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  • Greg Wyshynski, ESPNJan 2, 2025, 07:30 AM ET

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      Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.

The Winter Classic has been the NHL’s signature outdoor event since 2008, when the Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres played through picturesque snow and launched an institution.

The St. Louis Blues’ 6-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks at Wrigley Field marked the 16th edition of the Winter Classic. Even when returning to previously used venues, the Classic continues to grow and change every season. Each game has its signature virtues — and in some cases, unique drawbacks.

Here’s a subjective ranking of the Classics and their relative greatness. We’ve assigned a score of 1 to 10 in four categories for each outdoor game:

  • Environment, which covers the novelty of the venue and the elements that challenged teams during the game

  • Hype, which covers the buzz leading up to the Winter Classic, as well as the allure of the teams involved

  • The Game itself, and whether it was competitive, boring or rendered unwatchable by the conditions

  • Style, as we consider how good the teams looked in their Winter Classic gear

Here is our ranking of the 16 Winter Classic events:

Environment: 7
Hype: 4
Game: 2
Style: 5

The NHL’s outdoor games can be split up into two eras: The one before Steve Mayer arrived as Chief Content Officer in 2015 and everything after it. He’s the one that helped bring the fun for these outdoor games, with quirky aesthetics, a real sense of staging and a boldness in scope.

The first Wrigley game in 2009 predated Mayer — and, frankly, the NHL’s cracking of the outdoor game code in general — so it was exciting to see what a return trip would yield. They leaned into the brick wall and ivy motif around the rink, and thus the friendly confines looked great. Alas, the weather didn’t always cooperate, with rain early in the game — though not enough to delay things.

There’s one fatal flaw to the 2025 Winter Classic: The Blackhawks were in no way worthy of the stage they were given, despite the presence of second-year star Connor Bedard. Mired in a rebuild, in a season that already saw them change coaches, the Blackhawks entered Wrigley in last place overall in the NHL. Their .351 points percentage at the time made them statistically the worst team ever featured in the Winter Classic, worse than the Buffalo Sabres‘ .368 points percentage for the Citi Field game.

To the surprise of no one, the Blues rolled to victory in this one, taking a 1-0 lead just 1:10 into the game and never looking back. But hey, at least there was a good center ice scrap between the captains, as Brayden Schenn asked Nick Foligno to drop the mitts and he obliged:

The Blues’ jersey was the bigger stylistic departure of the two, although incredibly this was the first time the Blackhawks wore red as their primary color in an outdoor game. Both looked good on the ice. The team’s walk-in outfits were drab bummers, but at least Chicago honored first responders with theirs and took the train to the game in a nice touch.

As far as hype goes, the move from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31 might have caught some fans off guard, as the NHL avoided the first New Year’s Day set of games of the new college football playoff.

Environment: 4
Hype: 2
Game: 4
Style: 10

It didn’t rain. Oh, the NHL was prepared if Seattle lived up to its reputation, what with T-Mobile Park having a retractable roof. But it stayed open and the game was played in crisp, 44-degree weather.

In some ways, putting the NHL’s two newest franchises in a Winter Classic together made sense. Like many other matchups, they’re division rivals and the Golden Knights had the gravitas of having already won the Stanley Cup. But whether it was the newness of the teams or the lack of interesting venue, the game just didn’t not connect with fans, earning the lowest ever U.S. television ratings for a Winter Classic (1.1 million viewers).

It didn’t help that the game was a dud: Joey Daccord recorded the only shutout in Winter Classic history, 3-0 over Vegas. OK, a dud for the Golden Knights and for those tuning in for outdoor game offensive pyrotechnics, but pretty cool for Joey Daccord, who had at least one highlight reel save on Jack Eichel.

Speaking of highlights: The saving graces for the 2024 Winter Classic were the fashion and the fish.

Since neither team had their own history of sweaters to draw on, they got creative: The Kraken’s Winter Classic sweaters are inspired by the jerseys the Seattle Metropolitans wore in 1917 when they became the first U.S.-based team to win the Stanley Cup, while Vegas used the negative space ‘V’ in their logo as the basis for their jerseys. Both looked absolutely outstanding in the ice.

Also outstanding — although predictable — were the teams’ walk-in costumes. The Golden Knights came dressed as a Elvises (Elvi?). The Kraken were dresses as fishmongers. That was the precursor to perhaps the game’s most memorable moment: When Seattle strode to the rink under a “canopy” of tossed fish, inspired by Pike Place Market.

It all ended up being a worthy swing for the NHL.

