The Buffalo Sabres hold the longest active playoff drought in the NHL. Two months into the current season, they are on the outside looking in again.
Speaking Friday, general manager Kevyn Adams suggested one of the reasons is the team is "not a destination" for marquee players.
"We’re not a destination city right now," Adams said, "Where you’re going to be able to go out and UFAs that are key guys. And I just don't think that's a way to build a sustainable winner."
Adams was asked a follow-up question on how the Sabres can overcome those challenges.
"You have to earn it. For me, it's really simple. You become a perennial playoff team, you make the playoffs, you have a chance to win the Stanley Cup year after year, you're on (fewer) no-trade lists," he replied. "We don't have palm trees, we have taxes in New York, those are real and those are things you deal with. And trust me I'm in conversation every day and there's a lot of players in this league we need to earn their respect."
The Sabres are 11-12-3 this season and enter Friday's action 12th in the Eastern Conference. The team last made the playoffs in 2011.
As the team tries to break through, Adams said he stands by the roster he assembled and believes they can end the drought.
"I believe in the people in this room and I believe in the coaching staff. Are we where we want to be right now? No," Adams said. "We'll continue to look at every possible scenario if there's a way to add to our team but I'm going to go to war with these guys."
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