Buffalo Sabres general manager Jarmo Kekalainen is starting to receive some criticism for a lack of high-profile additions after trading away winger Alex Tuch and defenseman Bowen Byram, two key members from a roster that finally ended the franchise's 14-year playoff drought.
It's raised questions about whether the Sabres could take a step back during the 2026-27 NHL season, especially if they don't complete a blockbuster trade for superstar Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck, who's been linked to a potential Buffalo move for weeks.
Matt Larkin of Daily Faceoff remains confident in the organization's direction. He pointed to the team's strong core, led by cornerstones Rasmus Dahlin and Tage Thompson, rising stars like Zach Benson and Josh Doan and promising prospects such as Konsta Helenius and Daxon Rudolph to highlight why he believes the club's championship window is now wide open moving forward.
"The progression of Buffalo's young generation should offset Tuch's departure," Larkin wrote Tuesday night. "The playoff drought is over, and the Sabres can start a playoff streak now. This team had the NHL's best record in 2025-26 from mid-December onward and, with $5.12 million in cap space after re-signing Peyton Krebs, Buffalo still has bandwidth to make another addition this offseason. Come on home, Patrick Kane?"
The Sabres have been consistently mentioned as a possible landing spot for Kane, a future Hockey Hall of Fame inductee from Buffalo who's currently an unrestricted free agent.
Kekalainen already has at least 15 forwards set to compete for 13 roster spots, however, so it feels like a series of moves could be on the horizon. A deal with Winnipeg for Hellebuyck that includes a couple roster players (Ryan McLeod and Jack Quinn?) followed by signing Kane would make sense.
We'll mark the longtime NHL executive's first summer leading the Sabres front office as incomplete for now as the rumors continue to fly.
That said, even if Buffalo doesn't pull off any marquee moves between now and training camp, there's plenty of reason to believe the Blue and Gold are still trending in a positive direction.
Loaded Eastern Conference complicates Buffalo Sabres' pursuit of a Stanley Cup title
Western New York sports fans are no stranger to this storyline. The NFL's Buffalo Bills endured a 17-year playoff drought and then, as quarterback Josh Allen arrived as the face of the franchise, the AFC became a gauntlet, with Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City Chiefs often atop the pile.
The Sabres may be heading down a similar path.
Just as Buffalo finally turned a corner after nearly two decades of misery, the Eastern Conference (and the Atlantic Division) are filled with teams holding legitimate dreams of deep playoff runs. Making the postseason field will be a serious challenge, even for super talented clubs.
The East features both the reigning Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes and the back-to-back title winners from 2024 and 2025, the Florida Panthers, who reinforced their roster after an injury-plagued year and should be right back in the mix.
A quick glance suggests pretty much every team in the conference will have genuine playoff hopes when the new campaign begins in September. The Detroit Red Wings may be the one exception if they end up trading Dylan Larkin to spark a rebuilding effort.
That doesn't mean the Sabres are in imminent danger. Their window just opened and they have plenty of young talent on the ascent, so there isn't extreme urgency to win the Cup right now. They should have a handful of years to contend, as Kekalainen aims to build a sustainable winner.
Yet, it does narrow the margin for error. The East playoff race will likely be decided by a few points, which means a couple ill-timed injuries could change the outcome of the entire season.
It's a factor that could help explain why Kekalainen has so far avoided the temptation of an "all-in move." Trying to keep the Stanley Cup window open as long as possible will be important since there will be some year-to-year variance while the conference is this strong from top to bottom.
Perhaps the outlook will change within the next few seasons and, by that time, Buffalo's front office should be well positioned to make its move to solidify a place among the NHL's elite.
For now, the focus is seemingly continuing to build organizational depth to make sure the Sabres are built to handle the Eastern Conference rigors on the horizon.
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