Environment: 4
Hype: 7
Game: 2
Style: 8

After pulling Chicago and Washington out of a hat for the 2015 edition, the NHL course-corrected back to an Original Six rivalry. The fans ate it up: 67,000 tickets were sold for the Winter Classic, and there were 42,000 in the house for the alumni game held the same weekend in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

The teams looked tremendous: Boston rocked a black-and-gold version of its 1924 inaugural season sweaters, while the Habs wore striking white jerseys inspired by that year as well — including a globe on the sleeves, which was actually the primary logo on those 1924-25 jerseys.

But the game … well, at least the Bruins got a participation ribbon. With backup goalie and Massachusetts native Mike Condon in net, the Canadiens built a 3-0 lead by the 17:20 mark of the second period and controlled the game in a way that would have made Bill Belichick squint in approval.

At an unremarkable venue with unremarkable weather, and with a Canadian market in an unremarkable game, this was the lowest-rated Winter Classic to date in the U.S. The weekend would also be remembered for heartbreaking reasons: Denna Laing, playing for the Boston Pride in the first Outdoor Women’s Classic, suffered a significant spinal cord injury in a collision with the boards on the eve of the Winter Classic and was stretchered off the ice. To this day, she continues to rehabilitate from that injury. Laing said in a Dec. 2024 Instagram post that she’s “made strides in my recovery.”

Environment: 6
Hype: 5
Game: 5
Style: 7

The Blackhawks had reached the perfunctory stage of their overexposure as an outdoor game foil. In this event, they were like a team of jobbers hired to make the crowd favorites look good, getting dominated for the last 40 minutes of the game.

This was all about St. Louis. It gave us an alumni game that featured Wayne Gretzky, Brett Hull and Martin Brodeur on the same team. It gave us perhaps the best Blues jerseys ever created — counterbalanced by another pedestrian Chicago sweater. And it officially started the Nelly renaissance years before he landed on “Dancing With The Stars.”

But the NHL hurt the game’s buzz with its scheduling, putting the Maple Leafs and Red Wings in an outdoor game in Toronto on Jan. 1 — and a good one at that — before playing this game on Jan. 2. The league wanted the Classic on a Monday to avoid Week 17 of the NFL schedule; it ended up pushing a game that was already struggling for hype into obscurity.

Environment: 5
Hype: 3
Game: 9
Style: 7

After years of pitting geographic and traditional rivals against each other, the NHL made the truly bizarre choice to pit teams from opposite conferences with no discernible association in its marquee event.

The result was a game seen by few people outside the D.C. area — the 3.47 million viewers in the U.S. were, at the time, the event’s smallest audience — which is a shame because it was one of the most exciting Winter Classics in history.

The Capitals took a 2-0 lead, and the Blackhawks rallied to tie before the third period. Troy Brouwer, who won a Stanley Cup with Chicago, scored the winning power-play goal with 13 seconds left in regulation to send a partisan crowd of nearly 43,000 fans into a frenzy.

The 40 degrees and sunny weather didn’t make for the best conditions for a hockey game, but the Nationals’ ballpark made for a gorgeous backdrop — including a replica of the Capitol and the reflecting pool near the rink.

The Blackhawks weren’t even trying to create anything interesting fashion-wise for yet another outdoor game appearance, basically wearing their normal road white sweaters. But the Capitals’ deep red jerseys — with a crest that evoked both the D.C. flag and the Washington Monument — were dope.

Plus, this was perhaps the only event in human history to have both Billy Idol and Lee Greenwood perform.

Environment: 8
Hype: 4
Game: 6
Style: 7

If there’s going to be a Winter Classic held in Minnesota, then by rights it should be the coldest on record. The 2022 game unlocked that achievement with a gametime temperature of minus-5.7 degrees Fahrenheit, putting the “winter” back in the Classic after the previous edition’s foray to Texas. The warmth of the sun had no home here — the game was held at night, too.

The Blues memorably rejected that climate by hilariously sporting beachwear as their walk-in fit, including Jake Walman wearing only a Winter Classic scarf around his bare chest while walking in sandals. Their fashion choice helped offset one of the worst jerseys in the Classic series: The Wild’s 1930s throwback that read “MPLS. St. Paul” and looked like a wrapped piece of candy your grandmother puts out for Christmas.

The game at Target Field was supposed to happen in 2021 but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The wait was worth it for the aesthetics: While the 12-year-old Target Field didn’t have the gravitas of other Classic venues, the combination of nature and pod hockey rinks on the field gave it instant “winter wonderland” character — along with those aforementioned sub-zero temps.

The game featured a four-point night from Jordan Kyrou, which was an outdoor game record, but the Blues blew the game open with five second-period goals. Not the most competitive night, but not the worst game either.

