The Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres used to be the laughing stocks of the Eastern Conference, but instead only Buffalo wears that crown today.
Over the past decade, the Toronto Maple Leafs stock has risen, whereas the Buffalo Sabres have performed like Enron.
Both of these franchises were in the exact same spot and seemed destined to rebuild at a similar pace, but instead the Buffalo Sabres continue be irrelevant.
After missing the 24-team playoff tournament, as shown in the tweet above, the Sabres decided to fire Jason Botterill and hire Kevyn Adams. Sure, Adams was a former-NHLer and understands the game but he has zero G.M. experience, so it’ll be interesting to see how this move goes for them again.
We have relieved Jason Botterill of his duties as General Manager.
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) June 16, 2020
Senior Vice President of Business Administration Kevyn Adams has been named General Manager. pic.twitter.com/TPAFXvAPej
As the Sabres continue to falter and draft in the lottery year-after-year, the Leafs are now Stanley Cup contenders. Even after having a below average season filled with injuries to a lot of their top players, the Leafs still managed to finish third in their division and make the playoffs.
The Buffalo Sabres on the other hand missed the playoffs for the eight consecutive season.
The unfortunate part about the Sabres missing the playoffs is that they didn’t even come close to making it again. Whenever the team goes on a win-streak and looks ready to make the playoffs, they find a way to go on an even bigger losing streak and lose all hope.
When you think of sad sports cities, it used to be Cleveland that comes top of mind, but instead it might have to be Buffalo. The Sabres have never won a championship and neither has the Buffalo Bills, who haven’t even won a playoff game since 1995.
Toronto was always known as a sad sports town as well, but in recent years, the city has seen Toronto FC win an MLS Cup, Toronto Argonauts win a Grey Cup, Toronto Marlies win a Calder Cup and most importantly, the Toronto Raptors win a Larry O’Brien Trophy.
Toronto Maple Leafs fans are hopeful that their favourite team is next on that list of champions, but everyone should be thankful the franchise didn’t go the way the Buffalo Sabres went.
Let’s look at four reasons why the Toronto Maple Leafs have been able to turn their franchise around, compared to the Buffalo Sabres.