Can late-season growth keep Sabres’ offseason changes to a minimum?

BUFFALO – Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin processed the question, searched for the right words and moved back in his chair a bit.

What has general manager Kevyn Adams told him that makes him believe the Sabres can finally get it done and reach the playoffs?

Dahlin, sporting a white hoodie and black Bills hat with a blue backdrop adorned with Sabres logos behind him, spoke confidently. While he refused to get into specifics of his conversation with Adams, his belief in the team hasn’t wavered.

“I believe in the group,” he said Friday as the Sabres held end-of-season interviews in KeyBank Center following their disappointing seventh-place finish in the Atlantic Division. “I believe in the players we have. We have so much talent in that group. Like, it’s such a young group, and I think you need experience to become a winning hockey team, and we haven’t had a lot of experience.

“That’s why I’m saying I really believe in this group. But now we’ve had a couple years now when the same team has been together, so I think it’s time now to take the next step.”

Of course, that team, the NHL’s youngest this season, missed the playoffs again, extending the Sabres’ league-record drought to a stunning 14 seasons.

“I think ultimately we failed,” Sabres winger Jason Zucker said. “We didn’t accomplish our goals of getting into the playoffs and becoming a playoff team, and I think that’s a big piece of what we need to take into the offseason is that.”

Yes, they fell well short. But they clearly possess a talented roster. They closed the season on a 12-7-1 run, showcasing a more mature game under coach Lindy Ruff..

Is that strong stretch enough to convince Adams the roster needs a few tweaks, not a significant overhaul? For five weeks, the Sabres strongly resembled the team many envisioned they could be this season. They piled up goals, found different ways to win and played a smarter, tighter brand of hockey.

Maturity materializes in different ways. Winger Tage Thompson said the Sabres have a lot of young players pursuing personal goals, including himself.

“At the same time, there needs to be a time and place to do the right thing with the puck and away from the puck,” he said. “I’m a huge part of that, too. I haven’t been nearly good enough at that and need to continue to get better.”

Late in the season, Thompson said Sabres got together every “handful of days” to reinforce that mentality.

“I think that kind of carries over into the games,” he said. “I think we just made a decision that we were mathematically eliminated and we were going to try to get something out of these remaining games and not let them go to waste.”

Winger Alex Tuch said the Sabres played to more of an identity late in the season, realizing team success would generate personal achievements..

“Playing the right way might not always put you on the score sheet, but it’ll help another guy, and it’ll help your team win,” he said. “More wins lead to confidence, and confidence leads to personal success. So that shift the last 20 games, you can definitely see it in the way I think guys approached the game. The way guys maybe backtracked a little harder and sold out.”

Thompson believes the Sabres can carry the mentality they displayed down the stretch into next season.

“There’s lessons in the adversity that you go through and the experiences that you have, and I think that’s how you grow,” he said. “If you don’t take anything out of it, then you’re gaining nothing.”

A year ago, accountability became a buzzword when the Sabres regressed after falling one win short of the playoffs in 2022-23. Dahlin, a first-year captain and one of the NHL’s top defensemen, believes the team instilled some this season.

“We had accountability,” he said. “You can talk about accountability, but for me, accountability is look yourself in the mirror. I think we got better with that throughout the year. At the end of the year, guys were looking themselves in the mirror and got better, got more consistent with their game.”

But Thompson said the Sabres also challenged each other.

“I’ll be brutally honest, I think me and (Dahlin) give it to each other more than anybody, and I respect that because I know that he wants to win and I know that’s his way of saying he needs more from me,” he said. “So … I appreciate when he does that.”

Dahlin, who acknowledged it took him time to feel comfortable as captain, said the Sabres’ leadership as a whole improved over the final 20 games.

“Me as a captain, I took some steps and also the leadership group,” he said. “We took the right steps and played the right way, night in and night out. We played a more mature game. I think we can for sure build for next season.”

Notes: Sabres winger Jordan Greenway, who missed 48 games this season, including the final 13 contests, said his late-season injury correlated with the surgery he underwent in December to repair his mid-body injury. … Center Ryan McLeod, who scored a career-high 20-goals in his first season with the Sabres, said he would like to sign a new contract “and be here for a while.” McLeod can become a restricted free agent later in the offseason. … Tuch said he can’t represent Team USA at the upcoming World Championship because his wife is due to give birth to their second child next month. Dahlin said he must check on the back injury he battled this season to see if he can play for Team Sweden. Thompson told reporters earlier this week he will play for the U.S.