What now?

My mind is spiraling a bit right now, and for all the wrong reasons.

One week ago, I don't think anyone really thought the Buffalo Sabres were approaching any sort of cliff or dropoff. Sure, they had been struggling to pick up wins in regulation and (especially) overtime, but they had gotten points in six straight and were playing a brand of hockey that seemed sustainable; all while their best players in Rasmus Dahlin & Tage Thompson were playing some of their worst hockey.

Rasmus Dahlin | Reuben Polansky-Shapiro / NHLI via Getty Images

It was both encouraging and frustrating that they were accumulating points in the standings despite those factors, and it signaled that they were going to be in this playoff race the entire season.

The Sabres are clearly "different" this season. Whether or not "different" was going to result in a playoff berth remained to be seen, but this was not the same style of hockey from the previous two or three seasons.

But then we flash forward to today. To put it bluntly: this team is seemingly about to spiral.

Two bad losses at home to Utah and St. Louis, along with a bad start to a road trip against Carolina. Discouraging performances for sure, but there is a much bigger problem underneath the hood: the health of the roster.

To say the Sabres are having issues staying healthy would maybe be the biggest understatement of the drought.

They are currently icing lineups that would look out of place in the preseason.

It's a snowballing of injuries that has quickly gone from "Wow, this team looks shorthanded in some areas..." to "What the hell happened here?". It's incredible how fast this has all unfolded.

Josh Norris' injury struggles were pretty predictable, but even so, two and half periods into the season? On a face-off? Even that would've seemed like a bit much.

Rasmus Dahlin understandably needed to return to Sweden to be with his fiancé, but now you've got Jason Zucker dealing with a severe viral issue, and Jiri Kulich having suffered a freaking blood clot.

That doesn't even go into the injuries that have had bad circumstances surrounding them. Jordan Greenway kicked off training camp with another surgery after a setback. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen suffered multiple non-contact injuries leading up to and during preseason play. Zach Benson was hit with a puck in practice and was HOSPITALIZED before being able to make his season debut.

All of that is before even mentioning regular hockey injuries a team is going to suffer over the course of an 82-game season (Michael Kesselring, Justin Danforth, Tyson Kozak, etc.).

I usually hate using the term "this team is cursed", but holy cow the Sabres have been absolutely cursed with injury luck this season.

Right now you're looking at a team that has dropped six of their last seven games, their schedule does not get any easier, and multiple of their BEST and most IMPORTANT players do not have a timetable to return this season.

I hate being the pessimist, but I think this season is cooked.

It may take a few more weeks for a majority of the fanbase to accept that (or hey, maybe I'm wrong), but that's just where my head is at.

With this harsh reality beginning to set in, my mind has only begun to think about what is next for this team. The future of this organization is so uncertain. The general manager and head coach are on the last year of their current contracts, and we've been lead to believe that most of their staff are on the same boat. Not to mention, you've got the Alex Tuch negotiation looming, where his price and leverage seemingly raises with each passing day.

So what now?

Well, the only answer I'm sure about right now is: I don't know. I'm not sure which path is going to be next for this team. I would be lying if I didn't say a part of me worries that this mountain of injuries would be something this front office would hide behind and use an excuse to give it another shot next season. I'm PRAYING that this is not the case.

What I do know for sure is that the Kevyn Adams era has had its go at things, and it just has not worked. If it were up to me, things would have changed after the end of last season, but alas, that decision needs to finally be made now.

It's time for new management team. Jarmo Kekalainen is the odds-on favorite to be the next GM, I mean, why else would he have taken this job in the first place? Then again, the Brendan Shanahan rumors do make me mildly intrigued. Maybe it's time for Terry Pegula to swallow his pride and admit he needs a president of hockey operations to oversee a vision moving forward.

Either way, it has to be a new vision. It has to be a FULL reset this time. Jerry Forton has been a part of this organization since 2013, I believe it's best to make a change regarding him and almost all of their scouting staff, if possible.

As for the team itself, this is where things get murky. I get it, we are fourteen going on fifteen years into this drought, and many are not going to want to rebuild this thing again; but I don't think they have any other option.

I don't think Rasmus Dahlin is headed anywhere, but I do think Tage Thompson would be having some thoughts about his future should this team miss badly again. Whatever steps are taken next, I am still doing so with the intention of building around Dahlin.

I also know this: I am not signing a 29 year old Alex Tuch to an $11+ million AAV for the next eight years. At this upcoming trade deadline, I am trading Tuch to the highest bidder for the best deal possible, which likely means picks and/or propsects.

I am NOT repeating the mistakes of the Dylan Cozens trade and inheriting an expensive albatross for the long-term future.

Same goes for Bowen Byram. I'm dealing him for the highest bidder at this deadline or during the summer.

I'm also taking this opportunity to establish the pillars of the next core. Zach Benson & Josh Doan are up for extensions next summer, and they are the engines of this roster. With no money being given to Alex Tuch, I'm allocating all of those funds into long-term extensions for the both of them ASAP. We haven't seen too much of Michael Kesselring just yet, but I have a feeling he'll be in a similar boat as well.

Once we get to the summer, it's harder to forecast, but I'll do it anyways just for fun. If Tage Thompson asks out of Buffalo, then it's another opportunity to stack up on young talent and draft picks. Another star talent being dealt stinks, and it'll be another opportunity for the hockey world to laugh at Buffalo, but dealing Eichel/Reinhart was the right move back then, and dealing Tage is probably the right move now.

Additionally, I'm trading Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to whoever would like his services. Next season would be sink or swim time for Devon Levi. You want to be an NHL goaltender? Time to prove it, even if that means needing to beat out Alex Lyon and/or Colten Ellis, should he still be around, to do so.

Look, I hate that we're doing this in November again, but I think it's better for them to just count their losses. In my mind, the Sabres have two options: wallow in self-pity this season or rip the band-aid off entirely. I would hope they choose the latter. The sooner they accept this is the likely reality of the team, the higher the chance they can end up with a top five draft pick, or even land Gavin McKenna himself to help lead this team into its next era.

Maybe this is all an exaggeration. Maybe this team rallies itself, stays in the playoff race, and maybe even finds a way to get healthy and end this drought. But right now, this is where my head is at.

It's not a pretty situation, but maybe... just maybe if they're honest with themselves now, some good can come from this.