7 Former Sabres Will Be Playing In The Stanley Cup Finals

The Stanley Cup finals are set.  Were the Buffalo Sabres the missing pieces for these teams?

Every year it gets to this part of the season and Buffalo Sabres fans are shaking their heads yet again about "what could have been."

The Stanley Cup Finals are set for 2024

It's what every fan in the NHL is hoping for all year - for their team to be playing meaningful hockey in June.  That's happening for the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers who are both moving on to the NHL Stanley Cup Finals.  The Panthers are back in the finals for their second straight year and the third time in their history.  The Oilers have made their way there for the first time since 2006.

This one is going to hurt for Sabres fans

It always hurts as a Sabres fan to watch any other team in the finals other than the Sabres.  But this year, in particular, it'll hurt for a couple of reasons.  First, it's going to be tough to watch McDavid playing in his first final.  If you remember, McDavid was the player that was chosen first overall the year the Sabres chose Jack Eichel.  Eichel has already won his cup.  Now McDavid is playing for one.

Also, there are so many former Buffalo Sabres on these two teams.  Most of them are on the Florida Panthers.

Which former Sabres are playing for the cup this year?

Included in the list of players on the Panthers who will be playing for the cup this year are:

• Sam Reinhart
• Brandon Montour
• Evan Rodrigues
• Dmitry Kulikov
• Kyle Okposo
• Rasmus Asplund

Add Evander Kane (who is playing on Edmonton now) to the list and that will make 7 Sabres total who will be playing for the cup this year.

Because there are players on each team, it's guaranteed that a former Buffalo Sabre will hold up the cup when all is said and done.  So the question is, do you root for them?  Or against them?