Why the Sabres are the best of...

The brimming potential of the Buffalo Sabres is finally being realized, but until recently, there has been a tendency to attach qualifiers to this year’s team. They’re exciting but they’re a year away. Owen Power looks like a perennial All-Star in a few years. Rasmus Dahlin should have been named an All-Star, if the NHL actually knew what it was doing with its annual showcase. Tage Thompson should be a Hart Trophy candidate, but Buffalo’s team record will inflame his candidacy.

Throw all the qualifiers away. Buffalo is rocking with a 6-2-2 record in its last ten games and is on the verge of the playoffs, hovering just outside a wild card spot prior to Friday’s action. There are few teams that have been more fun — we’ll place the New Jersey Devils in a class alone — and after converting on a multitude of high first-round picks, the Sabres have arrived ahead of schedule. They’re the most fun team in the postseason bubble and it’s time to give them their flowers without any reservations.

To be clear, Buffalo’s bid is contingent upon Tage Thompson’s health. Thompson left Wednesday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes with an upper-body injury and did not return, ruling him out of an appearance at the All-Star game (Dahlin will be representing the Sabres in his stead).

“We'll see where it takes us, but we are excited to be on this journey together. I am so proud to play here - to call the guys in this room my brothers, and to call this city home.”

Dahlin’s ascension naturally leads to an optimistic pathway for Owen Power. Like Dahlin before him, Power was the first-overall pick in 2021. And much like Dahlin, Power is a towering figure on the blue line, with high-end offensive skills that need to be cultivated and furnished. A popular pre-season candidate to win the Calder Trophy, Power is showing why he could join Dahlin and Thompson quickly as the next face of the franchise.

Buffalo isn’t going to go on a Cinderella run. It isn’t expected to knock off Boston or Carolina or New Jersey if it makes it to the playoffs. Better days are ahead for a young and supremely talented core. But all the discussion around the 2022-23 Sabres has been about their limitations, and they’re beginning to kick down the door. If we embrace a limitless future for the Sabres, they’re instantaneously the best — or at the very least, the most fun team among the bubble.