The 2026 NHL Draft is in the books, and the start of free agency is quickly approaching for the Buffalo Sabres and the rest of the league. Jarmo Kekalainen has been very busy over the past few weeks for the Sabres and is expected to continue to remain aggressive in the early part of free agency.
Since the Sabres lost to the Montreal Canadiens in the second round of the NHL Playoffs, the Sabres have traded away Michael Kesselring, Bowen Byram, Jordan Greenway, and Alex Tuch from their NHL roster. However, they have brought back defensemen Louis Crevier and Olen Zellweger in trades while reaching contract extensions with Zach Benson and recently Beck Malenstyn.
With free agency set to kick off, now would be a good time to reset and look at the lines and pairs to see where the Sabres might have holes and opportunities to upgrade.
Buffalo Sabres Forwards
Wing | Center | Wing |
|---|---|---|
Zach Benson | Josh Norris | Tage Thompson |
Konsta Helenius | Jiri Kulich | Josh Doan |
Noah Ostlund | Ryan McLeod | Jack Quinn |
Beck Malenstyn | Sam Carrick | Jason Zucker |
Extra Forwards: Tyson Kozak, Justin Danforth
With the recent signing of Malenstyn, the Sabres now have 14 forwards under contract, and that doesn't include restricted free agent Peyton Krebs. While the Sabres certainly lost some veteran leadership in Alex Tuch, this forward group has a ton of potential with the trio of Konsta Helenius, Jiri Kulich, and Noah Ostlund.
It is tough to get a handle on what the lines might look like because right now, this group has seven players who could play center. Head coach Lindy Ruff will want to get a handle on lines early in training camp, but this is a group that might be shuffled regularly.
There are also a lot of questions on whether or not the Sabres move any of these forwards, as Jason Zucker and Josh Norris have big cap hits. Meanwhile, Jack Quinn is a younger player that teams might value after his 20-goal season. It feels almost certain that this will not be what the Sabres go into training camp with, but even without any upgrades, it is a really deep group.
Buffalo Sabres Defensemen
Left Defenseman | Right Defenseman |
|---|---|
Rasmus Dahlin | Mattias Samuelsson |
Olen Zellweger | Owen Power |
Conor Timmins | Louis Crevier |
Extra Defensemen: Zach Metsa
While the Sabres did lose Alex Tuch, probably the biggest surprise so far this offseason was the trade of Bowen Byram. He was a player that the Sabres wanted to extend as he was entering the final year of his deal, but when they saw that it was not possible, they pivoted.
The Sabres would trade Byram and Jordan Greenway for the fourth overall pick, a second-round pick, and Louis Crevier. Jarmo Kekalainen would turn around and use that second-round pick to bring in restricted free agent Olen Zellweger.
While there isn't a clear answer to replacing Byram, the Sabres have given themselves a lot of options as Olen Zellweger and Louis Crevier, and possibly even Conor Timmins, could step into that second pair. It will be a great training camp battle to watch to see who emerges from this group.
Zach Metsa had meaningful ice time in the second half of the season and is a great seventh defenseman to have on the roster.
Buffalo Sabres Goalies
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Alex Lyon, Colten Ellis
As for the goalies, no changes have been made yet here, and the Sabres right now have three under contract going into next season. They reportedly made a big push for Connor Hellebuyck, and while they couldn't get anything done ahead of the NHL Draft, it might be something they revisit.
Add us as a preferred source on Google