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The Buffalo Sabers are 0-15-3 since February 25. They hold the record for the longest winless streak in the penalty shootout era (since 2005-06) and tied the Pittsburgh Penguins 2003-04 for the most consecutive losses – including overtime and losses. in shootout – in the 21st century.
How did they get here and how could it get worse? Plus, how do you get back on track – and could an exchange with Jack Eichel take place at some point?
ESPN’s Emily Kaplan and Greg Wyshynski discuss everything:
Wyshynski: Let’s start with a definition of terms. The NHL insists the Sabers are on an 18-game “winless streak” rather than a “losing streak.” Note: The rankings say their current streak is “an overtime loss” instead of “L18” because the NHL only considers it a loss when the loss occurs in regulation.
I know it’s a really wacky concept, but a loss is a loss, and the Sabers have 18 in a row. The confluence of a confusing ranking format and technicality hampering a sensational story is truly the pinnacle of the NHL. What’s your take on this streak, Emily?
Kaplan: If you lose in overtime, it always means you lost. I have never heard a hockey player consider an overtime point to be a win. My honest opinion: I hate the semantic debate almost as much as I hate this sequence itself.
And when I say I hate it, I mean I hate how it affects players. You can tell it’s really irritating to them. After Monday’s collapse in the third period (when the Sabers took a 3-0 lead in the third period), Brandon Montour used the words “embarrassing” and “brutal”. Rasmus Dahlin claimed the team had a “panic attack”.
Interim coach Don Granato tries to instill positivity, but these are deeply rooted issues. Captain Jack Eichel (upper body injury) has been ruled out for 11 games with no return schedule. One of general manager Kevyn Adams’ big offseason Eric Staal has already been traded. The other, Taylor Hall, will likely follow. And all I’m wondering is, how are they going to get away with it?
Wyshynski: Optimism and the Buffalo Sabers 2021 go together like a craft candle and a bunch of rotten fish. But they had a heartbeat Monday night against the Flyers before things went wrong, playing two of their best periods of the past month.
“If we hit the net open, would we be talking about panic?” Granato asked. “I would say we made mistakes. I wouldn’t say we panicked. We were a little excited.”
The coach knows he has taken over a team looking for a ray of hope. After six games at work, he begins to find little moments, little stretches to lean on in a movie shoot. It’s basic and embarrassing for a bunch of NHL players, but it’s the only way out.
Buffalo has one more game with the Flyers, then four against the Rangers and Devils, teams the Sabers have won against this season. I wouldn’t be surprised if Buffalo doesn’t win for Game 19. I’d be surprised if that streak isn’t over by the end of this series of games on April 8. Emily, would you agree that the Winnipeg Jets’ record of 30 games without a win in 1980-81 is safe?
Kaplan: I agree. The Sabers aren’t a good hockey team – and will get worse as players are taken out of the roster before the trade deadline – but they’re not wholly incompetent. Since the start of the streak, the Sabers have expected goals of 44% 5-5, per Natural Stat Trick; it’s by no means great, but it’s also not the worst in the league over this period. The Coyotes, who are on a three-game winning streak and one point on a playoff berth in the West Division, have an even lower rate. The Corsi des Sabers for the 5-to-5 percentage in this period is 26th in the league, with two infallible playoff teams (the Wild and the Jets) behind them.
So there are signs of life. Buffalo goaltender Linus Ullmark is back after a month away and he’s fighting quietly. A big lingering question is, when do the Sabers get Eichel back, if at all this season? The 24-year-old is the franchise’s most important player and the emotional heart of this team. It was more mum on the injury front. Eichel is still in rehabilitation and feeling better, according to Granato, and the team “are hoping” he can return this season.
But maybe the best question is: what is Eichel’s future in Buffalo beyond 2021? I couldn’t imagine that possibility a year ago at that point, but do you think there’s a legitimate chance the team will trade their captain?
Wyshynski: There are actually two separate issues here. The first is whether Eichel has reached his tipping point. Last summer he was frustrated. I’m not sure the most comprehensive thesaurus in the world can conjure the word to properly capture how Eichel felt after watching the Sabers drop to a 0.221 point percentage as a coach he admired was fired. If he wants out, the Sabers must honor that request.
If he wants to stay … will the Sabers trade him anyway? Eichel’s age, capacity and contract duration centers rarely become available. There are teams like the Kings and Rangers that could restock the Buffalo closet. quick in a store for Eichel. I tend to believe the Sabers had better use Eichel as a base for what their next build will look like. But it may not be entirely up to them. Emily, what’s the best plan for the Sabers?
Kaplan: First, the immediate plan: Acquire as many leads and draft picks as possible before the April 12 trade deadline. Make decisions without emotion – which may mean parting with the last draft picks that have so far underperformed.
What we haven’t mentioned yet: This season isn’t an isolated issue for the Sabers. They are mired in a nine-year (soon to be 10) playoff drought, which is the longest in the league. The free agency bandage patches didn’t help; they have to build from scratch. To compound this problem: Buffalo made massive cuts to its testing department during the pandemic, and it didn’t fill many of those positions. The Sabers have not had a Scout presence in Russia for several years. They don’t have a scout in Finland. They also don’t have an assigned WHL or OHL scout this season (although the OHL season remains on the move). They are relying heavily on video screening for the 2021 project, which may not be ideal.
Organizationally, the Sabers need to consolidate this area first, but that will mean even more financial commitment from team owners Terry and Kim Pegula. What the Sabers look for the most is stability. They can’t keep going through coaches and general managers. They need one voice, one direction, because all this pivot got them nowhere. Greg, do you see any reason to be optimistic that this might be a quicker fix?
Wyshynski: I was speaking with an executive from another team this week who expressed something that surprised me. “I don’t think the Sabers are that far away,” he said. “A new coach who can change the attitude around the team and they are nowhere near that bad.”
They had the wrong trainer. They have had a season interrupted by COVID-19. They are now stuck in a losing streak of historic proportions and do not know how to get the nose out of the spin.
I admit watching the Sabers and thinking about their potential for 2021-2022 is like stepping into a run down, haunted house and measuring for an open concept kitchen / diner, but … I kinda like it. floor and lighting? Am I off base here?
Kaplan: Well, sometimes I think you’re off base (like your insistence that Central Jersey is, in fact, a real place) but not here.
The hardest thing to acquire in the NHL is a No.1 center. The Sabers have one on their roster, who has signed a long-term deal and is on the verge of reaching his athletic heyday. (Mandatory reminder that Eichel is only 24 years old).
Buffalo can use the remainder of the season to gauge if Ullmark can be the answer in goal or if they need to look elsewhere. Dahlin, the No.1 pick in the 2018 draft, has been touted as a generational talent. Sure, it’s funny to say the Sabers “ruined” him, but he’s only 20 years old. Perhaps they precipitated its development. More likely still: They underestimated how being surrounded by a losing culture can have a negative impact on a young player. Get a better support system around him and there is still time for him to thrive.
But maybe I’m an optimist. Maybe it has to get even worse before it can improve.
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