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Last Word On Hockey’s Puck Drop Previews are back for the 2026-27 season! As the regular season approaches, Last Word will preview each team’s current outlook and stories to watch for the upcoming year. We’ll also do our best to project how things will go for each team throughout the campaign. Today, we’re previewing the 2026-27 Buffalo Sabres. The 2026-27 Buffalo Sabres Starting with the 2025-26 Season Recap The previous season for the Buffalo Sabres was one to remember. Finally, they broke their Stanley Cup Playoff drought. It only took 15 years. We can’t say it was worth the wait, however, as this was not a Cinderella team. They finished the regular season with 109 points and won the Atlantic Division for the first time since 2010. The usual suspects played a large role in the team’s success. Tage Thompson finished the year with 81 points, leading the team. On the blueline, Rasmus Dahlin‘s year started with tragedy in his personal life, and he still managed 74 points and his first Norris Trophy nomination. He also scored the final goal of the season for the Sabres this season in the second round of the playoffs. The season ended in typical Buffalo sports fashion, a heartbreaking loss in overtime. The Montreal Canadiens took them down in the Atlantic Division final in Game 7 with a 3-2 final. Despite the tough loss, it was a season to be proud of in Western New York, and one that hopefully won’t take another 15 years to see. 2026 Offseason It was an eventful offseason for Jarmo Kekalainen, the Buffalo Sabres general manager. Kekalainen has over a decade of experience as a GM, but this was his first in Buffalo. The ball seemingly got rolling when Bowen Byram made it clear he wasn’t going to extend in Buffalo. After shopping him around, the Sabres acquired probably the best possible package they could have gotten. They sent Byram and Jordan Greenway to Chicago for the fourth-overall pick and Louis Crevier. They also traded away Michael Kesselring to the San Jose Sharks for a first-round pick swap. And lastly, they traded Alex Tuch to the Washington Capitals in a sign and trade deal for a third-round pick. That’s four layers that played in Game 7 of the second round that won’t be with the team next season. They did bring in some talent to help around the blueline. Trading for Olen Zellweger from Anaheim and extending him on a three year contract. However, Zellweger and Crevier are the only pieces the Sabres really brought into the organization to help this year. They drafted Daxon Rudolf at 4th overall, a defenceman with tremendous promise. But he will be spending next season playing at Denver University. The Sabres rounded up the offseason extending a few forwards. Peyton Krebs, Beck Malenstyn, and Zach Benson got new contracts. The Sabres are still rumoured to be in on a Connor Hellebuyck trade, however the smoke behind that has seemingly cleared for now. Lineup Projections Forwards | LW | C | RW | |---|---|---| | Zach Benson | Joshua Norris | Tage Thompson | | Josh Doan | Jiri Kulich | Noah Ostlund | | Jason Zucker | Konsta Helenius | Jack Quinn | | Peyton Krebs | Ryan McLeod | Beck Malenstyn | | Scratches | Sam Carrick | Tyson Kozak | Top Six The top sixth is heavily reliant on young talented players turning into stars in Buffalo. Benson is coming off of his best season, and the Sabres are hoping he explodes in a permanent top line role. Doan turned in a 50-point season last year after exploding onto the scene in Buffalo. Kulich missed almost all of last season with a blood clot injury, but he was projected to be the teams top line centre last summer. Ostlund showed flashes of stardom in his rookie season, and the Sabres will look for him to take another step forward this season. Mix those four in with proven talent in Thompson and Norris, and they have the potential to be a dominant group. The main concern is those young players either regressing or not living up to their projections, as well and injury concerns. Norris seemingly can’t stay healthy throughout the season, and who knows how Kulich will play after being away from the game for so long. Bottom Six This is the best depth the Sabres have had in over a decade. They finally have bonafide role players to help out the talented players up top. Quinn is on a contract season, and also coming off his most successful year as a pro. He hit career highs in goals, points, and games played, a big statistic given unfortunate injury history. The Sabres are hoping he can continue to develop into the superstar projection he put forth in the AHL. Helenius is the unknown factor. He looked great in the playoffs against the Canadiens, filling in due to injury, but will likely still have to earn his spot throughout training camp and the preseason. If he needs more time in the minors, McLeod is perfectly capable of sliding up to play where he did