Much of the drought coincides with the arrival of Terry and Kim Pegula, who bought the Sabres in February 2011, followed by the NFL's Bills in 2014. Despite various approaches — free-agent spending, bottoming out and youth movements — undertaken by four GMs, the Pegulas have little in return but a team that was losing millions before the pandemic.

The franchise ranked eighth in the NHL with an average attendance of 18,690 in 2006-07, the last time Buffalo won a playoff round.