The Buffalo Sabres’ spotlight will naturally land on the big names - Rasmus Dahlin, Tage Thompson, and the young players who made noise late last season. But underneath that top layer, there are still a few players who can shape this team in quieter ways when the 2026-27 season opens.
Jason Zucker is one of them. At 34, he put together a solid 2025-26 campaign without drawing much of the attention around him.
He finished with 24 goals, which ranked fourth on the team, and 45 points, which put him seventh. A big chunk of that damage came on the power play, where he scored 10 times, more than anyone else on the Sabres.
Used mostly as a third-line winger and power-play specialist, he kept things simple, worked around the net, and brought leadership on and off the ice. That’s a pretty useful player, even if he wasn’t the center of the conversation.
His playoff numbers were quieter - 2 goals and 4 points in 13 games - but that could work in his favor this season if it helps keep him out of opponents’ heads. He still has enough speed to stay with the modern game, and if he stays healthy, there’s a path to another 20-goal season in Buffalo.
Louis Crevier is another name that could surprise people. He came over from the Chicago Blackhawks in the deal that sent Bowen Byram to Chicago and helped Buffalo land the 4th overall pick in the 2026 draft, which became Daxon Rudolph.
Crevier may have looked like a small part of that transaction, but there’s more here than a simple add-on. The 6-foot-8 defenseman already has 134 NHL games across his first three seasons, and 2025-26 was his first full season.
He ended up playing around 19-21 minutes a night, scored 7 goals, and totaled 25 points on a Blackhawks team that struggled to generate offense.
What stands out just as much is how he handled the defensive side of the job. Chicago finished with a minus-62 goal differential and ranked 27th in goals against, yet Crevier still ended the year at minus-2.
That kind of result on that kind of team says plenty about his poise and responsibility. With Byram gone, Buffalo should give him every chance to become a major piece on the blue line, especially as a big right-handed defender.
Then there’s Colten Ellis, the real dark-horse name in the group. He entered the season as a waiver claim and stayed with the Sabres all year to provide goaltending insurance.
That was a little surprising with Devon Levi waiting in the minors, but something about Ellis kept him in the picture. He had some strong outings and some shaky ones too, which is about what you’d expect from a first-year goalie.
In 14 starts, Ellis went 8-4-2 with a 2.90 goals-against average, a .903 save percentage, and one shutout. More importantly, he showed enough to prove he belongs in the NHL after first making his mark in the AHL.
He’s still listed behind Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Alex Lyon on the depth chart, but Buffalo still does not have an officially declared #1 goaltender. That keeps the door open.
A strong camp, plus a hot start, could change everything quickly.
Underrated doesn’t mean unimportant. Zucker could get more runway with Alex Tuch gone.
Crevier has a shot to slide into a second-pair role with Owen Power. Ellis could force his way into a full-time NHL job if Lyon or Luukkonen stumble.
None of them may be the first players fans talk about, but all three have a real chance to matter.
In Other News...
Peyton Krebs Just Made Buffalos Next Two Seasons More Interesting
Peyton Krebs has turned a steady role into something more meaningful for the Sabres, and his new contract reflects that rise. After posting career highs in goals, assists and points in 2025-26 while averaging nearly 14 minutes of ice time per game, he also carried that production into the playoffs, giving Buffalo another young piece it can trust in bigger moments. The organization has clearly seen enough to believe there is still more to come.
What makes the move more important is the timing, because it gives Buffalo a clearer read on a player whose value has been growing without ever feeling fully capped. Krebs has become the kind of contributor teams need when they are trying to move from promise to consistency, and the Sabres are betting his game can keep climbing from here. The next couple of seasons will say a lot about whether this is the start of a larger step forward or just the point where his development finally settles in. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Prospect Hype Is Back But One Question Still Looms
Prokhor Poltapov has pushed his way back into the Sabres conversation after a strong preseason start with CSKA Moscow, the latest reminder that Buffalos 2021 second-round pick is still very much on the radar. Entering the final season of his KHL contract, the winger has given the organization something to monitor closely as he continues to develop overseas, and Sabres assistant general manager Jerry Forton recently sounded encouraged about the possibility of Poltapov making the jump to North America.
The next step, though, is still the one that matters most for Buffalo. Poltapov has not signed an entry-level deal with the Sabres yet, and his decision on whether to head to North America or stay in the KHL will go a long way toward shaping when, or even if, he arrives in the NHL picture. For a prospect the Sabres clearly still value, the talent is drawing attention again, but the path to Rochester or Buffalo remains unresolved. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Are Betting Big On One Familiar Name Again
With Alex Tuch and Bowen Byram gone, the Sabres have spent the early part of the summer leaning more on familiar faces than on splashy outside help. That puts a brighter spotlight on the players already in place, especially in the middle of the ice, where Tage Thompson remains one of the organizations defining talents and one of the central reasons Buffalo is comfortable betting on internal growth instead of chasing a big-name replacement.
Thompsons reputation as a scorer is already established, but the conversation around him keeps circling back to the same question the Sabres have been asking of the whole roster: how much more can be unlocked with a stronger all-around game? Buffalo would love for the answer to come from within, because the alternative is another season of waiting for the next move to change the picture. Meanwhile, there was at least a little Sabres nostalgia floating around elsewhere, with Ryan Miller taking part in a Colorado Avalanche alumni game and the Bisons again planning their Hockey Night at the Ballpark celebration. [Read more 🡒]