Buffalo Sabres' record NHL playoff drought ends: Here's how they did it

TheBuffalo Sabresare back in the NHL playoffs, ending a league-record postseason drought of 14 seasons.

All they had to do was change the messenger.

The Sabres clinched their first playoff berth since 2010-11 with the Detroit Red Wings' loss in the afternoon on Saturday, April 4.

It was looking like the streak could hit 15 when Buffalo sat in last place in the Eastern Conference on Dec. 8. The Sabres won three in a row to get back to .500, thenfired general manager Kevyn Adamson Dec. 15 and promoted Jarmo Kekalainen to the position.

The team took off, extending its winning streak to 10 games. Entering Saturday, Buffalo has gone 32-8-4 under the former Columbus Blue Jackets GM. The Sabres have their first 100-point season since 2009-10 and are looking for their first division title since that season.

Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski (8) greets fans on the blue carpet before opening night against the New York Islanders.

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NHL fans and mascots cheer on their teams in 2025-26 season

Kevyn Adams' tenure

Adams, the general manager since 2020-21, brought in some of the players on this team, such as Alex Tuch, Josh Norris, Jason Zucker, Bowen Byram, Ryan McLeod and Josh Doan. He also traded away Jack Eichel (after a dispute over what type of neck surgery he should have), Sam Reinhart, Dylan Cozens and J.J. Peterka. Eichel and Reinhart won Stanley Cup titles after their trades.

Adams drew some criticism last season when he explained the difficulty of drawing free agents to Buffalo and why players often include the city on their no-trade lists.

"We don't have palm trees," he told reporters. "We have taxes in New York."

Adams last season brought back coach Lindy Ruff, who had been coach of the 2010-11 playoff team. But the Sabres continued their pattern of early-season swoons — 0-10-3 this time — and finished 12 points out of a playoff spot.

Buffalo traded No. 2 scorer Peterka to Utah in the offseason and opened the season 0-3. Fans began chanting for Adams' firing and it finally happened in December.

Jarmo Kekalainen's tenure

Teams often get a bump from a coaching change, but a front office change can also have an impact because a general manager can decide a player's future.

Kekalainen noted that his focus was going to be on work ethic, saying the team had lost some games by being outworked.

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"You've got to work, you've got to compete and you've got to be relentless," he said after being named general manager. "That's what I want the identity of the Buffalo Sabres to be."

He added that he "firmly" believed that Sabres could be a playoff team.

Kekalainen had been hired as a senior adviser in May. He had been aggressive in Columbus, hanging on to pending free agents Sergei Bobrovsky and Artemi Panarin and adding to a team that shockingly swept the No. 1 overall Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round in 2019.

After he was promoted in Buffalo, he revamped the front office and held on to Ruff. He gave a contract extension to Doan, who was acquired in the Peterka trade. But with the team surging, there was little need to change the players.

The general manager made moves at the deadline to beef up the team's depth. He traded for Colton Parayko, but it fell through when the defensemandeclined to waive his no-trade clause. He pivoted to add big, rugged defensemen Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn. He also added Sam Carrick, who's strong on faceoffs, and depth forward Tanner Pearson.

A sign that the Sabres were for real was when they defeated the Lightning 8-7 in a game thatfeatured tons of goals and penalty minutes.

What's next for the Sabres?

They will try to win the Atlantic Division title and still have a chance to be the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

There isn't a lot of playoff experience in this core because of the long drought. However, Schenn and Pearson are former Stanley Cup winners and McLeod has been to the Final. Tuch has played 66 postseason games and Zucker has played 52.

And Ruff has coached 101 playoff games, winning 57. He took the Sabres to the 1999 Final.

Who has the longest playoff drought?

The Detroit Red Wings are at nine seasons, the Anaheim Ducks are at seven and the San Jose Sharks are at six. But heading into Saturday's game, the Ducks are second in the Pacific Division, the Sharks hold the second wild-card spot in the West and the Red Wings sit one spot below the playoff line in the East.

The Chicago Blackhawks have been eliminated, and their playoff drought is at six seasons.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Sabres back in NHL playoffs after 14 seasons; how they ended drought

bySator Tenet

in

April 04, 2026

Buffalo Sabres' record NHL playoff drought ends: Here's how they did it

TheBuffalo Sabresare back in the NHL playoffs, ending a league-record postseason drought of 14 seasons. All they had to do was cha...

