The Buffalo Sabres fell 12 points shy of the NHL playoffs last season despite some encouraging performances from key secondary contributors. Unfortunately, that means they can't afford for those players to sustain a significant drop off during the 2025-26 campaign.
Buffalo also dealt one of its main offensive threats from last season, winger JJ Peterka, to the Utah Mammoth over the summer. In return, it received forward Josh Doan and defenseman Michael Kesselring, who will join the group of depth players who must deliver strong results.
For now, let's take a closer look at three Sabres players who posted at-or-near career-best results last season and predict whether they can match those numbers starting in October.
Bowen Byram
Byram posted a career-high 38 points (seven goals and 31 assists) despite shooting just 7.4%, his lowest full-season mark in the NHL, and tallying only two power-play points. He'd never before even reached 30 points during time with the Sabres and Colorado Avalanche.
It's great news for the 24-year-old Canadian that he'll likely play the entire campaign on the first pair alongside Rasmus Dahlin. Buffalo has juggled its defensive tandems a lot in recent years while trying to find a partner for Owen Power. Kesselring should finally fill that longstanding void.
Although he doesn't have a direct path to more power-play time with Dahlin and Power still expected to quarterback the two units, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him used more regularly if the special-teams group continues to struggle mightily as it did over two seasons.
Yes, Byram has some weaknesses defensively, but playing with Dahlin helps mask those and allows him to focus on generating offense. That's when he's at his best, and a full season in that role could allow him to push above 40 points in 2025-26.
Verdict: Buy
Ryan McLeod
Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams has made his fair share of mistakes since taking over the front office in 2020. That said, he deserves a lot of credit for landing McLeod in a trade with the Edmonton Oilers last offseason.
The 6-foot-3 center slid perfectly into Buffalo's No. 3 center role. He scored 20 goals — they all of came at even strength, which is a nice added bonus — and chipped in 33 assists across 79 games. His 53 points matched his final two years with the Oilers combined.
There are a few concerns based on the underlying numbers, though. His 20.6% shooting is likely unsustainable (his career mark is 14.2%) and his 14.3 individual expected goals (ixG via Natural Stat Trick) suggest he was a bit fortunate to hit the 20-goal mark.
That doesn't mean it's time to sell any McLeod stock, however. His strong two-way impacts will allow him to remain a vital part of the Sabres' lineup, even if he drops closer to 15 goals this season.
Verdict: Hold
Jason Zucker
Zucker was another nice addition by Adams last summer. He produced 53 points (21 goals and 32 assists) in 73 games, and he was quite clutch with four game-winning goals.
A resurgence in a player's mid-30s is always a bit tricky to fully get behind, though. The 33-year-old winger tallied the second-highest point total of his career (64 in 2017-18) and shot his highest percentage (14.7) since 2019-20.
He also managed to post 21 points on the power play despite that unit being downright awful for Buffalo most of the year. Unless the PP improves considerably, it's hard to imagine he'll be able to match that special-teams production.
Zucker averaged 40 points on 11.8% shooting over the two seasons prior to joining the Sabres. That feels like a more realistic target for 2025-26 than hitting 50-plus points again.
Verdict: Sell