BUFFALO — Less than two weeks after joining the Buffalo Sabres following a trade-deadline deal from the Winnipeg Jets, Luke Schenn quickly discovered there was a good feeling in the dressing room of his 11th NHL team.
On a trip through Las Vegas and California last month, the Sabres went for two team dinners — a telltale sign of a connected group in the veteran blue-liner's eyes.
"There were two team dinners in four games, and then guys were hanging out back in the hotel, playing poker, cards, watching more hockey," Schenn said before a recent home game. "Doing all sorts of stuff which teams do in the playoffs, and these guys are doing it during the regular season, which means you can’t get enough of one another.”
Schenn has been in his share of strong and, well, not-so-strong rooms after 1,100-plus NHL games
The Saskatoon native won Stanley Cups in 2020 and '21 with the Tampa Bay Lightning, but also waited until the sixth season of his NHL career to play a playoff game after four misses with the Toronto Maple Leafs and one with the Philadelphia Flyers.
So, Schenn also has a good idea of what it means to end a playoff drought — which the Sabres will do this weekend after a painful 14-season run of absences. His experience could come in handy for a team without any recent post-season history heading into a first-round series with the Boston Bruins.
“I think guys really care for one another. That’s one of the things I experienced when I was in Tampa — how close the guys were off the ice," Schenn explained. "Guys wanted to be around each other, you’re doing massive dinners instead of little groups and cliques. When you get back from dinner, guys are still wanting to hang out. Families are tight, wives and girlfriends are tight — which is a big part of it.
"Just the closer group you have, the easier it is to be in sync on the ice. That’s something I sensed when I got here, was how close the group was. Guys truly love being around one another and there’s lots of energy, lots of laughs ... I’ve been around some rooms where you don’t have that and you don’t really have a chance to have success on the ice. I think it starts with a close group, which we have."
Captain Rasmus Dahlin, preparing for his first career NHL playoff game, leads the Atlantic Division champs on and off the ice.
The Swedish defenceman has been through a gruelling year. His fiancée, Carolina, underwent an emergency heart transplant last summer while vacationing in France. Dahlin left the team in November, with permission, to spend time with her back home.
Since returning, Dahlin has excelled, along with the rest of the team. The Sabres made a huge push to the top of the Atlantic Division following the firing of general manager Kevyn Adams.
Carolina is now back in Buffalo, which has given the room a big boost.
“She’s a big reason why the culture is so tight here, and the foundation of the team is so solid,” Sabres forward Tage Thompson told Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic.
Dahlin's sense of humour also seems to have galvanized the team.
The 2018 first-overall pick told reporters last month the team had been working on "team chemistry and the brotherhood" all season.
The natural follow-up was how do you work on brotherhood.
"Drink beer," Dahlin said, smiling.
The simple answer was a hit. On a recent trip to a local tavern close to KeyBank Center for lunch, before Buffalo's grudge match against the Tampa Bay Lightning, a patron at the bar was spotted wearing a cap with the words 'Drink Beer' along with a Dominik Hasek Sabres jersey.
"Right from the beginning of the year, we set out to become a close-knit team and it’s kind of been a focal point for us all year," rugged winger Jordan Greenway said. "It includes a lot of different things, ... whatever Dahls (Dahlin) said included. Everybody’s willing to stick up for anyone else. The winning helps, a lot of things help. But I would definitely say we’re a close-knit group."
Schenn understands the power of raising a glass with teammates at the right time.
"Go ask Pat Maroon over there how many beers we had together," Schenn chuckled prior to the game against Tampa. "I would agree with that. It started for us when we were in Tampa, Patty was good at getting the whole group together at the Global Series in Stockholm. That's when we became a team. You’re in Stockholm for a week, you’re having a few drinks together, getting to know one another."
The reaction of the fanbase has also added to the good vibes.
The Sabres sold out their last 18 games and had 24 full houses overall after just four last season, per the Buffalo News. They're up to 11,000 season tickets for next season after approximately 9,000 this year.
Buffalo may be a small market, but the town tends to go hockey crazy when the team puts a good product on the ice.
The Sabres' rise brings back memories of when the Buffalo Bills ended a 17-year playoff drought in 2017. Since then, the Bills have been one of the NFL's top teams, playing in front of rabid home fans craving a first title.
Maybe something similar is happening for the Sabres. Or maybe they can even overtake the Bills and give Buffalo an elusive big-four-sport title.
“(The fans) love it. It’s been great to say. I’m excited for them," Greenway said. "It definitely helps when you've got the fans behind us, we’re all feeling good. It makes things a lot easier."
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