last season, with the same old linemates. Krebs and Malenstyn are as steady as they come, they play heavy and with speed. They were great examples of depth players to sign to contract extensions. Defence | LD | RD | |---|---| | Rasmus Dahlin | Mattias Samuelsson | | Owen Power | Louis Crevier | | Olen Zellweger | Conor Timmins | | Scratch: | Zach Metsa | Top Four The Sabres had one of the best bluelines in hockey last year. So much of their play was driven from their mobile defenceman. Byram’s out now though. Who will fill his skates? That’s the multi-million dollar question. Hopefully one of the bottom three defenders can be a stable presence on the right side of Power. The Sabres can only hope to have similar seasons from Dahlin and Samuelsson. Dahlin established himself as one of the best defenders in the league, and hopefully he can continue to be an elite defender in this league. Samuelsson was terrible two seasons ago, almost every Sabres fan was calling for a buyout last summer. How did he respond? Well, he did so being an All-Star of a blueliner. With no power play time, Samuelsson recorded 13 goals and 41 points. The Sabres are praying this type of season is the real Samuelsson, rather than the one from two seasons ago. Bottom Pair There’s room to be excited in Buffalo along the bottom pair. Zellweger has tremendous speed, and showed nice flashes of skill in Anaheim. Timmins is a great penalty killer and showed great play earlier in the season before fracturing his leg. Lastly, Metsa played in a ton of games and was a fantastic pass first 10 minute a night player. The Sabres were really happy with what they got from Metsa. With a bottom pair, no news is good news. However, there is certainly potential for this defensive group to round out to one of the best in the NHL. Goalies | Starter | Backup | Depth | |---|---|---| | Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen | Alex Lyon | Colton Ellis | The biggest reason the Sabres were as successful as they were was because of this goaltending. Each one of these guys played over 15 games. All of them had a save percentage over .900. Despite how good it was in the regular season, the Sabres were forced to bounce back and forth between Lyon and Luukkonen in the playoffs. Hence the Hellebuyck trade rumours, there was room for improvement in the playoffs last season. If they don’t land Hellebuyck, the Sabres will hope this goaltending trio can replicate what they did last year in the regular season. Players to Watch Zach Benson – Benson turned into a monster in the playoffs. What he lacks in elite speed he makes up for in tenacity and work ethic. He makes the players around him better, regardless of who he’s playing with, and he draws so much attention to free up those other players. If he becomes a main stay on the top line, he will certainly be one of the most fun players to watch in the league. Owen Power – Power finally took that step in Buffalo that everyone was hoping he would. He looked more confident, more tenacious in front of his own net, and knew how to get involved offensively. It took Dahlin a bit to become the elite defender he now is, is this the season Power can have a similar trajectory. If he can be what he was last year that’s great for the Sabres, if he can become a first-overall pick level talent, the Sabres will have the most dominant one-two punch in the NHL on their blueline. Prediction for the 2026-2027 Buffalo Sabres The Sabres are a bit of a question mark heading into next season. Yes – they won the division last year. Yes – they did that despite crippling injuries in the early part of the season. Yes – they lost premium NHL talent this offseason and are poised for regression. All of these things make it difficult to predict where they Sabres are going to land this season. It feels optimistic to say they will win the division again this year. The Atlantic got much tougher this offseason. The Maple Leafs upgraded, Florida will be back in the mix with new acquisitions and health. Moreover, Montreal is one of the young more exciting teams in hockey, and Tampa doesn’t seem to want to fall out of the mix. Overall, there’s room to be excited in Buffalo, but it won’t be an easy road next year. Practically if they can stay in the mix in the Atlantic and secure a division playoff spot, that will be a successful year in Buffalo. They have a ton of youth again on their team, and hopefully the team can stay competitive with those young guns being a part of it. Nobody saw their run to the playoffs last year coming, hopefully, they can surprise the hockey world once again, and push deeper into the playoffs this year. More News and Notes from Around the NHL: 2026-27 Boston Bruins Puck Drop Preview Looking at the Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres Balance of Power in Atlantic Division Main Photo Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images