tiger, they remind me of the Buffalo Bills defense in the biggest playoff games: Media and analytic darlings and will win a LOT of games, but fail in the biggest moments (lets hope Beane fixes this next week!)

Tier 2: Most Likely Locks

6 New Jersey: Hughes back, still excellent Top 6, Luke Hughes takes next step.
7. Ottawa: Tkachuk/Stuetzle and Jake Sanderson will take another step. Should be a 90+ point team again.

Tier 3: Moderate/Low Locks:

8. Montreal: This team can get SCARY with a goalie upgrade in the near future.

The Red Wings have now missed the playoffs what 9 years in a row (this blows my mind!) And they have a lot of cap space and will be aggressive.

Columbus is ready to bust out. Adam Fantilli is on the verge of stardom.

NY Rangers: Vet team, still have Igor, can they bounce back?

Where is there a spot for Buffalo?

This will be very tough. Can it be done? Sure. Likely? No

 

Edited Thursday at 06:19 PM by Palm Trees And Taxes

[Doohickie]

I have to believe they will.  I don't know it though.

[Crusader1969]

As they are now.   No 

BUT if they add 2 good defencemen (3 if they trade Byram) One being a legit top 4 RHD AND don't have Bryson in the top 8.  
Plus they get at least avg goaltending.   then yes I do believe they make it 

[Believer]

18 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

Yes, Adams will think Levi will get it done next year and that's all he will need to roll out the same basic line up (with one or two minor depth moves maybe). The presser will talk about how they are committed to "seeing it through" or "getting it done" or something like that from both Ruff and Adams. They will talk about how the team "learned" from the losing streak and "grew" and they "like where they are" at the end of the year. All a big pile of crap. 

You got their rap down pat. Could hear their voices saying the words.

[PerreaultForever]

1 hour ago, Believer said:

You got their rap down pat. Could hear their voices saying the words.

I'm old. I still have a memory though. Sports, politics, whatever, you remember how they recycle these things over and over again and they all mean nothing. In politics people have short memories and they forget and so they can get fooled again. In sports it's generally a shorter timeline and so people get renewed hope but only with a changing of the guard. Adams coming back after this many years and zero progress just boggles my mind. I was sure that even with Pegula wanting yes men 5 years was going to be his limit. 

Even with a tank and all the negative things that come with that you get this hope of a new savior drafted. This season I just feel dead inside when it comes to the Sabres. I have zero hope that this will be any better next year the way this is going. Zero. 

[Rasmus_]

As long as Pegula is a sycofantic child who has to have his feelings heard, we're stuck in the mud.  Adams has no clue what he's doing and history shows its consistency here.  He bought out Skinner and promised to spend to improve the team, we didn't.   He promised to sign the young players, all he's done is trade for a broken down #2 center and pay a 34 year old third liner and overpay a barely capable 4th liner in Greenway.  This time next year Dahlin will want out.  

Edited yesterday at 03:59 AM by Rasmus_

[LTS]

On 4/16/2025 at 5:41 PM, Weave said:

 

Amiright?  😁

More team Papaya or Williams these days, but... I just enjoy the sport overall. For whatever reason the analytics of it, the strategy that decides margins by hundredths to thousandths of a second is really enticing.

I'm not a fanatic or anything, I just like to see good racing. I'm not a NASCAR hater, but they can bump and rub with minimal consequence. Open wheel racing, bumping and rubbing usually ends up real bad, so to keep cars from colliding while inches apart at 200mph... that's exhilarating.

Also, I still believe the Sabres will make the playoffs.

[DarthEbriate]

Much too early to tell. The Sabres could still have significant organizational and lineup changes for next season.

As of this moment, the OP question 'minds me of this question and subsequent conversation.

[Weave]

24 minutes ago, LTS said:

More team Papaya or Williams these days, but... I just enjoy the sport overall. For whatever reason the analytics of it, the strategy that decides margins by hundredths to thousandths of a second is really enticing.

I'm not a fanatic or anything, I just like to see good racing. I'm not a NASCAR hater, but they can bump and rub with minimal consequence. Open wheel racing, bumping and rubbing usually ends up real bad, so to keep cars from colliding while inches apart at 200mph... that's exhilarating.

Also, I still believe the Sabres will make the playoffs.

I was a racing fanatic for a long time.  All of it.  Ovals, dirt, Indy, F1, bikes, boats. But nascar most vehemently. I lost interest when the driver I rooted for aged out.  I rediscovered my love for F1 a couple of years ago.  I just wish more races were in a western hemisphere time zone.  😁