The Prize At The End Of A Very Bad Season

The Buffalo Sabres' season to forget is finally over.  For the second year in a row they finished in last place in the NHL and it was well-earned.  Although in the final month they gave everything they had to give, it wasn't much.  But, it was a lot better than earlier in the season when lack of effort, bonehead penalties, giveaways, poor defense and lack of scoring piled up the losses.  At one point the Sabres lost 14 in a row including all 12 games during the month of January.

With back to back losses over the weekend the Sabres guaranteed themselves another last place finish.  On Saturday night the Sabres rewarded the crowd on Fan Appreciation night with a 2-0 loss against the Pittsburgh Penguins.  And it's too bad because after so many fans cheered goals by the opposition, the crowd was hoping for something to get excited about.  The Sabres didn't give it to them.

On Sunday night, the Sabres did what most people thought was inevitable - they fired coach Ted Nolan along with assistant coach Danny Flynn while Bryan Trottier and Tom Coolen won't have their contracts renewed.  Goaltender coach Arturs Irbe has one year remaining on his contract and it'll be up to the yet-to-be-named new coach whether he wants to keep him.

One thing Sabres fans can look forward to is either one of the best two amateur hockey players available in this June's draft.  With their 30th place finish the Sabres are assured of picking either first or second overall meaning either Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel will be a Buffalo Sabre next fall.  Both are considered franchise players who'll make a huge difference on the teams they play for.

Additionally, the Sabres will have Evander Kane in the lineup after the trade with Winnipeg that sent Tyler Myers and Drew Stafford to the Jets.  Zemgus Girgensons, Cody McCormick, Josh Gorges and Mike Weber will have recovered from injuries.  After back to back miserable seasons the only place for the Buffalo Sabres to go is up.