The Buffalo Sabres appeared heading down a path toward being a seller ahead of the 2026 NHL trade deadline, which is scheduled for March 6, but winning 11 of their past 12 games to climb the Eastern Conference standings has changed the outlook.
Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet reported Sabres general manager Jarmo Kekalainen, who replaced Kevyn Adams on Dec. 15, is "aggressively shopping around as a buyer" and continues to consider whether to meet winger Alex Tuch's asking price on a contract extension.
"The Sabres have some good young prospects, depth in the system, and could be a sleeper team to not only buy on the trade market, but also meet Tuch's salary demands of around $10 million," Kypreos wrote. "Could they actually move draft and prospect capital to bolster their lineup? The next few weeks will have a lot of influence on Kekalainen's direction and how hard he goes after a scoring winger."
A top-six forward with a high-end scoring touch is definitely Buffalo's biggest need. Tage Thompson leads the team with 21 goals followed by Tuch and Josh Doan at 13. Nobody else on the roster is in double digits halfway through the 2025-26 schedule.
The question is how soon Kekalainen will feel comfortable shaking up one of the NHL's hottest clubs, or if he'll wait until the Blue and Gold cool off to start wheeling and dealing.
Alex Tuch decision will have a domino effect on the Buffalo Sabres' other moves ahead of the NHL trade deadline
The Tuch situation should be relatively straightforward. His reported demands have remained consistent since the offseason: a long-term contract with an AAV of at least $10 million. That number may have crept closer to $10.5 million based on other extensions signed around the league.
Kekalainen is either willing to pay that price or he's not. It doesn't seem like there's any willingness from the Tuch camp to significantly reduce the number, and that's understandable because he's one of the top impending unrestricted free agents and should get $10 million or more on the open market.
Giving a 29-year-old forward an eight-year extension may not age well, but it's the price Buffalo will have to pay to keep one of their cornerstone players.
If Kekalainen feels there's too much risk involved, he should be actively trying to build up trade interest in Tuch to maximize the return, which should include at least one win-now asset. A deal that only includes prospects and draft picks wouldn't be met kindly in Western New York.
That said, the worst-case scenario is keeping the Syracuse native until season's end and then losing him to free agency without getting anything in return. That must be avoided at all costs.
Meanwhile, the Sabres' needs ahead of the deadline are quite clear, at least when viewed through the lens of trying to remain a serious contender in the playoff race.
They need an offensive-minded winger, a void created when JJ Peterka was traded to the Utah Mammoth over the summer. Buffalo's return in that deal, Doan and Michael Kesselring, was strong, but it's left the roster a little short on pure scorers, which also hurts the struggling power play.
Beyond that, the Sabres could benefit from adding a reliable depth defenseman, particularly a right-shot blueliner with Kesselring and Conor Timmins nursing injuries. A faceoff specialist could also help given the Blue and Gold rank last in the NHL in that category (44.8%).
Kekalainen also has to figure out how to solve Buffalo's three-goalie rotation as Alex Lyon nears a return from injury. Lyon has been the team's most consistent netminder, while Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has been on a heater lately, which could leave Colten Ellis as the odd man out.
In the big picture, it's a pleasant change of pace for Sabres fans to hear their team's name as a buyer rather than a seller ahead of the deadline. That's been rare during the 14-year playoff drought.