On offense, Buffalo has top scoring centers such as Tage Thompson, one of the NHL’s best forwards this season. Han said the Sabres still need to improve in net, but overall, the team is headed in the right direction. One of the biggest problems he sees is patience. Buffalo is on the rise, but it’s hard to tell fans that have suffered through a 12-year long playoff drought to be patient if the Blue and Gold miss the postseason this spring.
“
If they’re patient and they build on their style of play and stay the course and maybe find some ways to add some better players, as soon as the Bruins, the Leafs and the Lightning kind of fall off and their stars get older, I think Buffalo can be right there. The big challenge in this market is obviously we’ve been patient for a long time now waiting for a playoff team. But can we not freak out if the next step doesn’t happen right away?”
Han feels the Sabres will make the playoffs next season, even if they’re eliminated this year. Buffalo’s coaches and staff are very oriented toward player development and compared to past seasons, the Sabres are far better five-on-five.
One missing ingredient among fans and players is optimism. It’s difficult for a team and fanbase that never won a
Stanley Cup or even made the postseason since 2011 to adopt a hopeful attitude, but Han thinks it’s crucial.
“
Buffalo is going to be a playoff team as soon as next season. But for them to really go deep and…really do things that have never been done in the city, they’ve got to have this mindset of ‘why not us or why can’t we get lucky?’ They’ve got to be optimistic even when things don’t go well. Because honestly, that’s the only thing that I think could be missing from this group.”
