Sabres Enter 2026-27 With Playoff Hunger and New Faces

Buffalo's first playoff appearance since 2011 was a genuine milestone, and a 50-23-9 regular season that topped the Atlantic Division showed this is a legitimate contender. The offseason moves were bold but carry real risk: replacing 108 combined points from Alex Tuch and Bowen Byram is not a small ask, and the goaltending questions that surfaced in a seven-game second-round loss to Montreal have not been fully answered.

Last season in review

The numbers were genuinely impressive. A 109-point season, first place in the Atlantic, 288 goals for and only 241 against. Tage Thompson led the team with 40 goals and 81 points. Rasmus Dahlin added 74 points from the blue line. Alex Tuch chipped in 66 points before departing.

Goaltending was the soft spot. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen posted a .910 save percentage in the regular season, serviceable but not elite. Against Montreal, Buffalo allowed almost four goals per game (27 total in the seven games), and coach Lindy Ruff cycled between Luukkonen and Alex Lyon without finding a reliable answer. That seven-game collapse against Montreal stings, and it coloured every roster decision that followed.

Ins and outs

• In: Olen Zellweger (acquired from Anaheim, signed three-year contract July 1)
• In: Louis Crevier (acquired from Chicago in the Bowen Byram trade)
• In: Conor Sheary (signed one-year contract July 1)
• In: Noah Ostlund (signed eight-year, $52.8M extension on September 14)
• In: David Kampf (acquired from Washington in the Tuch trade; subsequently signed in Czech Extraliga)
• Out: Alex Tuch (sign-and-trade to Washington Capitals, June 26)
• Out: Bowen Byram (signed six-year contract with Chicago Blackhawks, July 1)
• Out: Jordan Greenway (included in Byram trade to Chicago)
• Out: Devon Levi (traded to Edmonton Oilers, July 1)
• Out: Michael Kesselring (traded to San Jose Sharks, June 17)
• Out: David Kampf (signed with HC Litvinov in Czech Extraliga, July 7)
• Injury: Louis Crevier (offseason shoulder surgery, expected ready for Oct. 1 pending surgeon clearance)
• Injury: Jason Zucker (hernia surgery, expected to miss opening weeks of the season)
• Injury: Olen Zellweger (concussion sustained in preseason game vs. Columbus, Sept. 23)
• Return: Jiri Kulich (back at camp after blood-clot recovery ended his 2025-26 season after 13 games)

The big question

Can the goaltending hold up for a full playoff run? Luukkonen and Lyon were fine in the regular season but came apart when the games mattered most. Buffalo made noise about Connor Hellebuyck during the draft but did not land him, so the tandem returns largely intact. If the power play, which ranked 21st at 19.5 per cent last season, also stays stuck, the margin for error shrinks fast.

X-factor

Jiri Kulich is the name to watch. The 22-year-old centre showed genuine top-six potential with 15 goals in 62 games during 2024-25, then lost almost all of last season to a blood clot. He is healthy again and back on the ice at camp. If he can stay in the lineup and build on that earlier promise, Buffalo gains a legitimate third scoring option without having to spend another dollar on the roster.

Bold prediction

Buffalo returns to the playoffs and wins a first-round series, but the goaltending situation forces Jarmo Kekalainen to make a move before the trade deadline.

The outlook

The Sabres are a real team now, not a rebuilding project. The core of Thompson, Dahlin, Zach Benson, and a healthy Kulich gives them enough offence to compete in the Atlantic. The defence is younger and less proven after losing Byram, and Zellweger's preseason concussion is an unwelcome wrinkle before the Oct. 1 opener in Columbus. The pieces are there for another deep run. Whether the goaltending cooperates is the only question that really matters.