Environment: 5
Hype: 6
Game: 9
Style: 6

We have to admit to some recency bias in overpraising this game in Jan. 2018. The 10th anniversary edition of the Winter Classic was held at a venue that had capacity but not personality, even though the weather came through with freezing temperatures at game time. The most memorable things about Citi Field were the giant shadows it cast on the ice for the first period.

Also, the Rangers’ jerseys get a downgrade from our previous evaluation. Yes, they evoked the color scheme of the “Liberty Head” jerseys that were among the best in the NHL in the past 30 years. But as The Tennessean wrote in its Winter Classic jersey countdown, putting the Rangers second to last: “the 1926-inspired font looks more like something that’d be slapped on a roller hockey jersey.”

The Sabres wore classic white jerseys for the game, which brings us to another oddity about this event: Buffalo, located close to 375 miles from New York City, was the home team at this game. Much like the New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders were home teams at Yankee Stadium, the Sabres “hosted” the Rangers because the Blueshirts aren’t allowed to play a home game outside of Madison Square Garden due to tax exemption reasons.

All that said, the game was great: The Rangers took a 2-0 lead in the first period, and the Sabres rallied with goals in the second and third. For the first time since 2014, the game went to overtime, where J.T. Miller ended it for the Rangers.

After a couple of duds, a cool return to form for the Classic on a frigid New York day.

Environment: 7
Hype: 6
Game: 7
Style: 7

The Steve Mayer effect was evident in Boston, as there were clear differences between the 2010 Fenway Classic and the 2023 edition. There was the “first pitch with a puck” featuring Bobby Orr and Red Sox great Jason Varitek. He also moved the rink parallel to the Green Monster in left field, which meant that Fenway Park’s most unique seats were also arguably the best seats in the house for the NHL outdoor game, with glorious center ice views.

That said, the hype was hindered by being the first repeat venue for the Classic. But not the last.

The Penguins and Bruins got into the spirit by walking into Fenway in full Pirates and Red Sox throwback uniforms, respectively. Penguins goalie Casey DeSmith, who would take over for an injured Tristan Jarry in the game, even put on catcher’s gear.

(The jerseys for the event were of varying degrees of quality. Neither one compares favorably to ones these teams wore in previous outdoor games, however.)

The game lacked the offensive fireworks of other Winter Classics. For better or worse, it was one of the most “real” games played between two conference rivals. The Bruins pulled out the win with two third-period goals by Jake DeBrusk, an exhilarating comeback to send Boston fans home happy.

Environment: 4
Hype: 10
Game: 4
Style: 9

The hype for this game was off the charts: two blood-rival teams, and the NHL’s two biggest stars in Sidney Crosby vs. Alex Ovechkin. Plus, the Penguins and Capitals were featured on the first season of HBO’s “24/7” series dedicated to the Winter Classic, which remains the season by which all other NHL reality shows are judged. (We’ll always remember you, sauce-faced, profanity-laced Bruce Boudreau.)

Alas, the hype was not met, either in quality of play or in venue aesthetics.

The 2011 Winter Classic will be remembered for two reasons. First, for having an 8 p.m. start time thanks to concerns about rain. At first, “under the lights” seemed cool, until one realized it killed much of the charm of the event. But hey, at least the teams looked good: Capitals throwbacks vs. Penguins dark blue alternates, featuring a penguin with a scarf on the logo.

Second, and more than somewhat related: It will be remembered for the injury Crosby suffered in a collision with Dave Steckel of the Capitals, which contributed to his missing most of 2011 with concussion-like symptoms.

When it came to this Winter Classic, getting there was all the fun.

Environment: 7
Hype: 7
Game: 8
Style: 7

The NHL returned to a college venue for the first time since 2014.

The upside was bringing hockey to an iconic venue, getting the chance to use Fighting Irish iconography around the rink and on briskly selling gear. The downside of using Notre Dame was that it meant the sixth outdoor game appearance for the Blackhawks, who held their training camps at the campus. (The Bruins were an obvious opponent, as anything in America even tangentially Irish must include either Notre Dame or the city of Boston.)

The venue looked great, but the game didn’t have the luck of the Irish, from running out of food and beer to the school’s leprechaun biting it at center ice.

Boston’s jerseys were a combination of different throwback looks and continued the Bruins’ trend of fine-looking sweaters. Alas, the Blackhawks chose to wear a jersey that looked like a photo negative and had more stripes than a referee training camp.

All that said, the game itself was one of the better ones, as the teams traded goals for two periods before Sean Kuraly scored at 10:20 of the third period to put Boston ahead for good. Tuukka Rask made 36 saves.

Also of note: Weezer performed its cover of “Africa” by Toto between periods. We’re still not sure how to factor that into the overall scoring. Perhaps it defies classification.

