After a surprisingly strong season, which saw the Buffalo Sabres make the playoffs for the first time in 15 years, they've had a pretty quiet offseason. Despite beating the Boston Bruins in the first round, the Sabres just didn't have what they needed to get past the Montréal Canadiens. Yet, it seems like adding those missing pieces hasn't been in the cards for the Sabres and general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen.
Kekäläinen, who took over the GM role from Kevyn Adams in December, seemed to prioritize off-loading some big contracts and picking up some draft picks, but has yet to make any moves of consequence to improve the Sabres.
Buffalo has made some moves
Since the Sabres' season ended, it hasn't been all quiet in the GM's office. They sent Michael Kesselring and a pick to the Sharks to get the 20th overall pick in the NHL draft, and then made a huge trade with the Chicago Blackhawks to acquire the fourth overall pick in exchange for Bowen Byram and Jordan Greenway. David Kampf joined the team in a trade that sent Alex Tuch to the Washington Capitals but opted to continue his career in Europe. They also shipped Devon Levi off to the Oilers for a couple of picks. Draft picks are nice, but they don't make a difference in the immediate future.
The Olen Zellweger deal during the NHL draft is a good pickup for the team, and they locked down a few key pieces to longer-term deals. But since the draft, the Sabres and Kekäläinen have been pretty quiet, and many of the big names they'd been rumoured to be trying to acquire have either gone quiet or signed elsewhere.
The missing pieces for the Sabres
One potential piece of depth that the Sabres were in the running for was Patrick Kane. The three-time Stanley Cup champion listed Buffalo and Chicago as the only destinations he was willing to go to as a free agent. While Kane is certainly not at his prime anymore, he still can contribute, especially on the power play. However, a hometown reunion wasn't meant to be for Kane, who returned to Chicago on a two-year, $8 million AAV deal announced on Thursday. If Kane was asking for $8 million from the Sabres, it probably wasn't meant to be anyway. That price is a little bit too steep for someone at the end of their career.
A price that they should be willing to pay is one to acquire a true starting goaltender. The tandem of Alex Lyon and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen got the Sabres into the playoffs, but neither had the best playoff numbers. The Sabres have been in on the conversation to acquire Connor Hellebuyck from the Winnipeg Jets.
They were close to getting the deal done at the draft, but the Jets rejected their offer. Since then, the rumours have died down, and the Sabres may have missed the boat. Sure, Hellebuyck seems to lose a lot of confidence in the playoffs, but the recent Olympic Gold Medal winner would be a great addition to any team.
Without landing either of these players, the Sabres don't seem much better off heading into next season than they did in the 2026 NHL playoffs. Still, it seems that Kekäläinen has a plan, which includes relying on some of the young talent already on the Sabres. Getting past that second round may just require a bit more star power than is already on the Sabres' roster.
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