Sabres veterans believe growth can carry into next season

Zemgus Girgensons woke up ahead of his ninth locker cleanout day as a member of the Buffalo Sabres and realized how different it felt from years past.
The Sabres put an exclamation point on their promising season with an overtime victory over the Blackhawks on Friday, followed by a rousing tribute to retiring broadcaster Rick Jeanneret.
It was a campaign that no player wanted to end, but also one that inspired feelings of optimism when it came time for Saturday's first round of exit interviews.

"It's definitely a different feeling this year," Girgensons said. "Usually in the morning you're trying to gather thoughts of all the complaints, the issues that are going on. This morning my wife asked me, 'What are you going to say?' I said, 'I don't have too many complaints.'
"… It was great to see the growth of the guys there, especially at the end."

The Sabres entered this season with an overwhelmingly young roster and the simple goal of daily improvement. Don Granato insisted that his players act without the fear of making a mistake. The team's veterans worked to foster an environment in which individuals could be themselves.
Those same veterans found their own enjoyment in the process. Girgensons and Kyle Okposo, the longest-tenured Sabres, led as co-alternate captains and had productive seasons. Okposo it was the most fun he'd had in six years with the franchise.
"I've lived here full-time for a few years and I got I can't tell you how many text messages and people reaching out to me over the last couple of months and just excited about the group," Okposo said. "And I can feel that. I can feel the fans' excitement over the last couple of months.",

Craig Anderson had considered retirement before signing a one-year contract to join the Sabres on the opening day of free agency last summer. He became a stabilizing presence in goal and a leader in the room. Granato often referred to Anderson as an extra coach given the way he addressed teammates between whistles.
Anderson, a 19-year veteran with several playoff runs on his resume, counted this season among his favorite in the NHL.
"It's one of the most fun seasons I've ever had," Anderson said. "… You enjoyed going to the rink, you enjoyed sitting there and having a coffee and hanging out with the guys before practice, after practice. It didn't matter.
"Guys just wanted to be around each other and that's something special here that (GM) Kevyn (Adams) and Donny, it starts from the top. They've built that and it's resonated through the group."

The sense of optimism was balanced with a hunger for more. The Sabres became better as the year wore on, going 16-9-3 in March and April despite a schedule that featured playoff-caliber opponents on a nearly every-other-day basis. That .625 points percentage would equate to 102 points over a full 82-game schedule.
Girgensons watched his young teammates prepare for every game as if they were must-win. Okposo felt the success had less to do with playing loose and more to do with treating games as if they in the thick of a playoff race.
"We grinded," Okposo said. "We played the right way. ... If something didn't happen, it wasn't just like, 'Oh, yeah, whatever. We just lost another meaningless game.' We all took it personally. And that's what you do when you're a good team. I think that's what translates because that's hopefully what we're going to carry over into next year."

It was a season the Sabres could be proud of. It also reaffirmed they have more to accomplish.
"We're not satisfied, let's be clear about that," Anderson said. "… I'm speaking not only for myself, I'm speaking for the guys in the room. We're not satisfied with not being in the playoffs.
"We're satisfied with growing, but we're not satisfied with the end result, and the end result will eventually be being a playoff team."
Here are more takeaways from Day 1 of exit interviews.

Anderson to consider future

Anderson said a long-term commitment to Buffalo would be a no-brainer if he were five years younger. He felt honored by the faith placed in him by the organization and is confident in the team's direction.
But with his 41st birthday coming up next month, and after battling multiple injuries this season, Anderson said he will take time to rest and talk with his family before deciding on his future.
"We're in limbo at the moment," he said. "The mind says absolutely, I would love to be with these guys, and that says a lot as far as the group of guys and the management and staff."

Subban on the national anthem

Malcolm Subban had always found joy in singing but never performed seriously until earlier this week, when he did a practice rendition of the U.S. national anthem in front of a single individual.
Subban originally recorded a video of his anthem rendition to air ahead of the Sabres' regular-season finale. To the surprise of his teammates, he decided around 2:30 on Friday afternoon to instead perform live in front of the KeyBank Center crowd of 16,505.
"I couldn't even eat lunch," Subban said. "Oh yeah, I was so nervous."

He ended up nailing the performance, to the delight of his teammates and the roaring crowd. The video quickly spread throughout the hockey world.
Subban, known for his singing in the Sabres' dressing room, said he floated the idea of singing the anthem as a joke about two weeks ago. The idea picked up steam, eventually reaching the point where he felt he had to go through with it.
"It wouldn't have happened without the encouragement of everyone here," he said. "I never thought I'd ever be singing the anthem at a game. But it was unbelievable to do it in front of the fans."

Honoring RJ

The Sabres once again honored Jeanneret following the win over the Blackhawks, with Girgensons and Rasmus Dahlin ushering the voice of the franchise onto the ice for a salute from an adoring crowd.
"That was huge, just seeing how much he means to the city and how much he means to the guys in the locker room too," Dahlin said. "It was an honor to walk him over and you can really he was enjoying it and we all were. The crowd [was] amazing. It's just a great way to end it I feel like. RJ's the man."

It was the second time in a month that the current Sabres players got to experience what Jeanneret meant to the people of Buffalo after 51 years behind the mic. It should be an inspiring memory moving forward.
"He was a very impactful person in this community and to see the support that he got is something that we're looking to build for ourselves," Alex Tuch said. "I think we're trying to build a legacy here."