The Detroit Red Wings and Buffalo Sabres may be historically good franchises overall, but over the past decade and decade in a half, it's been another story.
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.