Heartbroken tonight, but that banner still means something
I don’t really know how to feel right now.
Losing Game 7, in overtime, at home, against Montreal… that’s about as painful as it gets. It hurts because this team gave us hope, because they were right there, and because so many of us wanted this run to keep going not just for ourselves, but for everyone who didn’t get to see it.
I keep thinking about the Sabres fans who are no longer with us. Family members, friends, lifelong fans who waited years to see this team matter again. And of course, RJ. You know he would’ve loved calling meaningful Sabres playoff hockey again. He would’ve loved this team, this building, this city, and the chaos of a run like this.
And that makes tonight hurt even more.
But at the same time… we do get a banner.
Division Champions.
That matters.
This team went from nearly the bottom of the league to winning the division in the same year. That’s almost unheard of. That’s not a small step forward — that’s a massive one. It doesn’t erase the pain of tonight, and it doesn’t make the ending feel okay right now, but it does mean this season was real progress.
They gave us something to believe in again.
Tonight hurts. It’s going to hurt for a while. But one day, when that division banner goes up, I think we’ll remember that this was the year the Sabres finally stopped being a punchline and became something worth believing in again.
For the fans who are still here.
For the fans who aren’t.
For RJ.
This one mattered.