It’s not often you’re able to compare the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Buffalo Sabres, let alone talk about both teams in the same breath. 

Over the last 11 seasons, Pittsburgh has made the postseason every year, won three Stanley Cups, and has eclipsed the 100-point mark six times. 

Over that same span, the Sabres have…stunk up the arena. Their last postseason game was in 2011, and they have picked in the top 10 of the NHL Draft in each of the past six seasons — summarizing all you need to know about regular season records. 

But it seems like both teams are at a tipping point as we approach the July 1 start of this year’s  free agency period. 

The core of Pens stars (Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang) are getting no younger, and the Metropolitan Division is getting no easier with the likes of the Carolina Hurricanes and the New York Islanders — which swept Pittsburgh in the first round this year — on the rise. 

But give Pittsburgh’s front office credit: it seems determined to shake things up. General manager Jim Rutherford has began his offseason by shipping defenseman Olli Maatta to Chicago last week and has dangled other stars on the trade market, as well. 

Phil Kessel, who has notched 174 points over the past two seasons, would be Pittsburgh’s biggest trade chip. But with the price that Rutherford would most likely command, as well as his contract status, it seems unlikely he will be playing for another team in 2019-2020. 

So, where does that lead Pittsburgh? 

To make some moves to avoid mediocrity. The Penguins still have a once-in-a-generation talent in Crosby and a decent crop of players around him, but they need to improve the depth. Defense was a disaster last season, but goaltender Matt Murray also struggled with injuries and didn’t look himself until late in the year. A good goalie always makes the defenders look better in front of him. 

Pittsburgh could also benefit from a solid winger who can play on a couple different lines and contribute on both the power play and the penalty kill. Think Pascal Dupuis or Chris Kunitz from years past. Patric Hornqvist struggled last season, but if he can rebound, the Pens may already have that player on their roster. 

It’ll be fascinating to see what Rutherford does over the next couple of weeks, in part because the team is just a few years removed from winning back-to-back Cups but is also in dire need of a facelift. It certainly doesn’t hurt when you still have at least two future Hall of Famers on your roster…

In Buffalo, the needs are much different. Where Pittsburgh is just trying to turn a playoff-maker of the past few years to playoff contender, Buffalo needs to try and just get out of the basement of the Eastern Conference for the first time in five years. 

The good news about finishing so poorly for so many years is, of course, all of the high quality players acquired early in the draft. Year two of Rasmus Dahlin should scare other teams and the top line of Jeff Skinner-Sam Reinhart-Jack Eichel is back again with no reason as to why they can’t produce at the level they did this past season. 

After that, however, the cupboards are quite bare. 

Many hockey insiders thought GM Jason Botterill would make a trade or two around the draft to bring in a second-line center, but he sat mostly quiet. When other teams were trading away defenseman, including the blockbuster P.K. Subban trade, the Sabres hung onto Rasmus Ristolainen: a once-promising d-man who posted a horrendous -41 plus/minus rating in 2018-19. 

The Sabres could hang on to ‘Risto’ and make him a project for new head coach Ralph Krueger, but the potential return for him could prove to be too enticing for Botterill. 

Elsewhere, the irony of the Sabres trying so hard to acquire that number two center is that they had him on the roster just a year ago. If you don’t recall, Buffalo shipped Ryan O’Reilly to St. Louis at this time last year, only to watch him go on and capture the Conn Smythe Trophy and parade around with the Stanley Cup. 

But, alas, that is why the team has finished dead-last in two of the past four seasons. 

The Sabres are also in need of another winger and are in luck with this year’s market of free agents. Joe Pavelski, Corey Perry and Gustav Nyquist are all available and with Buffalo boasting nearly $19 million in cap space, they can certainly afford to make a splash. 

It isn’t going to take just one player, or one trade, to turn around the Sabres’ fortunes, but with Botterill realizing this offseason will be critical to his job security, I don’t think the Sabres will shy away from making moves this summer. 

The question is: will they be the right ones? 

(Anthony Sambrotto, the Bradford Era sports editor, can be reached at asambrotto@bradfordera.com)