When NHL deputy commi sioner Bill Daly turned over the card at Wednesday's 2021 NHL Draft Lottery to show that the Sabreswould hold the No. 1 overall pickin July's draft, Buffalo general manager Kevyn Adams looked like a happy guy for Chris Blair Jerseys a second. Then, helooked like a guy who just got the weight of the world put on his shoulders.

"It was a challenging season, lot of adversity," Adams said. "We were in the position we were in, and you certainly don't want to be there, but that's the reality. . . . To have this fall our way, to be in this position it's, oh, it makes some of the things we went through this year feel a little bit better about it. It's a huge opportunity for our franchise to improve. I feel like this is a really big step, something we needed and are excited about."

"Challenging season" is an understatement. Things have not been good in Western New York for quite a while.

Sure, the Sabres havehad good teams and Hall of Famersin the past, but recent memory erases that.Since the 1999 Stanley Cup Final run, they've only been to the playoffs six times. The last time the Sabres Jonathan Garvin Jerseys made the postseason was in 2011, whenBuffalo lost in seven games to Philadelphiain the opening round. Since then, the club has finished last in itsdivision infive of the last10 seasons.

This is the fifth time that Taylor Halls most recent eligible team has won the draft lottery. He was also drafted with a lottery-winning pick. He was also once traded for a player who was drafted with a lottery-winning pick.

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The Sabres found themselves at the bottom of the division again in 2021 despite adding Taylor Hall (who, by the way, may have done his draft lottery magic here once again) in the offseason. Hall scored just two goals and tallied19 points in 37 games before being shipped at the trade deadline to the playoff-boundBruins. Ralph Krueger was fired as the Preston Smith Jerseys head coach after 28 games and then, during his last media availability of the season, Jack Eichel voiced his displeasure.

"There's been a bit of a disconnect from the organization a bit and myself. It's been tough at times," said Eichel, who mi sed the last 34 games of the regular season with a neck injury. "Right now, Davante Adams Jerseys I think, for me, the most important thing is just trying to get healthy and figure out a way to be available to play hockey next year, wherever that might be."

The 24-year-old captain was alsoupset with the team's handling of his neck injury, saying that he preferred surgery but the team did not.

"It doesn't work like that. I wish. . . . I'm under contract with this team, and they definitely hold a lot of cards on what I can and can't do," he said.

Now Adams, who is entering just his second season as the GM, will need to make the right pick to satisfy not only his Malik Taylor Jerseys captain who, if you read between the lines on "wherever that might be," is potentially planning on asking for a trade but also the fans who have become disenfranchised with a club that's been a dumpster fire.

And this year's draft is not an easy one. Last year, the Rangers selected first and had the easy task of takingAlexis Lafreniere, as the Canadian was known to be the top guy for months, if not years.

But that's not the case now. There isnot a consensus No. 1 guy.Defenseman Owen Powerseems to be the most likely choice, but there is also his University of Michigan teammates Matthew Beniers and Kent Johnson. Other big names include Dylan Guenther, Brandt Clark and the third Hughes brother, Luke.

"It can changekind of the course of your franchise," Adams said of the No. 1 pick. "For sure, it's energizing to the players in the room.I'm sure if you've asked our players, they're excited right now. It's energizing to our fan base. It's energizing just to the people Adrian Amos Jerseys that work in this organization that love this place so much. It's all the above, and it's a big, I'll say, step in the right direction of where we're headed.

"We're excited to add thenext greatBuffalo Sabreplayer to our franchise."