Well put.
I mean, take a look at the roster from that year: https://www.nhl.com/sabres/roster/2013
There was barely anything to tear down. Our best players, easily, were Miller, Vanek, Pomminstein, and Ehrhoff. They were gone shortly after, and never lit it up after they left anywhere else. That team was absolutely devoid of talent. You can talk about tanking by trading them away, but they were not helping us do anything.