By Budd Bailey The date was October 6, 1986, a Monday morning. I was reporting for my first day at work in the public relations department of the Buffalo Sabres. I thought I was simply walking through the side door at Memorial Auditorium, but in reality, I was walking through the gates of hockey hell. I’ve been thinking about that day and the ones that followed since I heard about the death of former Sabres’ executive Gerry Meehan on Saturday. I discovered I was arriving just

by Tony Fiorello View of the Stanley Cup, the National Hockey League's championship trophy, taken during the cup's 100th year anniversary, New York, New York, November 1992. The cup is named after Sir Frederick Arthur Stanley. (Photo by Scott Levy/Getty Images) It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Typically that’s a phrase one would hear around Christmas. But for hockey fans, there’s no better time of year to enjoy the game than the playoffs. With storylines galore and t

by Tony Fiorello BUFFALO, NEW YORK - APRIL 6: Rasmus Dahlin #26 and Tage Thompson #72 celebrate with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen #1 of the Buffalo Sabres following an NHL game against the Tampa Bay Lightning at KeyBank Center on April 6, 2026 in Buffalo, New York. Buffalo won, 4-2. (Photo by Joe Hrycych/Getty Images) If anyone had told me in early December 2025 that the Buffalo Sabres would not only break their 14-year playoff drought but win their division for the first time since