Environment: 8
Hype: 8
Game: 7
Style: 7

This game was notable for its firsts. Like the first overtime-winning goal in Classic history, scored by the Bruins’ Marco Sturm at 1:57, which followed Mark Recchi‘s tying goal late in the third period. For the first time in three Winter Classics, the home team won, and in dramatic fashion. Danny Syvret scored his first NHL goal in his first outdoor game. And, of course, the first fight in Winter Classic history occurred, between Shawn Thornton and Dan Carcillo, though one could not have expected anything else from the Flyers and Bruins.

Fenway was a great venue … in theory. There were awkward sightlines and seats that made it feel like you were watching the game from Plymouth.

Adding to the hype was that the 2010 U.S. Olympic roster was announced during the event. Detracting from the hype was that the NHL had just done a game in a historic baseball stadium — and a more entertaining game at that.

Environment: 9
Hype: 6
Game: 9
Style: 8

Forever remembered as the event that married NHL hockey with pig races.

The aesthetics at this game were among the best for any NHL outdoor event. The area around the rink had everything from giant cowboy boots to a square-dancing floor to a mechanical bull to the aforementioned sprinting swine, with hockey-centric names like Andrew “Hog-liano” and “Pork-a” Rinne. Outside was a Texas state fair-type midway complete with food and rides.

The game looked great, especially with the Stars’ victory green jerseys with “leather gloves.” The game sounded great, with 85,630 fans in attendance — second-most ever for a Winter Classic — and Dan + Shay playing during intermission.

The game actually was great, with the Stars rallying from a 2-1 deficit with four straight goals, three of them in the third period. Plus, drama: Stars forward Corey Perry received a five-minute major and a game misconduct for elbowing Predators defenseman Ryan Ellis in the head at 2:44 into the first period. Perry would earn a five-game suspension, which paled in comparison to the embarrassment he felt taking the world’s longest walk of shame.

Alas, there wasn’t much hype for these two divisional opponents. Fans had been conditioned to expect Original Six teams and glamour franchises in this event. Despite the venue and a terrific game, the Cotton Bowl classic was the lowest-rated Winter Classic to that point, and the first to draw under 2 million viewers.

Environment: 7
Hype: 9
Game: 9
Style: 8

Citizens Bank Park was less than a decade old when it hosted the Winter Classic. The weather was even less iconic: 45 degrees, with the game delayed due to sun glare before it was played through spotty drizzle. The Flyers had just appeared in the Classic two years earlier, so there wasn’t much novelty there, either.

Despite all that, few Classics can match the fun factor of this one, both in the lead-up to the event and the game itself.

The hype started with HBO’s “24/7,” which introduced us to the cosmic meanderings of Flyers goalie Ilya Bryzgalov and the snarly puppy dog that was Rangers coach John Tortorella. Then there was the alumni game that saw Eric Lindros make an emotional return to the Flyers organization. And there was controversy: In a surprise move, Bryzgalov sat for the Classic in favor of 23-year-old Sergei Bobrovsky.

The game itself was one of the best-played Classics from the second period on, right down to the Daniel Briere penalty shot that was stopped by Henrik Lundqvist with 19.6 seconds remaining to preserve the Rangers’ win — a penalty Tortorella claimed was part of an NBC conspiracy to extend the game into overtime, an accusation that earned him a hefty fine from the NHL.

Two compelling, rival teams filled with big personalities. It lacked the legendary status of the top three but certainly made up for it with the fun factor.

Environment: 9
Hype: 9
Game: 6
Style: 10

The first Winter Classic to stick a hockey rink inside a mythic sports venue. The second Winter Classic introduced some enduring concepts, like the NHL holding an outdoor fan fest, adding its own aesthetics — in this case, fake ivy on the outfield walls — and most of all, having the Blackhawks involved in an outdoor game.

It also saw the NHL adopt local traditions into its Winter Classic motif: Witness Cubs legend Ryne Sandberg joining Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita and Denis Savard to sing a variation on “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” with a few word changes to reference hockey.

Nearly 41,000 fans crowded Wrigley, and even more watched from rooftops across the street, as the Blackhawks and Red Wings put on an offensive show. The Blackhawks built a 3-1 lead by the end of the first period, and the Red Wings roared back with five straight goals to build a 6-3 lead at 3:24 of the third.

These teams looked incredible, too. The Red Wings’ “big D” jerseys are some of the best in Classic history, while the Blackhawks’ horizontal stripe sweaters were the most memorable they have worn in an outdoor game.

Alas, the temperature wasn’t much colder than it is for a Cubs game in April. Despite NBC broadcaster Pierre McGuire’s comments about “wind-assisted goals,” it wasn’t all that much of a factor at the Wrigley game.

