The Buffalo Sabres acquired some defensive depth in the form of Olen Zellweger and Louis Crevier over the summer but, at least so far, the team's front office hasn't made the type of game-changing addition a lot of fans were hoping for when the offseason began.
That's a concern for a couple reasons: First, the Sabres lost two key contributors from last year's squad (Alex Tuch and Bowen Byram). Second, the franchise is aiming to emerge as a legitimate Stanley Cup contender after reaching the second round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Dom Luszczyszyn and Scott Wheeler of The Athletic see Buffalo's potential, placing the club in the "window opening" category of the outlet's annual contention cycle overview, but they pinpointed one area holding the Blue and Gold back in the short term.
"Rasmus Dahlin leads the way as a franchise-altering defenseman, but in order for the Sabres to start rubbing elbows with the legit contenders, they'll need someone from their forward group to raise the bar," Luszczyszyn and Wheeler wrote Wednesday. "Tage Thompson in 3B and four Tier 5 guys isn't going to cut it at the highest level; Buffalo needs someone to prove they're franchise-worthy."
The tiers are a reference to The Athletic's ranking of the NHL's best players, which saw a lack of Buffalo forwards near the top of the list ahead of the 2026-27 campaign.
Although the Sabres have a lot of promising young centers and wingers alongside their offensive cornerstone in Thompson — Zach Benson, Josh Doan, Jack Quinn, Noah Ostlund, Jiri Kulich and Konsta Helenius among them — none of those rising stars are elite scorers at this point.
Buffalo general manager Jarmo Kekalainen appeared to acknowledge the need for at least one (and perhaps two) more high-end offensive assets ahead of last season's trade deadline when he made a push to land St. Louis Blues center Robert Thomas, but those talks fell short of a deal.
There weren't many rumors suggesting the Sabres were in the market for a top-tier forward throughout the offseason, though. They did make an effort to sign free-agent winger Patrick Kane, a Buffalo native, but he may not belong in that category at this late stage of his decorated career.
So, the Blue and Gold are making a significant bet on their large contingent of young forwards taking a collective major step forward this season to make up for the lost offensive production.
If it doesn't work out, there will be serious questions raised about why Kekalainen wasn't more aggressive trying to upgrade that area of the roster over the past few months.
Sabres have the resources to strike early on the trade market in 2026-27
Although Buffalo hasn't made a monster splash — a trade for Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck remains possible but there's no indication it's imminent — it does sit in a promising position should an opportunity (or need) arise once the puck drops.
The Sabres have $5.1 million in salary-cap space (via PuckPedia) and they have a deep prospect pool to use if a non-contender decides to start trading veterans for futures well ahead of this season's deadline.
Radim Mrtka is a name that's continued to pop up in speculation. The talented 6-foot-6 defenseman possesses an intriguing combination of size and skill, and he doesn't shy away from physical play, but his offensive game didn't take a step forward in his first post-draft season.
It wouldn't be a shock if the Sabres traded Mrtka and/or their first-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft at some point during the upcoming campaign for a win-now upgrade.
If that's not Hellebuyck, it'll likely be a forward since Buffalo already possesses a well-built blue line, with prized prospect Daxon Rudolph also on the way.
The Sabres will likely wait to see which members of the aforementioned young group of forwards step up before making any rash trade decisions, though. It's possible the team's bet on internal growth will prove prophetic and an acquisition won't even be necessary.
That said, Kekalainen should be prepared to act fast if things aren't trending in the right direction. The strength of the Atlantic Division (and the Eastern Conference as a whole) is simply too much of a concern to wait around if Buffalo wants to make a second straight trip to the playoffs.
Sooner or later it'll be time to leave the rebuilding mindset firmly in the rearview mirror and focus on trying to find the missing pieces of a potential championship puzzle.
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