Of the numerous reasons for the decade of futility that was the 2010s for the Buffalo Sabres, their constant inability to cultivate their own talent was perhaps the biggest. With three separate general managers (GMs) at the helm at various points from 2010 to 2019, the team either drafted well but failed to develop players, or just drafted badly altogether. With that being said, their biggest debacle of the decade doesn’t get talked about nearly enough.
Heading into the 2015 NHL Draft, the Sabres had the opportunity of a lifetime on their hands but somehow managed to waste it. It was a day that could have rejuvenated the franchise and set it back on the road to greatness, but instead became one of its all-time biggest blunders. With the 2023 NHL Draft upon us, let’s take a look back at the 2015 Draft and how it proved to be a disaster for the Sabres.
The 2015 NHL Draft Class Was STACKED
The 2003 Draft class is often held up as the greatest of all time, but its counterpart 12 years later may go on to claim that title one day. Like 2003, it’s truly baffling in hindsight how much talent was available in the 2015 Draft. Most classes have a clear-cut leader that gets projected as the top pick, but this draft had two. Hailed as generational talents, the duo of Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel were the talk of hockey throughout the 2014-15 NHL season and were all but guaranteed to go first and second, respectively. But what makes this class truly remarkable is that they weren’t even the tip of the iceberg.
Mitch Marner, Mikko Rantanen, Mathew Barzal, Kyle Connor, Thomas Chabot and Brock Boeser were just a few of the other names that had teams with lower first-round picks chomping at the bit. Of the 30 players selected in the first round of that draft, two have already won a Stanley Cup championship and 12 have become NHL All-Stars. It’s only been eight years but the class of 2015 is already considered one of the best ever and it’s easy to see why.
And thanks to their rebuilding efforts that had begun a few years previous, the Sabres entered that year’s draft sitting in the catbird seat.
Sabres Loaded Up Ahead of 2015 Draft
The Sabres endured back-to-back seasons of tumult in 2013-14 and 2014-15 as they finished last in the NHL in both years. It stretched their fans’ patience to never-before-seen lengths but a silver lining emerged. Beginning in the fall of 2013, the team began to clear house and traded away two longtime stars, Thomas Vanek and Ryan Miller, to stock up for the future. Both deals brought back sizeable returns that included a 2015 first-round pick, making it evident that they were looking towards the draft.
In addition to the wretched play on the ice, the Sabres’ 2014-15 season was mired in controversy. Though they weren’t going to contend for a championship either way, the team was accused of throwing the season in order to have a shot at winning what The Buffalo News dubbed the “McEichel Derby” (from ‘The McEichel Derby: It may be a two-team race as Oilers pull out OT win over Flyers while Sabres, Coyotes lose again,’ The Buffalo News, 3/22/2015). This was especially evident on March 26, 2015, when the Buffalo crowd cheered raucously after the Arizona Coyotes scored in overtime, giving the Sabres further padding in the apparent race for last place.
Whether or not Buffalo tanked that season depends on whom you ask, but the Sabres did indeed finish in last place and were guaranteed one of the top two picks at the draft. Fans wanted McDavid and he appeared to be within their grasp, but a shock came when the Edmonton Oilers won the 2015 Draft Lottery and moved up from the third to first pick. It caused no shortage of controversy and outrage in Buffalo and the NHL alike, but that’s a discussion for another time.
Sabres fans were not pleased with the results, but Eichel was a prize in his own right and helped lessen their disappointment. They had stuck it out through two atrocious seasons and the 2015 Draft was the long-awaited pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Or at least it was supposed to be.
Murray Sells The Farm
Tim Murray served as the Sabres’ GM from only 2014 to 2017 but in retrospect, it’s remarkable that he even lasted that long. Notorious for his no-nonsense, my way or the highway style that led to very poor relationships with his coaches and fellow executives, he was at the helm for one of the most important days in Sabres history. Knowing what we know now, he shouldn’t have been allowed anywhere near it.
Murray is chiefly identified as the architect behind the Sabres’ purported tanking and there’s an argument to be had that he’s the worst GM in Sabres history. The biggest reason being how he wasted an embarrassment of riches that was gathered before and during his tenure. He did make a few trades that stacked up assets for Buffalo, but he then threw those assets away in a number of absurd trades designed to rush the team’s ongoing rebuild. The first came in Feb. 2015 with the Winnipeg Jets. Buffalo received Evander Kane and Zach Bogosian in exchange for Drew Stafford, Tyler Myers, Joel Armia, Brendan Lemieux and a 2015 first-round pick (you read that correctly).
It was a trade that boggles the mind to this day but it wasn’t cause for concern at the time as Buffalo still had two first-rounders available as draft day arrived. But then, on the morning of the draft, another move was made. The Sabres sent a first-round pick to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Robin Lehner and David Legwand, another deal that didn’t exactly seem proportionate at the time.
Instead of keeping their three first-round picks in what was a veritable goldmine of young talent, Murray decided to go all in on turning the team around immediately, and as we know now, it backfired. The trades in which those picks were given away largely didn’t work (for a myriad of reasons) and only added to the team’s issues. But rather than focus on that part, let’s explore what might have been.
Buffalo’s 2015 Draft Class That Never Was
In addition to their own second overall pick in 2015, the Sabres also owned the 21st pick (acquired from the New York Islanders in exchange for Vanek) and the 25th pick (acquired from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Miller). Had he been patient, Murray could have used the two picks to move up on draft day to select another big name to complement Eichel. Standout playmakers like Marner and Rantanen or speedsters like Barzal and Connor could have been easily attainable if so.
But disregarding trades entirely, Murray still would have had options with both of his additional picks, even though a majority of the big-name talent was off the board by that point. At the 21st pick, which Ottawa used to take Colin White, two future big-name stars were still available. The intelligent and accurate Boeser and the small but gritty Travis Konecny were taken afterwards.
Both went on to become NHL All-Stars and could have helped give the Sabres forward depth that they badly needed at the time. Goaltender Ilya Samsonov was also available and wouldn’t have been an immediate solution to their goaltending issues, but could have been developed into a valuable piece.
At the 26th pick, which Winnipeg used to take Jack Roslovic, solid choices still remained. Anthony Beauvillier, who became an integral part of the Islanders’ revival, was available. Additionally, Sebastian Aho and Kirill Kaprizov, the draft’s two biggest steals, were not taken until the second and fifth rounds, respectively.
An Opportunity Missed Is An Opportunity Lost
The Sabres could have walked away from the 2015 Draft with one of their best classes in team history. But instead, apart from the drafting of Eichel, they had very little to show for it. It’s true that hindsight is always 20/20 and there’s no telling what would have happened had things gone differently, but it would be tough to argue that they did not waste a colossal chance here. To be fair to Murray, he did help make up for it by brokering an impressive deal that brought Ryan O’Reilly to Buffalo during the draft, but that was about as good as it got.
The trades that gave up the two other first-rounders did not work out, and instead of making the Sabres instant contenders, only led to more futility and frustration. It should come as no surprise that Murray was fired after the 2016-17 season when it became evident that his plan did not work. Unfortunately, the team spent many years afterwards paying for his mistakes.
Related: Buffalo Sabres’ Best Draft Steals
Entering the 2023 Draft, the Sabres will have the 13th overall selection, their lowest since 2012, after narrowly missing the playoffs this year. It took time, but current GM Kevyn Adams has gotten the Sabres back on track since he took over in 2020. Still, he has his work cut out for him and he’ll need to choose wisely to keep Buffalo’s upward trend going. If he chooses to look to the past for inspiration, let’s hope he skips over the Murray regime.
