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During the Buffalo Sabres' 12-year playoff drought, there have been times for optimism, thinking the team was going to turn the corner. All of those times, the Sabres let their fans down with setback after setback.
However, after a couple consecutive years of improvement in the Kevyn Adams era as general manager -- including missing the playoffs by one point last year -- it finally feels like the Sabres are on track to break the drought.
There are mixed feelings in the media on whether Buffalo did enough to keep up with other teams that missed the playoffs last year, but I believe the plan Adams currently has the Sabres on will finally pay off.
There was nothing wrong with the Sabres offense last season. In fact, it may have taken some people by surprise with how successful it was and that should continue.
Nevertheless, there were some glaring holes in the lineup last year that directly caused Buffalo to miss the playoffs and that included its lack of depth on defense, and the glaring hole in net since the departure of Ryan Miller nearly a decade ago.
What will improve the defense is just another year of maturity from young players Rasmus Dahlin, Mattias Samuelsson and Owen Power, but Adams added to that with the acquisition of Connor Clifton and veteran Erik Johnson. The player with more pressure is Clifton, who will be expected to provide a little more defensive stability and play some important minutes, while the 2006 No. 1 overall pick Johnson is going to be one of the older players on the team and might be just a bit more leadership on the back end.
The Pittsburgh Penguins made the biggest move in the offseason by adding Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Erik Karlsson to their blue line, Adams and the Sabres continue to let their homegrown players be the focal point. Pittsburgh, which missed the playoffs for the first time since 2006 added Karlsson in its hope return to the postseason, while Buffalo needs Dahlin to develop into the generational defender he was projected to be. Power also needs to take another big step from an already great rookie year.
Beyond the defense, the biggest issue Buffalo needs to solve is the crisis in net ever since Miller was traded to St. Louis in 2014. The answer to that appears to be Devon Levi, but Buffalo is opting to roll with three netminders on the roster which could be helpful if Levi falls into a lull. The rookie out of Northeastern University looked really strong in net for Buffalo down the stretch last year, but the rigors of a full NHL season may be a tough adjustment.
Also competing for a postseason spot from the Atlantic Division is the Ottawa Senators and similar to Buffalo they boast a strong offense and young defense, but a weak tandem in net. While Buffalo has opted to go with its prospects and youth in net, Ottawa signed Joonas Korpisalo, who has proven to be a playoff-caliber goalie. The Senators decision may seem better now, but Levi has a much higher ceiling of talent than Korpisalo and if he hits sooner than later Buffalo will have no problem staying ahead of Ottawa in the standings.
Last year, the Buffalo offense proved that it had depth when players like Alex Tuch and Tage Thompson were injured for extended periods of time and players like Jack Quinn and Casey Mittelstadt stepped up in their absence. Once again the Sabres will have to put their embarrassment of riches at offense to work thanks to an offseason training injury that left Quinn with a torn Achilles tendon.
Quinn was expected to make another jump after a strong rookie campaign in which he scored 14 goals and 23 assists for 37 points, but the Achilles injury will be a difficult setback to overcome. However, Buffalo might not miss a beat and it is because of the player I said they would be lucky to draft last year, Zach Benson.
For anyone that scouted Benson in his draft year there was no doubt he is a top-five talent from the draft, but naive NHL teams that put too much of an emphasis on size overlooked the diminutive forward and it's going to cost them. After posting seven points in six preseason games Benson officially made tonight's roster to begin the season. But it's not just the offense with him as he's a mature two-way player doing all the little things.
Benson might not be a big player for Buffalo this year, but he has proven again that Adams knows what he's doing at the draft table and trusting this process of developing young talent will break the drought. I would not expect Benson to play the full season with Buffalo, probably getting just the nine-game trial, then Matthew Savoie might take a crack at it before another decision replacing the missing production of Quinn.
While Buffalo looks at its depth and whether it should sign hometown free agent Patrick Kane or just work with its prospects, expect the big guns like Thompson, Tuch, Jeff Skinner, Dylan Cozens, Dahlin and Power to end the Sabres' drought this season.
If the Sabres miss the playoffs yet again, being leapfrogged by either Ottawa or Detroit, then the criticism of Adams' process can be made, but until then Buffalo looks to be doing the right things.