Quote:
Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction
Did Buffalo ever commit to a real rebuild? People seem to think that because rebuilding teams tend to suck for a while, that all teams that suck for a while must be rebuilding. I don't think that is the case, especially with Buffalo. Maybe in more recent years, but for most of their playoff drought, they didn't seem to operate like they were rebuilding.
They missed the playoffs for 5 straight years with virtually the same core. Then they kept signing expensive players and making lateral trades along the way to try and be competitive. If they would have actually committed to a rebuild, they probably would have had a smoother ride. I don't think there was a real stretch of 3-5 years where the Sabres actually tried just building organically. From 2012 to 2021, they had like what, 3 picks in the top 5? They were typically bad, but not bad enough to really reap the benefits until recently. They kept Miller around much longer than they ought to have, then signed or traded for players like O'Reilly, Erhoff, Kane, Skinner, etc., to try and turn things around faster. It kept them drafting in the 8-13 spot most of the time.
|
I think they did "commit" to a rebuild but it was mostly involuntary, the team was just managed so badly that they ended up being a dumpster fire for a really long time. They even lucked into a very good top pick in Eichel but managed to alienate him completely due to being so poorly managed. Then they again lucked into a really good top pick in Dahlin and now he's going into his sixth year and they still haven't made the playoffs.
I guess Buffalo kind of is a case example for the anti-rebuild crowd of how badly rebuilds can go when a team is mismanaged. They are now a better team than they were when Eichel got drafted but still they're hardly a team that anyone is scared of. Maybe that changes if they hit homeruns with their young guys but I haven't really seen signs of that.