Overall, the game itself was the most underwhelming part of the Winter Classic, which is a shame: The Red Wings were the defending Stanley Cup champions, their archrivals from Chicago were quickly ascending to challenge their throne. You almost felt cheated not seeing these two battle it out in a vacuum in an arena instead of inside of a baseball stadium.

Environment: 10
Hype: 10
Game: 6
Style: 8

The greatest praise that can be given to the first Winter Classic is that our vivid, happy memories of the snow globe in Buffalo have plastered over all those lengthy Zamboni appearances and ice-repair delays.

Oh, but those memories. Those 71,217 frozen puckheads, some of them shirtless, watching baby blue Penguins jerseys peek out through the steadily falling snow. Seeing players battle those elements, skating through clouds of their own breath in the frigid air. In the end, seeing Sidney Crosby win the game in the shootout with the flurries falling, as if Gary Bettman himself had scripted it.

The hype for the game was off the charts. It was an instant signature television event, even if a good portion of the massive viewing audience — the game garnered the highest ratings for a regular-season NHL game since 1996 — was just tuning in to see if the NHL could build a rink in a football stadium in seven days and actually pull this event off.

It’s the “Iron Man” of NHL stadium events: If it was unwatchable and failed to connect with the fans, then the NHL Outdoor Game Universe might have never launched. But while this was the first Classic, it wasn’t the best.

Environment: 10
Hype: 10
Game: 8
Style: 9

This was a special kind of cold. The seat cushions handed to the 105,491 hockey fans at the Big House — an NHL record — could barely protect their posteriors from the numbing metal benches. The balls inside the linesmen’s whistles froze in place during the game. Snow fell, winds whipped. It was truly hockey vs. the elements that day in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

All of it helped create a legendary environment for the outdoor game. So did the split loyalties in the crowd, which was dotted with blue Maple Leafs jerseys and contrasting with Red Wings jerseys. On the ice, the teams’ throwback jerseys — both wore full-color uniforms — were among the best looking in the event’s history.

Impossible as it might seem, the game was actually good! Jonathan Bernier saw 43 Red Wings shots sail his way, and Detroit needed a late third-period goal to force overtime. Toronto won in a shootout on a Tyler Bozak tally, sending tens of thousands back over the border happy.

An entertaining game, in many ways, is the cherry on top for a Winter Classic. There are other aspects more central to the event’s success. Like having a compelling matchup, challenging winter conditions and a memorable venue with a personality of its own. But a great Winter Classic should also be a celebration of hockey: To that end, the Leafs and Wings played an alumni game doubleheader at Comerica Park in Detroit because they had so many darn great players who wanted in, and so many fans who wanted to watch them.

The Winter Classic at the Big House satisfied all these obligations. Which is why it’s the classic among Classics.

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Clemson fires DC Goodwin after struggles vs. run

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January 6, 2025

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Clemson fires DC Goodwin after struggles vs. run

  • Andrea Adelson, ESPN Senior WriterJan 6, 2025, 09:49 AM ET

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    • ACC reporter.
    • Joined ESPN.com in 2010.
    • Graduate of the University of Florida.

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney has fired defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin, he announced Monday.

The Tigers’ defense — particularly against the run — took a significant step back in the third season under Goodwin. Clemson allowed an average of 160.6 rushing yards per game — its worst performance since 2011. That includes 292 yards rushing allowed in a 38-24 loss to Texas in a College Football Playoff first-round game last month.

Goodwin was promoted from within in 2022 to replace Brent Venables, who left to become head coach at Oklahoma. In 2021, the last season under Venables, Clemson ranked No. 7 in the country in rush defense (96.3 yards per game) and No. 8 in total defense (310.2 yards per game).

Swinney said he met with Goodwin on Sunday night to inform him of the decision.

“Wes has been a part of our program for 13 of the past 16 years, and he played an instrumental part in all of our success,” Swinney said in a statement. “I love Wes and his family and wish him all the best as he continues his journey. I know he has a bright future ahead.”

Swinney said he hopes to have a new defensive coordinator in place by the end of the month “or sooner.”

“Our staff has been hard at work on our roster, and we look forward to solidifying our defensive coordinator position to help lead this extremely talented group as we pursue our goals for 2025,” Swinney said.

Clemson returns the bulk of its playoff team — including defensive starters T.J. Parker, Peter Woods, Wade Woodaz and Avieon Terrell. The offense looks ready to make another major leap with Cade Klubnik and receivers Bryant Wesco, Antonio Williams and T.J. Moore all returning — making it an absolute priority to get the defense fixed.

