Buffalo Sabres End 14-Year Playoff Drought

After 14 years of watching teammates leave Buffalo for success elsewhere, Rasmus Dahlin and Tage Thompson decided they would be different. They would be the ones to bring playoff hockey back to one of the NHL's most devoted cities.

The Buffalo Sabres clinched their first playoff berth since 2011 on Saturday, ending the longest active playoff drought in the NHL. For Dahlin and Thompson, the team's longest-tenured players with eight seasons each, the moment represented the fulfillment of a promise they'd made to each other more than a dozen times.

"There's so many guys that have asked out or don't want to be here," Dahlin told Sabres.com. "But we said to each other, 'This is the place. We're not leaving. We have to turn this around.'"

The path wasn't easy for either player. Thompson arrived in Buffalo as part of a trade in 2018, then watched his original team win the Stanley Cup while he struggled to find his footing in the NHL. His first real shot with the Sabres in 2019 ended with a season-ending shoulder injury in the final minute of his debut game.

Dahlin entered the league as the top pick in the 2018 draft with enormous expectations. It took years for him to grow into the confident, commanding defenseman he is today.

Why This Inspires

The breakthrough came in late 2021 when both players finally took ownership of the team. Thompson exploded from 18 goals in four seasons to 38 the following year. Dahlin earned his first All-Star selection.

But even then, success didn't come in a straight line. The Sabres fell one point short of the playoffs in 2023, then slipped further the next two seasons. Buffalo fans, rightfully impatient after more than a decade of disappointment, sometimes greeted early deficits with boos.

Through it all, Dahlin and Thompson never wavered in their commitment. While other talented players requested trades or left in free agency to chase championships elsewhere, these two believed Buffalo deserved to celebrate too.

"To be the guys that brought playoff hockey back to Buffalo is something that was a big goal for us," Thompson said. "We always agreed that it'd be really special to be the guys that turned it around here."

Now, after years of conversations about what that moment would feel like, Dahlin has his answer: "It's indescribable, honestly."