Repeat after me.
Game 1 of 82. Game 1 of 82. Game 1 of 82.
You can almost hear the voices of Kevyn Adams and Don Granato in your head doing their best to remain GM-ly and coach-y about what will take place Thursday night in KeyBank Center.
That might be what they're selling, and it's fair. That's the point of view they have to take. I'm just not buying it.
A six-month grind opens when the Buffalo Sabres host the Ottawa Senators, and for all the buildup around that game, you better remember the Sabres play Florida here Saturday afternoon, then hit the skies for the Wild West and start a four-game sojourn Tuesday in Edmonton.
The games come fast and furious, but this view says we need to see a lot out of this club on Opening Night.
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Game 1 wouldn't have remotely the significance if it was against, say, Columbus or Minnesota or San Jose or one of the tank outfits like Arizona.
But run out against Ottawa for the opener? These Sabres better be sharp.
If you listen to the hockey media, especially those from north of the border, the Senators won the summer. For whatever that's worth. They traded for Alex DeBrincat and now-injured goalie Cam Talbot and signed Claude Giroux in free agency. They signed budding star center Tim Stutzle to an eight-year, $66.8 million extension that kicks in next year. And they have high-priced talent in Brady Tkachuk, Josh Norris and Thomas Chabot.
The Sabres' 16-9-3 finish, meanwhile, is viewed as an afterthought. As the thinking goes, it was a fluke brought about because they were playing with no pressure and quality teams they were beating (see Maple Leafs, Toronto) were in the teeth-gnashing portion of the schedule trying to pile up every point to improve their playoff position.
Now comes the first game of the new season. Tage Thompson and Mattias Samuelsson have fat new contracts, with extensions that start next season and pay them as core members of the team. Adams has an extension and, on the eve of the opener Wednesday, Granato got a richly-deserved one, as well.
Game on, boys.
"What we don't want to have here is super highs and super lows," Adams said this week. "You have to just kind of calmly every day get up and go about your business and make sure we're growing and we're learning and we're getting better.
"In saying that, it's really fun to have opening night at home against a division team. Every team's on their own path and made decisions as they think makes sense for them. We're not going to measure ourselves against what other teams do. Are their paths what we're going to measure ourselves against? Or are we where we should be right now?"
Adams and Granato know the heavy task they have ahead this season to make any kind of hay in the Atlantic Division. To have a shred of a chance, they're almost surely going to have to finish ahead of Ottawa. Understanding that Marty Biron and Andrew Peters aren't going to be going toe-to-toe with Ray Emery, while Jason Pominville and Daniel Alfredsson are no longer around to torment the other side, this has the makings of a pretty saucy rivalry.
May as well get it rolling right away.
"This room has got something special going on. And it comes from the coaches and the management," Rasmus Dahlin said. "They're doing such a great job. They really know what they're doing. We're going to set set a tone for ourselves. We've got to show ourselves what we're capable of. It's going to be a big game for us to really set our identity early."
Adams and Granato are the duo entrusted with breaking this franchise's NHL-record playoff drought. They're here for the long haul now, at least through the 2025-26 season. This is the most coach/GM stability the Sabres have had since the Lindy and Darcy Show ended in 2013. It's time to see more wins come with all the player development.
"I trust Kevin, trust his experience, his instincts," Granato said. "He's got a really incredible feel for things beyond his experience, winning a Stanley Cup playing in this league and being a leader on teams he played for. This is the place I want to be. This is a place that I want to make right, and I want to win here."
You're seeing young core players developing as though it were 2005 and 2006 again. How good can Dahlin and Samuelsson and Owen Power become? What about Thompson? Or Dylan Cozens? How about Jack Quinn and JJ Peterka? How elite does Alex Tuch become, and is he a Daniel Briere- or Chris Drury-level trade acquisition? So many more are on the cusp.
But Granato maintains he has to stay out of big pictures.
"I don't get worked up on that stuff, at all. I think it can only be a distraction," Granato insisted. "We're young. But we're also more experienced than we were last year. All our young guys are way more experienced than last year. They've got hindsight that they take into the summer and an appetite that's only grown."
Acknowledged Adams: "We want to play well, we want to have energy, we want to show that this city and the fan base can still continue to get excited about this group. And I know how much our players care. But you can't overdo it with Game 1. You've just got to go out and play and have fun, and then we'll just keep pushing to get better."
