The Buffalo Sabres were once among the NHL's most effective drafting organizations. Not only did they typically do well in the opening round, starting with French Connection legend Gilbert Perreault as the first pick in franchise history, but they commonly found late-round steals.
Things have changed for the worse over the past decade, which is key reason Buffalo hasn't reached the playoffs in 14 years, but ESPN's Greg Wyshynski highlighted the team's past success Thursday in an article ranking the best player to emerge from each NHL Draft slot in league history.
Although the Sabres made the ESPN list 11 times, ranging from Round 1 to Round 8 — these days the draft only has seven rounds — none of the selections listed have come since 2016, which further illustrates the front office's issues in recent years.