Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - It has been 14 seasons since the Buffalo Sabres were last a participant in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Since the last time the Sabres made the playoffs in 2011, the Sabres have gone 424-526-126 in 1,076 games and have only realistically come close to the postseason twice.
No other team has seen a playoff drought in NHL history like the Sabres' drought, and their 2025-26 campaign did not provide much promise of snapping out of it any time soon. Buffalo ended up being blanked in their season opener on Thursday night, 4-0, in a game where Buffalo failed to find the back of the net on 37 shots on goal.
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Despite the on-ice struggles over the years, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman isn't too concerned about the Sabres' lack of success.
"Team performance is something that I leave to the teams," said Bettman on Thursday during a visit to Buffalo for the Sabres' home opener. "No team enjoys having to go through a rebuilding process and a drought, but there's no doubt in my mind that [owner] Terry Pegula is dedicated to hockey, committed to hockey, committed to Buffalo. I assure you he's not any happier than any fan is about the fact that he'd like to see the team perform better than it has, and I know he's committed to doing it."
Bettman knows how great of a hockey market Buffalo is, but it's just a question of on-ice performance.
"I know they're working very hard on it, and I know it's vitally important to Terry, and he's committed to getting it right," Bettman said with the assembled media at KeyBank Center. "By the way, I remember when he first bought the [Buffalo] Bills, initially, there was a lot of criticism, and it took three or four years for that team to get good. Even if this is taking a little longer, the commitment should never be doubted. He's a terrific owner."
There was some question as to Bettman's visit to Buffalo on Thursday, and whether there may be some kind of announcement regarding a potential outdoor hockey game at the new Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park.
While Bettman did not announce any specific outdoor game set to take place in Western New York, he assures fans that another outdoor game is coming.
"We're focused on it, it would be great," Bettman said. "We're kind of focused on whether or not we can do it around the 20th anniversary of the original Winter Classic. But we've already had discussions about the possibility of an outdoor game at Highmark, and that's something that we think would be great."
Looking back at the first NHL Winter Classic in 2008 at, then, Ralph Wilson Stadium, Bettman and the NHL strongly believed it would be something special, and a fixture of the league for years to come.
"If you were a Hollywood producer, you couldn't have scripted it any better that day. The crowd was great, the building was full. The game was great. The weather conditions gave you this snow globe effect. The fact the game went into a shootout, I know from Buffalo's standpoint it was the wrong outcome, but it was still a great event," the NHL commissioner said. "And it launched us on to 43 outdoor games. ... We're grateful that we did it here first, and we're going to come back, I promise."
Meanwhile, another talking point in Buffalo is the future of KeyBank Center downtown. The facility is 30-years-old, and is the oldest building of its kind to not yet receive any kind of major upgrade through renovations.
Just as the Sabres said on Thursday, Bettman knows that discussions for a major renovation of the building are in the early stages.
"I know they were focused on a plan to make some improvements to the building. The bones are good," he said. "Probably only so many construction projects that you can focus on at a time, but the other one (Highmark Stadium) has been successful. I have no doubt they'll turn their attention to this one and do the things that would be appropriate for the building and, most importantly, for the fans."
Bettman, again, pointed to Pegula's commitment to the team, adding nobody should be concerned about a focus to renovate the arena and make more future investments for Buffalo.
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