It’s been a rough couple of years for the Buffalo Sabres. After three consecutive years without a playoff appearance, even the most die-hard fan struggles to remember a franchise only five years removed from a Northeast Division title.

The face of the franchise, Ryan Miller was shipped out of town last spring as the Sabres officially surrendered their season. With another top five draft pick awarded as the equivalent of a participation ribbon, the Sabres entered the off-season poised for……. Well?

There were whispers of unrest in the Buffalo front office as icon Pat Lafontaine politely excused himself from the 2013-14 dumpster fire. Ted Nolan was brought back to man the bench and a call was made to slinky-backed Dominik Hasek to restore the glory.

While I’m only half-kidding about Hasek, the Sabres couldn’t really have done worse in goal last year. There was hardly any reason to carry any optimism into the next season, save for the possibility of winning the right to draft Connor McDavid next summer.

Then a funny thing happened, the Sabres started making moves. Started signing players. And not just garbage players, actual really good NHL players. Brian Gionta, Matt Moulson, Josh Gorges, Andrej Meszaros and Cody McCormick put their signature on Buffalo contracts after July 1st and the “Presto!” the Sabres can count themselves relevant again.

It’s not as if the Sabres were a talentless-lost cause. They return Tyler Ennis, Cody Hodgson and Tyler Myers, three of only four players returning on multi-year deals that aren’t considered entry level.  This is great news for a city that loves their sports teams.

Immediately the Sabres go from having one and a half solid lines to three above average lines. The emergence of youngsters Zemgus Girgensons, Mikhail Grigorenko and Nikita Zadorov can be tempered with less urgency, though Girgensons showed that he is ready for the big time.

Veteran leadership can never be overstated enough, and it’s particularly impressive that the Sabres were able to pry the former Montreal captain (Gionta) back to his home team. The addition of the five veterans over 30 will give the Sabres locker room the balance and leadership that it sorely lacked over the past few seasons.

Don’t pencil the Sabres in for a sustained Stanley Cup run next summer, but don’t be surprised if the five new veterans and Nolan can change the losing culture in upstate New York. At the price of missing out on McDavid, the Sabres can once again hold their collective chin up when NHL hockey returns.

Those yellow jerseys though, that’s another story.