The Detroit Red Wings and Buffalo Sabres are turning into division rivals for all the wrong reasons. And after years of seeing historically good hockey from both clubs, even if Buffalo has yet to win a Stanley Cup, they've been the NHL's least successful franchises since 2016 and 2011, respectively.
Often, rivalries develop because two teams are the class of their league, or at least their conference. As for the Wings and Sabres? They've been so inept that they're in a perpetual race to break their respective playoff droughts before the other.
The Wings are looking at a 10-year playoff drought in Year 100, which would put a massive blemish in what should be a celebratory year. As for the Sabres, they look worse now than they did during the Ralph Krueger era, when they at least still had Jack Eichel.
And in 2025-26, neither team looks destined to take a top-three spot in the Atlantic, where the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Toronto Maple Leafs have a stranglehold on the division. A wild-card berth's possible, but the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens, both wild card teams last season, look better and even more experienced on paper, especially the Habs.
Brewing Detroit Red Wings and Buffalo Sabres rivalry is laughably bad
Let's look at the two men (mostly) responsible for this mess. In one corner, there's Steve Yzerman, whose Yzerplan helped fuel the Tampa Bay Lightning team we still see today, a group that's in 'rinse and repeat' mode, and that is why they're still one of the league's best hockey teams.
As for his results in Detroit? Six seasons, zero playoff appearances. Going into Year 7, it's hard to envision anything changes, not just with how tough the Atlantic Division is, but the Wings can't even figure out who should play left wing on the top six. Maybe Elmer Soderblom, which right now, isn't saying much.
While the plan built the prospects pipeline into a powerhouse, a strong pipeline won't win you championships unless it converts from looking good on paper to looking good on NHL ice.
And what about the Sabres? For years, it looked like Kevyn Adams had this team on the right track. Like the Wings, he had a great prospects pool, and had guys charging through and into the NHL.
But when they got there, almost nobody delivered. JJ Peterka looked like a brewing star until Adams traded him to Utah. As for Devon Levi? Jack Quinn? Zach Benson? Jiri Kulich? None of them have even come close to lighting up the league, despite showing potential.
A fate awaiting the Red Wings?
For Red Wings fans, this should be a warning: Just having a strong prospects pool means nothing unless you can translate it to the NHL. The Sabres had everyone fooled, and now they're headed for the Gavin McKenna Sweepstakes.
If the Red Wings follow suit, this rivalry might get very, very interesting. And when I say interesting, note my sarcasm, because it''s nothing more than who can dig their way out of the absolute least desirable place any of the league's 32 teams want to find themselves in: Escaping the perpetual playoff drought.