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Can the Sabres salvage their season? What must happen to get back in playoff mix

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January 6, 2025

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Can the Sabres salvage their season? What must happen to get back in playoff mix

  • Kristen Shilton, ESPN NHL reporterJan 6, 2025, 07:00 AM ET

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      Kristen Shilton is a national NHL reporter for ESPN.

The Buffalo Sabres didn’t get that “New Year, New Me” memo. And that’s putting it nicely.

Buffalo spent much of 2024 struggling to gather any positive momentum — and its first outing of 2025 remained painfully on brand. The Sabres held three multi-goal leads over the host Colorado Avalanche last week, only to blow each one — including a 5-3 advantage that evaporated when the tying goal was scored with eight seconds left in regulation. Buffalo’s final fate felt determined well before Devon Toews called game with a breakaway goal in overtime to send the dejected Sabres on their way again.

For an encore, Buffalo turned in an inevitably listless performance against the Vegas Golden Knights two nights later. The promised refresh of a new year disappeared for the Sabres, along with another two points.

This isn’t how Buffalo’s season was supposed to go. It’s also not the first time in (very) recent years we’ve said that about the Sabres.

The hockey world has been waiting on Buffalo to snap its 13-year playoff drought (longest among the four major sports leagues) with practically the same mindset that fans have for Alex Ovechkin‘s chase to overtake Wayne Gretzky’s scoring record — it’s got to happen eventually, right?

Ovi’s accomplishment is increasingly within reach. But Buffalo’s chances of being back in the postseason picture? Those odds seem only to worsen.

The Sabres are eighth in the Atlantic Division, with a 14-21-5 record. A cringeworthy 13-game winless streak made up a majority of the club’s December and, as noted, the Sabres have started slowly in January.

That’s not to say Buffalo hasn’t had its moments, with flashes of a team better than its woeful record. But sustaining success can be as great a challenge for the Sabres as creating it.

Which leads us to the big question: How can Buffalo salvage its season? The Sabres have burgeoning stars on their bench, exciting prospects ready to contribute soon, plus a veteran coach with a history of winning.

So what are the flaws being repeatedly exposed — and can the Sabres fix them without sliding back into another difficult rebuild?

IT’S NOT THE PALM TREES in Florida that attract NHL players. It’s the chance to win. And Buffalo hasn’t proven (yet) that it can offer that same chance.

Still, when Sabres GM Kevyn Adams met the media in early December, he lamented how Buffalo was “not a destination city right now,” with high taxes and a lack of tropical foliage not attracting free agents. Yet, is a lack of talent really at the core of Buffalo’s ills?

Tage Thompson is a point-per-game player. Alex Tuch has thrived since returning to Western New York as part of the Jack Eichel trade. JJ Peterka is growing into a better player each game. And Jason Zucker — a free agent signee last summer — is overachieving in one of his better seasons. The Sabres have a back end loaded with high draft picks, including captain Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, and Bowen Byram. And Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has exceeded expectations in net throughout Buffalo’s myriad struggles this season.

Ability? The Sabres arguably have enough of it to be a playoff contender — or at least to avoid becoming the league’s 29th-place team and Eastern Conference basement dweller.

Since the Sabres’ aforementioned pre-Christmas skid, there have been repeated calls for Adam’s firing, placing blame on Buffalo’s GM for poor roster construction. Adams didn’t make any major changes over the summer — save for signing Zucker — but that decision to stand pat could be coming from ownership.

When Adams maintained in his December news conference that he “believe[s] in the people in this room … I’m going to war with these guys,” it echoed a message from Sabres owner Terry Pegula to the team prior to its game Dec. 17 — the solution for Buffalo was already in the room.

The Sabres responded to that vote of confidence by losing 6-1 to the lottery-bound Montreal Canadiens. To this point, even the ugliest defeats haven’t cost Adams the gig he took over from Jason Botterill in 2020. Yet, Buffalo holds its lowest points percentage since Adams was hired, a fitting bookend to his tenure with the franchise if the team decides to move on.

But It’s not like Adams hasn’t tried to make Buffalo better. He has churned through three head coaches — most recently bringing back veteran Lindy Ruff — traded former captain Eichel for a solid return, and worked the phones to add impact players such as Byram.

The problem is that Adams’ moves aren’t moving the needle. Yes, Buffalo came close to reaching the playoffs with a late-season surge in 2022-23, but close isn’t good enough. Fresh eyes in management could end the Sabres’ spell of stagnation — or it could plummet them into a dreaded rebuilding mode.

What could be the difference there?

Trades. Immediate trades.

APPARENTLY, PEGULA’S PREVIOUS MESSAGE landed on deaf ears.

That doesn’t mean Buffalo’s higher-ups can’t send another to their group with a well-timed, well-executed trade (or two).

