Three seasons as a member of the struggling Buffalo Sabres have taken their toll on center Ryan O'Reilly.

As Sabres players cleared out their lockers Monday after yet another last-place finish (62 points) in the NHL standings, the 27-year-old lamented what he believes is a culture of losing in Buffalo and noted that it's caused him to lose his love for the game.

"We're stuck in this mindset of just being OK with losing," O'Reilly told reporters, via NHL.com. "I feel, too, I think it's really crept in with myself and, over the course of the year, I lost myself a lot and where you just kind of get through and being the guy and being OK with making a mistake and that's just not winning hockey at all and it's crept into all of our games."

"It's disappointing, it's sad. I feel throughout the year I've lost the love of the game multiple times. I need to get back to it; it's eaten myself up and you can see other guys too. It's eaten myself up, it's tough."

In O'Reilly's three seasons with the Sabres, the team's best finish in the Atlantic Division standings was seventh place in 2015-16. Going back further, Buffalo has finished last in the division in four of the last five seasons and hasn't made the playoffs since 2010-11.

The Sabres also finished last in the league in 2013-14 (52 points) and 2014-15 (54 points).

"I can't speak for Ryan O'Reilly, but I don't feel he lost his passion for the game," Sabres coach Phil Housley said. "I look at our team and I look at individuals, some guys had career years and some guys were spot on with their careers. To me, I think for Ryan O'Reilly, I don't think he lost the love or the passion for the game, I think it's just a result of where we are."

After arriving with the Sabres via trade from the Colorado Avalanche, O'Reilly signed a seven-year, $52.5 million contract with Buffalo that extends through the 2022-23 season. He had 24 goals and 37 assists in 81 games this season.

--Field Level Media