Playoff pursuit adds fuel to rivalry
Leafs and Sabres launched rebuilds around same time but blue and white hold edge
It would drive fans of the Sabres crazy if the Maple Leafs made the playoffs this year and Buffalo didn’t.
“That’s not something Buffalo fans want to see at all,” said former Leaf and Sabre Brad May, now a Buffalo broadcast analyst. “That would happen any year. There’s a David vs. Goliath feel. Buffalo has a chip on its shoulder and doesn’t like . . . when Toronto succeeds.”
Given the Buffalo-Toronto rivalry — and the Sabres have a winning record all-time versus the Leafs, perhaps because of that chip — the playoff possibilities this year are intriguing.
Halfway through the season, the Leafs are tracking towards a postseason spot — their first since 2013. The Sabres are tracking to miss. They haven’t made it since 2011.
So, if the Leafs get to the playoffs first, Buffalo won’t be talking proud, given the Sabres tanked first and should be a year ahead.
“Obviously Toronto’s got more points in the standings, but that’s not indicative of where these players can be or will be,” said May. “Buffalo’s got some great youth. But you turn the TV on daily, and you hear the stories about (Mitch) Marner, (William) Nylander and of course, Auston Matthews.”
The similarities between the rebuilds are staggering. Both franchises got new owners in 2011: Terry Pegula bought the Sabres, while Bell Media and Rogers took over MLSE.
The new owners waited until 2014 to establish new front offices. Tim Murray signed on as Sabres general manager and gutted the team immediately. Brendan Shanahan took over as Leafs president the same year, but held off on reconstruction.
The Sabres even thought they’d signed Mike Babcock as coach in 2015, when the Leafs scooped him up.
Buffalo was quite unlucky when it came to the draft lottery, though — finishing dead last in the standings the last two years in a row but missing No. 1s Aaron Ekblad (2014) and Connor McDavid (2015), getting No. 2s Sam Reinhart and Jack Eichel instead.
Still, making the playoffs first this year would mean little more than bragging rights.
“We’re trying to grow up as a team and learn how to play,” said Babcock. “I don’t spend a whole lot of time thinking about other teams. We’re building our own product here. We have a lot of work to do. We’re 41 games in. Let’s try to get better. If we do that, we have a chance to be a good team as we move ahead.
“We want to be a team that you know in the summer, when it comes to fall you’re going to make the playoffs.”
Sabres coach Dan Bylsma tried to throw a little cold water on the cur- rent standings, reminding everyone just how close the Atlantic Division is You can hear the excitement across the border,” said Bylsma. “The Leafs have had some success. They’ve won some hockey games. They’ve put themselves at the top of a group of people in the 48-point range. It’s not a surprise to see five, six teams in that area, all fighting for points and position.”
Reinhart, Eichel and defenceman Rasmus Ristolainen offer as much optimism in Buffalo as Matthews, Marner and Morgan Rielly do in Toronto. As far as Nylanders go, it’s a wash. Both teams have one, Buffalo having taking younger brother Alexander in last summer’s draft. Both went eighth overall in their draft year.
“The hardest part is being patient and waiting for your players to develop,” said May. “Some guys take more time. In Buffalo, they believe they have players that are going to jell and come together.
“But are they where they want to be? I think the fans expected more. The players want more. It’s just a matter of time.”
Either way, the Leafs-Sabres rivalry is on the rise.
“It’s a good one,” said Eichel. “The fans get really into it and the teams don’t really like each other.”
Matthews got his first taste of the rivalry in June in Buffalo, site of the draft. Sabres fans booed when the Leafs took him first overall.
“It jumped out at me at the draft,” said Matthews.
“We’ve played them in their building, and there were a lot of Maple Leafs fans. It’s a big rivalry, right across the border. It was cool to see the Leafs fans, all the support.”