There are tiers of potential trade candidates for Buffalo. Pending unrestricted free agents such as Zucker, Nicolas Aube-Kubel or Jordan Greenway could be flipped for a new player. That’s the Sabres’ safe option, though.

If Buffalo is serious about turning things around quickly, then players such as Power, Dylan Cozens and even Byram start bubbling up. All three young skaters have ample runway into the perceived prime of their careers — something Buffalo wouldn’t want to trade away, but could potentially leverage for players better positioned to help the Sabres win now.

Buffalo needs secondary scoring help. Only four skaters — Thompson, Zucker, Tuch and Peterka — have double-digital goals this season, and only Thompson and Zucker have passed the 30-point mark. The Sabres are averaging over three goals per game (13th in the league), but a pitiful power play (17.4%, 25th overall) has been a detriment. Buffalo is also 26th in generating shots on net (averaging 27.1) and too often, its attack falls flat.

Addressing those issues could give the Sabres’ season a second life, and extend Adam’s stay with the organization. Pending positive results, of course.

It would also behoove the Sabres to start seeing more from some of their purported top-tier players such as Zach Benson (drafted 13th in 2023), Jack Quinn (selected eighth in 2020) and especially Cozens.

Buffalo could be criticized for putting too much pressure on such young players (Benson is 19, Quinn and Cozens are 23). But if the Sabres expect to salvage the second half of this season (and beyond), those core pieces can’t continue underperforming.

Quinn has 14 points in 33 games and is minus-14. Benson has just 13 points in 34 games. And Cozens — in the second season of a seven-year contract worth $7.1 million per year — has only eight goals and 20 points in 40 games. Would Buffalo regret giving up on Cozens at this stage when he hasn’t reached his potential? Or is that pliability what might make Cozens a desirable player elsewhere?

It’s a combination of things that should drive Buffalo’s decision-making. Dipping into the team’s prospect pool for trade options isn’t off the table, but might not support the Sabres’ long-term ambitions. Adams sending Casey Mittelstadt to Colorado for Byram last March was a solid move given how Byram has evolved on Buffalo’s blue line. Byram is also a pending restricted free agent, and the Sabres have been built to hold four left-shot defenders under age 25 on their top two pairings (meaning guys on their not-ideal “off” sides).

Then there’s a question regarding the source of the Sabres’ leadership. Dahlin, 24, is in his first season as the club’s captain, a position previously held by veteran Kyle Okposo. Adams traded Okposo to Florida ahead of last year’s deadline, and tried to shore up the Sabres with older acquisitions such as Zucker, Aube-Kubel, Ryan McLeod and Sam Lafferty. Outside of Zucker — who has been on Buffalo’s top line throughout the season — the Sabres haven’t gotten much from Aube-Kubel and Lafferty (a healthy scratch in that loss to Vegas) in fourth-line roles, and it has impacted the pressure placed on Buffalo’s younger options to bear the brunt of the team’s scoring needs.

All those factors — from age, to experience, to what’s required in the present and future — should be taken into consideration if trades become a reality.

And they have to be. Adams can’t be too attached to anyone in the Sabres’ system, whether he acquired them or not. Buffalo can’t afford to give up on this season either. Even if the postseason is out of reach, the Sabres must try to climb the standings and give themselves a greater chance of pulling in some veteran free agents this offseason — the ones not turned off by a dearth of palm trees.

PERSONNEL CHANGES REMAIN a hypothetical for Buffalo. There must be tangible differences in how the Sabres are playing on a regular basis.

The power play has been a sore spot despite Ruff reentering the fold. He and assistant Seth Appert were supposed to make those units momentum-drivers. Instead, Buffalo has just 19 goals with the extra man — tied for fifth fewest in the NHL — and that’s practically negating its decent scoring (fifth overall) at 5-on-5.

But even when the power play is clicking — as it was against Colorado with two goals — Buffalo’s inability to close out quality teams is limiting. There was a stretch at the end of December, when Buffalo won three straight while outscoring opponents 17-5, that showcased what the Sabres might be at their best.

But those victories came against the New York Islanders, Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues, and those first two clubs are also far outside the playoff mix. A 60-minute effort isn’t something the Sabres deliver as readily when facing a higher-caliber foe.

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Alex Tuch’s hat trick leads Sabres past Blackhawks

Alex Tuch delivers a stellar performance with a hat trick as the Sabres cruise to victory over the Blackhawks.

Ruff was supposed to cultivate a new identity for the Sabres. He should be bringing Adam’s preseason call for “raising the standard” to fruition. But the 64-year-old bench boss is at a repeated loss as to why his teachings aren’t taking hold.

