Analyst: Sabres Need Culture Change

The Buffalo Sabres need a big change and it has nothing to do with player personnel.

Dec 3, 2024; Buffalo, New York, USA; Buffalo Sabres center Tage Thompson (72) celebrates his goal with teammates during the first period against the Colorado Avalanche at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images / Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images

The Buffalo Sabres have the longest postseason drought in the NHL with 13 straight years without a visit to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Even in the decade before their lengthy drought, the Sabres competed for the Stanley Cup just four times.

Currently riding an eight-game winless streak, the Sabres are once again sinking in the NHL’s rankings. Everyone in the Eastern Conference is still fairly close in standing, but how have the Sabres not found any success in the last two decades?

According to TSN analyst Mike Johnson, the Sabres need a change of culture. Losing is a habit in Buffalo and there are no signs of that changing in 2024-25, despite a make-or-break mindset.

“I think the one thing that is clear,” Johnson said. “There is a culture of losing in Buffalo. There is an expectation because it’s been so ingrained over all these years, that they don’t win.”

Johnson noted that there is nothing wrong with the Sabres as an organization. Buffalo is one of the top markets in the league, they’ve drafted multiple Stanley Cup champions in recent memory, they’ve just won with other teams, and ownership knows how to build a winning team.

The Pegula family have turned the NFL’s Buffalo Bills into a perennial Super Bowl contender, why haven’t the Sabres followed along? That culture of losing hangs around like a thick smog.

“Even if you are new to a situation, and you’ve not been part of the scar tissue accrued with all the losing,” Johnson said. “You still feel it, and you feel it pretty quickly. You don’t think the guys that are new to the team this year are picking up on the fact that Buffalo has done a lot of losing over the past decade?”

The Sabres needed to make a push towards playoff position this season, and even with changes in the lineup, they are still near the bottom of the Eastern Conference. With an 11-14-4 record, the Sabres are just one point up on the Montreal Canadiens.

“It absolutely weighs you down,” Johnson said. “Every single day.”

Johnson isn’t exactly sure what direction the Sabres should go in, but everything needs to be on the table. Whether its roster moves, coaching decisions, or management hires, the Sabres need something that can kick the culture of losing.

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