We've reached the dog days of the 2026 NHL offseason. For the Buffalo Sabres, they missed out on free-agent winger Patrick Kane and the Connor Hellebuyck trade rumors have died down significantly, leaving little buzz with about two months until puck drop on the 2026-27 campaign.
Buffalo's front office, led by general manager Jarmo Kekalainen, did make some moves earlier in the summer, highlighted by the departures of Alex Tuch and Bowen Byram. The group of additions was more modest, but excitement is starting to build around one of them: defenseman Olen Zellweger.
That's where we'll kick off our roundup of the latest Sabres news.
Olen Zellweger video goes viral on social media
Not only did Buffalo acquire Zellweger, who scored 51 points (16 goals and 35 assists) in 164 games for the Anaheim Ducks over the past three seasons, but it re-signed him to a team-friendly three-year, $9.3 million contract extension that keeps him as a restricted free agent upon expiry. That's a tidy piece of business by Kekalainen.
The 22-year-old blueliner is best known for his offensive prowess, especially in terms of creating transition opportunities. He ranked in the 98th percentile among NHL defensemen in carry exits (carrying the puck out of his own zone) and the 84th percentile in rush offense generated last season, according to HockeyStats.com.
Zellweger put that puck play on display in a video that's generated a lot of attention in recent days:
New Sabres defenseman Olen Zellweger has some SILKY MITTS 👀💨
— Built in Buffalo (@BuiltInBuffalo_) July 29, 2026
(@scholten_prod)#Sabres | #Sabrehood | #LetsGoBuffalo pic.twitter.com/06qBd4fR4T
His ability to keep moving at near full speed while dangling around the various obstacles makes it easy to see why he's such a threat when starting or joining a rush. His skating is so smooth.
Zellweger's ultimate upside will rest on whether his defensive game can eventually catch up to the offense. He's undersized (5'10'', 193 pounds) and has struggled at times protecting the front of his own net, which could lead head coach Lindy Ruff to shelter him a bit, at least early in his Buffalo tenure.
At minimum, he should help replace some of the blue-line offense lost with Byram's exit.
Buffalo's 2026 first-round draft picks receive rankings boost
There was a lot of conversation about how the Sabres should handle the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft. They acquired the No. 4 overall pick from the Chicago Blackhawks in the Byram deal and moved up from No. 27 to No. 20 in a trade sending Michael Kesselring to the San Jose Sharks.
In the end, Kekalainen and Co. decided against trading either of the selections for win-now talent, instead standing pat to add defenseman Daxon Rudolph and center Ilia Morozov.
Rudolph and Morozov were among the biggest gainers in an analytics model update from Nick Iacoban of Watch The Stats:
I've been working on a model update for a while, reworking how comps are calculated. After weeks, I feel like I'm finally nearing completion.
— Nick (@nickiacoban) July 30, 2026
As a quick comparison between old and new, here's a look at the prospects who saw the largest projection bumps due to my changes. pic.twitter.com/VdeCFjhKu3
Sabres fans shouldn't have to wait too long for those prized prospects to reach Western New York.
Rudolph is aiming to make the jump after one season at the University of Denver. Morozov, who was the youngest player in college hockey last year, could also head for pro hockey after another campaign with the RedHawks. He may need some time with the AHL's Rochester Americans, though.
Both players should be lineup fixtures for the Blue and Gold within the next two or three years.
Sabres games will have new streaming home in 2026-27
The Gotham Sports App drew the ire of Buffalo sports fans for its lack of optimization, so Sabres supporters will probably be happy to hear coverage is moving to DAZN, a longtime sports content distributor, when next season gets underway.
"Fans in the Sabres broadcast market can also continue to watch games on MSG through their cable providers or through the streaming platform Fubo, which carries the network. Out-of-market fans can continue to stream games on ESPN+," the team said in a statement.
Since coverage is still being handled through MSG, the broadcast team figures to remain the same, with Brian Duff and Martin Biron featured for pregame, postgame and intermissions, while Dan Dunleavy (play-by-play) and Rob Ray (color commentary) call the games.
The 2026-27 NHL season will feature 84 contests per team, a two-game increase from previous years. The Sabres are scheduled to open the campaign Oct. 1 against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
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