“It’s on me to solve this,” Ruff said after Buffalo’s 5-3 loss to Toronto last month. “This is the toughest solve I’ve been around. It is on me to get these guys in the right place to win a hockey game. And nobody else. Just me.”

That was the Sabres’ 10th loss amid the 13-game slide. Tuch called it “s—ty.” Byram spoke wistfully of a “magic potion” the Sabres could take to get out of their funk. Goaltender Devon Levi credited Ruff with giving Buffalo “a good speech” in the second period — “it touched me and I wanted to go out there and try to win the game” — but intentions couldn’t match actions.

And therein lies a key to the Sabres saving themselves. It’s their will, effort and mental toughness that can determine how the next few months play out. Because even if Adams shakes up the roster, it won’t have the same effect without a buy-in from the guys already on the team.

Adams thought firing former coach Don Granato and bringing back Ruff would show the Sabres their previous lack of success was unacceptable. The Sabres haven’t rallied. Whatever remedy Buffalo needs to succeed remains a mystery — and it can’t for much longer.

What the Sabres can do is stop wasting time. Buffalo has nothing to lose, and that mentality is a luxury when used properly. Why not take the big swing on a trade? Why not inject a little overconfidence into your team? The Sabres should be exhausting every option to figure out not necessarily how but why — from ownership to management to players — they’ve seemingly held themselves back.

A touch of soul-searching might not fix their fortunes this season. But it might start laying the groundwork for a team better equipped to thrive.

That’s where the Sabres might finally find success.

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Branch Bros. commit to Georgia after USC exit

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January 5, 2025

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Branch Bros. commit to Georgia after USC exit

  • Pete Thamel, Senior College Sports InsiderJan 5, 2025, 04:31 PM ET

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      College Football Senior Writer for ESPN. Insider for College Gameday.

Former USC wide receiver Zachariah Branch and safety Zion Branch have committed to Georgia, the brothers told ESPN on Sunday.

The brothers are former top-100 recruits who loom as significant additions for the Bulldogs in 2025. They both have two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Zachariah Branch is the No. 9 overall player and No. 4 wide receiver in ESPN’s transfer portal rankings. He earned first-team All-American honors in 2023 while emerging as one of the most electric players in college football.

“I chose Georgia because I felt like the culture was something special,” Zachariah Branch told ESPN. “They have a great coaching staff, the brotherhood within the program, their will to win, being prepared for the next level and being as successful as possible on and off the field was important to me.”

Zachariah Branch can boost a Georgia receiving room that was beset this season by off-field issues and inconsistent play. Georgia led the country with 36 wide receiver drops, per ESPN Research.

“I see their potential as a contender for the national championship and to defend their SEC title in 2025,” Zachariah Branch said.

He accounted for 1,863 all-purpose yards during his two seasons at USC, including two kicks returned for touchdowns in 2023. As a receiver he caught 78 passes for 823 yards and three touchdowns. He tied for the team lead in receptions this season with 47. He rushed for 87 yards and another touchdown during his two seasons in coach Lincoln Riley’s offense.

Zion Branch played in all 12 games for USC as a redshirt sophomore safety this season, recording 19 tackles, 3 pass breakups and 1 sack in a reserve role. He’s the older of the two brothers and dealt with season-ending injuries in both 2022 and 2023.

“I chose the University of Georgia because of its great coaching staff, their pedigree, and the history of the program,” Zion Branch told ESPN. “Georgia has consistently been one of the best programs in college football, and the culture of excellence they’ve built is something I want to be a part of. The coaches are not just about winning games; they’re about building character, fostering growth and pushing players to be their absolute best both on and off the field.”

The brothers joined the Trojans after starring at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas. Zachariah was the No. 7 overall recruit in the ESPN 300 for 2023, and Zion was No. 76 in 2022.

The Georgia receiving room was full of steady players but with no true standout; nobody finished in the SEC’s top 10 for receiving yards. Senior Arian Smith, who accepted an invitation to the Senior Bowl but still has a season of eligibility left, led the Bulldogs with 817 yards. Receiver/punt returner Anthony Evans III entered the transfer portal, and Dominic Lovett, who is out of eligibility, led the team with 59 catches.

Zachariah Branch offers rare dynamism and downfield speed that will make him a candidate to be Georgia’s top target in 2025. He scored just one touchdown for USC in 2024 after scoring five as a true freshman — two in the return game, two receiving and one rushing.

The brothers see themselves as contributors toward the program’s bigger goals.

“This team is poised to do something truly special — competing for championships and setting a standard of excellence that few can match,” Zion Branch said. “With the talent that’s already there and the elite-level recruits coming in, the future is incredibly bright. I have no doubt Georgia will not only win a lot of games but also continue to lead the nation in innovation and performance on the field.”

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