Zach Benson reacts to Jarmo Kekalainen's remarks about Sabres' breakout season

Buffalo Sabres winger Zach Benson was struck by a comment from general manager Jarmo Kekalainen during an organizational meeting before training camp.

Benson was asked Thursday to reflect about the Sabres' run to the second round of the 2026 NHL Playoffs, which ended with a Game 7 overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens, but quickly shifted the focus toward the bigger-picture conversation.

"It was awesome but at the same time, I think Jarmo said it yesterday, we weren't even really halfway," Benson told reporters. "Then you really realize how hard it is [to win a Stanley Cup]. You hear all the outside noise and you feel like you're so close. Then you get home, you rethink about your season, watch some videos and you realize you were close, but you weren't that close.

"So, it's time to regroup and you gotta be better the next year."

It's an interesting perspective, and one a longtime NHL executive like Kekalainen probably felt necessary to deliver to a young roster coming off a breakthrough season.

Yes, the Sabres were one of the league's best teams from mid-December through the end of the 2025-26 campaign, and ending the extended postseason drought was a massive step in the right direction for the long-suffering franchise.

In the end, however, winning a championship requires 16 playoff wins and Buffalo was only able to secure seven. That's a long way from the finish line.

"The end goal is to win the Stanley Cup," Benson said.

Now, as the Sabres prepare for their new journey, they're betting on internal growth from emerging players like Benson, who signed a seven-year, $52.5 million contract extension in June, to help replace the lost production of Alex Tuch.

Sabres' Zach Benson sets personal goal for the 2026-27 NHL season

The 21-year-old Canadian winger has established himself as a highly dependable, hardworking two-way winger across his first three seasons since Buffalo selected him with the No. 13 overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.

One question lingers in regards to his true potential, though: Does he have another gear (or two) he's capable of finding offensively?

"Just produce more," Benson told reporters when asked about the new season. "It's gonna be creating play-driving, making players around me better and, ultimately, just produce more."

He's recorded a modest 101 points (34 goals and 67 assists) in 211 appearances for the Sabres, but those statistics only tell part of the story.

The 5-foot-10 lovable pest has posted those numbers while most members of his draft class haven't even stepped on the ice for a single NHL game. He's also done it with extremely limited power-play opportunities, especially in terms of the first PP unit.

It appears that latter point may change this season, based on how Buffalo lined up during special-teams work on Day 2 of training camp Friday:

Along with the increased ice time in scoring-favorable situations, the underlying analtyics also suggest better days are ahead for Benson offensively.

While he's scored 34 goals for the Blue and Gold, he's generated 53.2 individual expected goals, according to Natural Stat Trick. In other words, he's creating plenty of scoring chances and a scoring breakout could arrive with a little better finishing touch around the net.

So, there are ample reasons to believe Benson, who recorded 43 points in 65 games last season, could push closer to (or over) the 60-point mark in 2026-27.

He's not the type of player who'll probably ever seriously compete for an Art Ross Trophy as the league's leading scorer, but if he could top out around 70-75 points in his prime to go along with his other three-zone impacts, that's still the makings of an elite NHL winger.

One thing's for sure: Benson will be a fan favorite in Buffalo for a long, long time.

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