The Buffalo Sabres can have seen their 2025-26 season end in abrupt fashion after they lost the seventh game of their second-round series to the Montreal Canadiens in additional time, but that doesn’t take anything away from the team’s season-long accomplishments.
Going into the season, little was expected from the Sabres and most thought they’d proceed their dry spell of failing to make the Stanley Cup playoffs. After a sluggish start, it appeared the Sabres would miss the postseason for a fifteenth straight season.
But head coach Lindy Ruff and his players would have none of it. They turned things around in December and commenced a run that will take them to the highest of the Atlantic Division. The Sabres combined timely scoring together with aggressive checking to earn the No. 2 seed within the Eastern Conference.
They were pushed in the primary round because the Boston Bruins won two games, however the Sabres were victorious in six games behind the explosive play of Alex Tuch and Tage Thompson. They battled the Canadiens to the purpose of heartbreak before bowing out when Alex Newhook scored the series-winning goal in additional time.
Because the Sabres prepare for the NHL Draft and free agency, general manager Jarmo Kekalainen could have a really busy offseason. Tuch is scheduled to be a free agent this summer, and he was the team’s No. 2 leading scorer behind Thompson.
Defenseman Bowen Byram, center Jason Zuch and Jordan Greenway are under contract for the 2026-27 season but shall be free agents a yr from now. Moreover, Zach Benson shall be a restricted free agent this summer. While most NHL teams don’t make runs at RFAs, Benson has been in comparison with Brad Marchand, and teams could take some time to bring him within the fold.
Byram might be traded in the course of the offseason
Kekalainen clearly has work to do to maintain the Sabres moving in the correct direction, and he can have to make several trades along with deciding which free agents to sign.
Byram had a wonderful run in the course of the postseason and the Sabres would be sure that he stays with the team under ideal circumstances. Nonetheless, Kekalainen could have to spend quite a little bit of money within the offseason on Tuch and Benson, and that would put Byram on trade alert.
Byram is under contract with the Sabres for the upcoming season and shall be paid $6.25 million. He played on the team’s No. 2 defense pairing together with Owen Power and he had a memorable showing within the postseason as he scored 4 goals and added 3 assists while ending with a plus-7 rating.
That got here on the heels of a wonderful regular season that saw him find the back of the web 11 times and register 31 assists. Byram could also be on the verge of stardom, and that would turn him right into a defenseman who will earn $10 million or more per season on his next contract.
Slightly than lose him in free agency next yr, Kekalainen may consider trading Byram now and getting an completed player together with a draft pick or more in return.
Kekalainen looks at Rasmus Dahlin, Mattias Samuelsson, Byram and Power because the backbone of the team. “I believe the highest 4 of our defense is our driver, our engine,” Kekalainen said, per The Athletic. “Their mobility, ability to maneuver the puck, ability to support offense but additionally play good defensively. There’s plenty of untapped potential there, too.”
Sabres have a plethora of centers
One in every of the explanations Ruff feels so good about his team is that the Sabres are wealthy in centers. Few teams find themselves in that position.
Josh Norris, Ryan McLeod, Konsta Helenius and Peyton Krebs finished the season because the team’s top 4 centers. Along with those players, the Sabres even have Jiri Kulich, Noah Östlund, Sam Carrick, Peyton Krebs and Tyson Kozak who can all play the middle position.
The Sabres may have the opportunity to trade a number of of those centers with the intention to fill other positions that can allow them to enhance in 2026-27. Expect Ruff and Kekalainen to collaborate in the case of making decision on which players to trade within the upcoming offseason.
Sabres might be seeking to upgrade their goaltending within the offseason
The Sabres were relatively pleased with their goaltending in the course of the regular season. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Alex Lyon did a solid job and additionally they got an assist from No. 3 goalie Colten Ellis.
Luukkonen had a 22-9-3 record together with a 2.51 goals against average and a .909 save percentage. Lyon was 20-10-4 together with a 2.77 GAA and a .902 save percentage.
Nonetheless, the goaltending was not pretty much as good within the postseason. Luukkonen struggled against the Bruins and was replaced by Lyon, who helped Buffalo advance to the second round. Nonetheless, each goalies had problems against the Canadiens within the second round.
Jakub Dobes of the Canadiens outplayed the Sabres’ goaltending duo, and Kekalainen will want to upgrade Buffalo’s goaltending situation by bringing in a brand new netminder in a trade.
The Buffalo Sabres can have seen their 2025-26 season end in abrupt fashion after they lost the seventh game of their second-round series to the Montreal Canadiens in additional time, but that doesn’t take anything away from the team’s season-long accomplishments.