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Was timing of Eagles ESPN piece a 'warning shot' to Jalen Hurts?

The NFL world was abuzz Wednesday morning with anESPN piece that detailed the rift between Jalen Hurts and the Eagles’ offensive operation,including head coach Nick Sirianni, wide receiver A.J. Brown and multiple offensive coordinators.

The bottom line? Hurts’ new coordinator, Sean Mannion, will force him out of his comfort zone, and if he’s not on board with that, the Eagles may reevaluate the quarterback position next offseason.

Something else caught the eye of Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio: the timing.

“I mean, just think if that report had landed at 6 a.m. Eastern on Monday,” Florio said on Thursday’s edition of “Yahoo Sports Daily.” “It would have dominated the conversation (at theNFL spring meetings). Nick Sirianni would've been bombarded with questions at the coaches' breakfast on Monday. Howie Roseman, the GM, would've been asked about it.

“… I think this was a warning shot calculated by the Eagles.”

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Hurts was named Super Bowl MVP after guiding the Eagles to a championship in the 2024 season, and he was a second-team All-Pro in the 2022 season, which resulted in another Super Bowl trip. But his unique skill set and reported resistance to change have presented challenges in both designing and executing the offense, especially in the Eagles’ underwhelming title defense last season.

Florio pointed out that the way Philadelphia structuredHurts’ $255 million extensionin 2023 meant he’s been “essentially untouchable” the past couple years because of the dead money charge moving on from him would require. That dead money charge, however, drops to $67 million next offseason, still a high figure but not one that would preclude a franchise that views itself as a contender from making difficult decisions like changing the starting quarterback.

“I think by next year, [the Eagles] are in a position where if they have to do something, they will,” Florio said.

Mannion comes from the Sean McVay tree and promises to incorporate pre-snap shifts and motion, as well as playing more from under center. The ESPN story noted in particular how Hurts doesn’t like to do that because he doesn’t like to turn his back to the defense. It also mentioned how he routinely changes plays instead of executing the offense as it’s called.

It seems like the time for that is over — at least if Hurts wants to remain the Eagles’ starting quarterback long into the future.

“He’s on notice,” Florio said. “… If you don't start doing what the team wants you to do, it will be in a position as of next year to consider its options at the position.”

bySator Tenet

in

April 03, 2026

Was timing of Eagles ESPN piece a 'warning shot' to Jalen Hurts?

The NFL world was abuzz Wednesday morning with anESPN piece that detailed the rift between Jalen Hurts and the Eagles’ offensive operat...

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Kevin Garnett to make Timberwolves return April 12, will have jersey number retired by team next season

Rejoice, Minnesota Timberwolves fans, because the greatest player in franchise history is officially coming back. Kevin Garnett will make his return to Target Center on April 12, theteam announced Friday.

It will mark Garnett’s first appearance at the venue since 2018, per the team. The Timberwolves will take on the New Orleans Pelicans in the contest, which is the final game of the regular season.

Garnett said he couldn’t wait to make that appearance.

“I can’t wait to come home,” said Garnett. “Coming back for me is about what’s next. I’ve spent time with Marc and Alex, and you can feel the difference. The energy is real. The vision is real. They’re building something that lasts, with a team on the court that’s hungry to win. I’m excited to be back in the building with the fans. Minnesota, let’s go!”

Garnett reuniting with the franchise shouldn’t come as a major surprise, as the team announced he hadre-joined the franchise in a new rolein December. While the Timberwolves announced Garnett would eventually have his number retired back then, it did not provide specifics on when that would happen.

By win shares, Garnett is far and away the greatest player in Timberwolves history. The center averaged 19.8 points and 11 rebounds in 14 seasons with the franchise. He was a perennial contender for both the MVP and Defensive Player of the Year award during his time with the team. Garnett did eventually win an MVP award with the Timberwolves during the 2003-04 NBA season. His Defensive Player of the Year award came when Garnett was a member of the Boston Celtics.

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Despite leading the Timberwolves to the playoffs multiple times, Garnett was never able to secure a championship in Minnesota. He eventually did reach that milestone, but it came after a trade to the Celtics.

That trade was the result of mounting frustration from Garnett, who kept performing well despite the team’s poor record.

