Jarmo Kekalainen made a series of depth moves ahead of the recent 2026 NHL trade deadline, but the Buffalo Sabres general manager will face a more difficult task in the months ahead: solving the team's salary-cap puzzle for the 2026-27 season and beyond.
Kekalainen is projected to have around $13.2 million in cap space entering the summer, according to PuckPedia. Impending unrestricted free agent Alex Tuch, whose reported asking price on a new contract is about $10.5 million, would eat up a vast majority of those dollars if he's re-signed.
The Sabres have eight other free agents to make a decision on: UFAs Beck Malenstyn, Josh Dunne, Tanner Pearson, Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn along with RFAs Zach Benson, Peyton Krebs and Michael Kesselring. At minimum, the club would likely aim to keep Malenstyn, Benson, Krebs and Kesselring.
Then there's the idea of a potential blockbuster trade for another high-end offensive contributor. For example, Buffalo was heavily linked to St. Louis Blues center Robert Thomas leading up to the deadline. His cap hit checks in at $8.125 million if Kekalainen decides to circle back.
So, the franchise's front office will probably need to do some wheeling and dealing if it's going to create the cap space necessary to retain its own free agents and add a piece to help keep the Sabres among the Eastern Conference elite following their current breakthrough campaign.
A few options stand out as possible routes for Kekalainen to take.
Trade Josh Norris
Potential cap savings: $7.95 million
This a lever the Sabres will probably only pull if an acquisition like Thomas is possible. Norris' injury history is well documented, but he's been highly effective when healthy with 23 points (nine goals and 14 assists) in 29 appearances this season.
Buffalo simply doesn't have enough offensive play-creators to move Norris unless a high-end center is joining the organization. Making him a central part of the team's core was a risk, and opposing front offices would have to weight the same uncertainty, lessening the likely return.
It's worth noting the Sabres are hopeful they'll get Jiri Kulich back next season. He's missed a vast majority of the campaign because of a blood clot, which brought his development to an unfortunate halt, but he can still emerge as a key piece of the team's future.
Add in prospect Konsta Helenius getting close to making a full-time jump to the NHL and Buffalo will have options to build out its forward lines next season. It makes moving Norris a reasonable idea, as long as a proven playmaker is one of the offseason arrivals.
Trade Bowen Byram
Potential cap savings: $6.25 million
Byram is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in 2027 and it's unlikely the Sabres are going to give him the high-value, long-term contract extension he'll be seeking with Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power and Mattias Samuelsson already locked in as the defensive core.
The 24-year-old former Colorado Avalanche cornerstone has also cooled off as of late. He's posted a modest 10 points (all assists) over the past 23 games. He hasn't scored a goal since a Jan. 10 victory over the Anaheim Ducks.
Byram has remained effective in a puck-moving role for Buffalo, but he'd likely prefer to find an organization where he can play on the first pair and receive minutes on the top power-play unit. That simply isn't going to happen with the Blue and Gold because of Dahlin's presence.
The Sabres could even move forward with Dahlin, Power, Samuelsson, Michael Kesselring, Conor Timmins and unexpected standout Zach Metsa as their six defensemen to open next season, which means trading Byram wouldn't require a direct replacement, though depth would be needed.
Settle the Jordan Greenway situation
Potential cap savings: $4 million
It's unclear what comes next for Greenway, who's sidelined while seeking out different treatments for a nagging hernia injury. It's possible the veteran winger doesn't play again this season.
In January, the 29-year-old Boston University product admitted he's started to think about the impact on his body after his NHL days are done.
"I still got a life to live afterwards, and ideally I can use all of my limbs and my core afterwards, right?" Greenway told reporters. "So, you definitely have to think about it, for sure. But at the end of the day, my goal is to be able to go out there, help the team as much as I can and do it with the least amount of pain as possible."
If he's unable to shake the injury, it's possible the Sabres could reclaim the $4 million via retirement or by placing him on long-term injured reserve for the final year of his contract in 2026-27.
Should Greenway decide he wants to play next season, however, Kekalainen should try attaching a middle-round draft pick in a trade if another organization is will to take on the $4 million cap hit.
In a vacuum, these three moves would create an additional $18.2 million in cap space for Buffalo, which should be enough to handle all of its offseason business.