I will die on the hill that what set them back was the Lehner trade. They were projected to take Aho with a late first or early 2nd. You still could’ve had ROR and Aho. Nylander the very next year didn’t help either..

Appreciated your perspective on this. My issue with the Sabres “sustained success” method is not being able to find any in the first place. The bar is set incredibly low at the 8th seed and even for them it’s a reach.