We’re almost at the quarter-point of the 2025-26 season, and it’s already been a bumpy road for the Buffalo Sabres. At this point, the Fan Base is just happy to be above their rivals, the Toronto Maple Leafs, on the edge even if that means finishing 15th in the Eastern Conference.
They’ve been inconsistent so far, a defining feature of their 14-season (and counting) playoff drought. 22 games, we have gathered the details a little bit, with these three things that could be the biggest place so far.
Young people offer hope and great challenges
At the time of the impentush on the line, the Sabers are among the smallest teams in the NHL. The Montreal Canadiens, with an average age of 24.96 years, is younger than Buffalo’s 25.81-year-old. While the youth movement is generally part of the evolution of the franchise, it has been one of the biggest problems of these backfields for the past few seasons.
Of course, additions like Jason Zucker, Connor Timmins, and Alex Lyon have bolstered the veteran roster. That means, the core of this group is under 30 years old and many even under 25 years old. That level of helplessness has made it difficult for any promising young team to overcome.
With this youth comes the need soon. Owen’s strength continues to combat this pressure, compounded only by his status as the first overall pick. There are veterans depending on it but not the “old heads” who can lead those young studs and live with a big impact on the growth and development of this team.
For better or worse, injuries will define this season
As of this writing, the Sabers have won four of their last five games. It’s a nice bit of Momentum but a small sample size. They did, in part, because key pieces like Zach Benson are back on the line. But there are enough pieces missing from the action to be a defining feature of the season.
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On paper, the Sabers were already thin on depth before the start of the season. It has already been hampered by injuries to names like Zucker, Benson, Josh Norris (although he has a good review), Jiri Kulich, Michael Kesselring, and Ukko-Pekka Lukkonen. You are missing that many important pieces are difficult for any team to win.
It’s early enough to change things. The Sabers are just four points back from the wild card spot and the Eastern Conference has great balance from top to bottom. If the Sabers miss the playoffs – and do so by a large margin – it will be difficult to focus on anything other than injuries.
Zach Benson and Josh Doan are the heart of this team
With all due respect to guys like Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch, and Rasmus Dahlin – all the talents that this team’s real treble is Zach Benson and Josh Doan.
The strength of the players not only gives the power to increase the power, but the Sabers tend to control the puck with them on the ice. Doan leads the team with 53.3% cf while Bencons is third with 51.4% cf.
Both are playing drivers and have taken big steps forward. Benson has nine points in nine games so far, while Doan has already matched his goal-high in goals (seven) and is close to matching his high from last season. The increased playing time is undeniably important, but he does his best on this clay during ice time.
There are pieces in place
Perhaps the most frustrating thing is that there are pieces instead of fans that we should be happy about. If this was a four year instead of a 14 year rebuild, it’s possible that the sentiment would be much different than before.
The season is not available, but the climb is definitely a definite thing. The Sabers will need to avoid the long losing streaks that have plagued the franchise of late. Most importantly, they will need to make the most of each game, garner as many points as possible, and hopefully be within striking distance come spring.
