Most of the focus this offseason has been on the young players stepping into bigger roles among the Buffalo Sabres' forwards. They are going to need players like Konsta Helenius and Noah Ostlund to replace production that was lost with the departure of Alex Tuch, and that certainly is a big question.
While the team will be chasing plenty, like another trip to the playoffs, there are several players who will be chasing personal milestones in the upcoming 2026-27 season. These are four forwards who fall into that category and the benchmarks they will be chasing.
Tage Thompson - 500 career games with the Sabres
Tage Thompson was the key part of the Ryan O'Reilly trade to the St. Louis Blues, and it took him a little bit to break out into the star he is now. In his first three seasons in Buffalo, he had only 15 goals, but that all changed in 2021-22 when he had 38 and has been close to 40 goals almost every year since.
It was one of the reasons that he set a few milestones last season, surpassing 200 goals and 400 points. This season, he will surpass 500 games played with the Sabres, as he currently sits at 488 and will reach this mark pretty early in the season.
Peyton Krebs - 400 games and 100 assists with the Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres were able to bring back Peyton Krebs this offseason after he had a breakout season with them last year. There are plenty of similarities to what Tage Thompson went through, as Krebs came to Buffalo in a high-profile trade (Jack Eichel's trade to Vegas) and had limited production in the first few seasons.
Over five seasons, Krebs has played in 365 games and, at about the halfway point of the 2026-27 season, should officially surpass 400 career games with Buffalo. However, before reaching that milestone, he likely will record his 100th assist, as he currently has 90 with the Sabres.
The big question for Peyton Krebs is how close he will be able to get to that career-high in assists. Last season, Krebs moved up and down the lineup and spent a good chunk of it on the top line. That probably won't be the case with the depth they have, and it will be interesting if the scoring chances remain while playing on the fourth line.
Josh Doan - 100 points with the Sabres
Josh Doan joined the Sabres via trade last year, but unlike Thompson and Krebs, he wasted no time making an impact. He finished with 52 points, and the hope is that he can have a similar season or even better in 2026-27.
It will be a team effort to replace all the ways Alex Tuch impacted a game, but in terms of the player who will replace him in the lineup in the Top 6, that should be Josh Doan. That gives him an incredible opportunity to beat that 52-point total he had last season.
If he is able to take advantage of the expanded role, then he will surpass 100 points with the Buffalo Sabres before the end of the regular season. It would be a really good start to what is a promising career for Doan.
Jack Quinn - 100 assists with the Sabres
Jack Quinn has been steadily improving each season over the past three years, and this latest one was the best of his career. He had set career highs in goals (20) and assists (31), with the assist total putting a personal goal of 100 assists within reach.
The former first-round pick currently has 89, so hopefully he reaches 100 assists early in the season. That would be a great sign for a player who is set to be a restricted free agent next summer and is playing for that next contract.
While these personal benchmarks don't directly impact the Buffalo Sabres' win-loss record for the 2026-27 season or guarantee a playoff spot, if these players hit them, it will absolutely help. Peyton Krebs and Tage Thompson will reach the milestone for games played as long as they stay healthy, but the other milestones aren't as certain. It will be interesting to see if they can surpass these marks, particularly Josh Doan's chase to break 100 career points.
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