At some point, Garnett’s relationship with former Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor soured. Garnett has never gone into specifics on what transpired, though he told ESPN’s Shams Charania in 2020, “I won't forgive Glen.”

"Glen knows where I’m at, I’m not entertaining it. First of all, it’s not genuine. Two, he’s getting pressure from a lot of fans and, I guess, the community there. Glen and I had an understanding before Flip died, and when Flip died, that understanding went with Flip. For that, I won’t forgive Glen. I won’t forgive him for that. I thought he was a straight-up person, straight-up businessman, and when Flip died, everything went with him."

There were rumors Flip Saunders wanted to bring Garnett back to the Timberwolves following his playing career, but those never came to fruition following Saunders’ death in 2015. That seems to have played a role in Garnett’s frustration with Taylor.

But with Taylor out of the pictureafter selling the team, the door was open for Garnett’s return. Garnett reportedly has a close relationship with new team owners Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore, which paved the way for Garnett’s new role with the franchise.

Given Garnett’s excellence — and his longtime feud — Timberwolves fans will almost certainly give him an enthusiastic reception when he makes his return April 12.

bySator Tenet

in

April 03, 2026

Kevin Garnett to make Timberwolves return April 12, will have jersey number retired by team next season

Rejoice, Minnesota Timberwolves fans, because the greatest player in franchise history is officially coming back. Kevin Garnett will ma...

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Tommy Fleetwood headlines Texas Open field as The Masters looms

It's go time for the PGA Tour stalwarts who are searching for some form before they travel to Augusta National -- and it's the last chance for everyone else to snag a ticket.

The Valero Texas Open once again occupies the week before the Masters on the tour schedule, and Englishman Tommy Fleetwood will headline the field that tees off at TPC San Antonio on Thursday.

"It's funny, I played by chance in 2024. I was struggling in Florida, took the next week off and threw this one into the schedule," Fleetwood said. "I had a great week. I then had a great Masters right after it. It's been part of our year ever since."

Collin Morikawa was set to play this week as well but withdrew on Tuesday. His agent said in a statement that Morikawa continues to make progress in his rehab from a back issue, but the Texas Open turned out to be too soon for a competitive return.

Fans will still see the likes of Russell Henley, Swedish youngster Ludvig Aberg and major winners J.J. Spaun and Hideki Matsuyama of Japan tune up for the Masters.

But the name that emerges victorious at the end of the week may be none of these. If the winner has not already been invited to the Masters, he will get the last ticket to Augusta, as Spaun did when he won the event in 2022 and Akshay Bhatia replicated in 2024. The Masters field features 93 golfers as of Wednesday.

When Brian Harman won last year's edition of the Texas Open, he posted a modest score of 9-under-par 279, the highest winning score at the event since 2014.

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Might this be the week for Harman to fix the trajectory of his season? Before tying for 11th at The Players Championship, he had two missed cuts and three finishes of 50th or worse among his first six starts.

"Starting the year, I have been happy with my game, just really upset with the results," Harman said. "I felt like I was getting out there and kind of shooting the highest score that I could every day."

Harman said the mental side of the game has been his emphasis amid his slump.

"That's been the big focus lately because the ball-striking's been there, the short game's been there, and now I feel like I'm just trying to get a better picture of what I'm trying to do and try not to get so far ahead of myself," he said. "When you get into a little bit of a funk or a slump, it's really easy to get out in front of yourself and think about the future a lot. I'm a victim of that more often than not. Just trying to stay real present and not dwell on stuff too bad and just kind of try to stay where my feet are."

The last player to go back-to-back at the Texas Open was Zach Johnson in 2008-09.

The course is a challenging par-72, 7,438-yard track that features two par-5 holes exceeding 600 yards, two par-3s that measure 207 and 241 yards and another par-3, the 16th, with a doughnut-shaped green and a bunker in the middle.

"It's a demanding golf course," Fleetwood said. "Can't be overpowered. You've got to really control your ball. I think you have to be patient. I think you have to use an all-around game. It's windy. I think there's just a lot of elements that go into making this a really, really good challenge."

--Field Level Media

bySator Tenet

in

April 03, 2026

Tommy Fleetwood headlines Texas Open field as The Masters looms

It's go time for the PGA Tour stalwarts who are searching for some form before they travel to Augusta National -- and it's the ...

Read More