The Buffalo Sabres finally turned a corner in December after traveling in the wrong direction for over a decade. Now the question is simple: What comes next?\n<\/p>\n
Sure, in the short term the Sabres will make their long-awaited return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs and, given the fact they’ve been perhaps the NHL’s hottest team over the past four months<\/a>, fans are dreaming big about a potential charge toward a championship this spring.\n<\/p>\n Sportsnet’s Ryan Dixon<\/a>, who ranked Buffalo at No. 3 in his latest NHL power rankings, believes the Sabres are not only built to do damage in this year’s postseason, but also perfectly set up to emerge as a perennial contender in the seasons ahead.\n<\/p>\n “You can be a sophomore in college and have only vague recollections of playoff hockey in Buffalo,” Dixon wrote. “You cannot overstate how huge this leap-forward season has been in Western New York. This team can do damage in the playoffs this year and, now that it’s shaken the stink of a 14-year drought, it’s reasonable to expect real contention from the Sabres year over year.”\n<\/p>\n Going from a long-term laughingstock to “real contention” on an annual basis would be a monumental swing for the Blue and Gold, but it’s a realistic projection based on the vastly improved current state of the long-suffering franchise.\n<\/p>\n The Sabres should be all-in on making sure this isn’t a one-off playoff appearance.\n<\/p>\n Buffalo Sabres are built for sustained NHL success after memorable turnaround season<\/p>\n A lot factors are suddenly working in Buffalo’s favor.\n<\/p>\n Most importantly, the roster’s core pieces are mostly locked in to multiyear contracts with reasonable salaries, especially in the league’s rising-cap environment.\n<\/p>\n Rasmus Dahlin (signed until 2032), Owen Power (2031), Tage Thompson (2030), Mattias Samuelsson (2030) and Josh Norris (2030) are all under contract into the next decade. The Sabres also re-signed rising star Josh Doan through 2032-33 earlier in the season.\n<\/p>\n The one cornerstone piece that’s a near-term uncertainty<\/a> is Alex Tuch, who’s scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. Both the Syracuse native, who grew up a Sabres fan, and the front office have expressed hope an extension can be reached, though.\n<\/p>\n Buffalo also has several prospects who are within a season or two of making the NHL leap. It’s a group that includes Konsta Helenius, who’s been tearing up the AHL in recent months<\/a>, along with Radim Mrtka, Anton Wahlberg, Maxim Strbak and Devon Levi.\n<\/p>\n Other young players, like Brodie Ziemer, Adam Kleber and Luke Osburn, are a little farther away but remain on positive trajectories of their own<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n That’s important because the Sabres are going to require some low-cost contributors in the years ahead as more emerging contributors, led by Zach Benson, Noah Ostlund and Jiri Kulich, will begin to seek lucrative contracts of their own.\n<\/p>\n Being able to have a consistent stream of impact players moving through the minor leagues helps, and it definitely seems Buffalo has finally built a strong prospect pool after years of drafting early.\n<\/p>\n That’s why there’s no reason the Sabres shouldn’t be staring down an extended run near the top<\/a> of the NHL standings. Yes, it’s going to require timely moves from general manager Jarmo Kekalainen to patch up holes that emerge, but the baseline assets are in place to remain a threat.\n<\/p>\n Of course, there are no guarantees. A 14-year playoff drought requires painful mismanagement, which Buffalo certainly experienced across several different regimes, and any NHL franchise is always a handful of bad moves away from returning to also-ran status.\n<\/p>\n Kekalainen is a battle-tested front office executive, however, and the Sabres should have a reasonable margin for error moving forward given their existing talent and the players in the pipeline. They could use one more high-scoring superstar up front<\/a>, but otherwise there’s ample organizational depth.\n<\/p>\n