Konsta Helenius’ rough opening to the season has sparked some noise, but the Sabres still appear to view him as a major piece of what they’re building.
The 20-year-old has one goal and three points in 11 games this season, and an upper-body injury has slowed him down further. He is currently week-to-week.
That kind of start naturally raises questions, especially when a young player is trying to carve out a real NHL role. But the idea that Helenius is suddenly no longer part of Buffalo’s future goes too far.
The Sabres have invested plenty in him, and the track record explains why. Buffalo selected Helenius 14th overall in 2024, then watched him put together a strong 2023-24 season in Finland as a 17-year-old, when he posted 14 goals and 36 points in 51 games.
He then made the jump to North America and immediately produced in the AHL, scoring 14 goals and 35 points in 65 games with the Rochester Americans in 2024-25. He followed that with 21 goals and 63 points in 63 games last season.
That run earned him a look with Buffalo, and he made it count enough to keep the conversation alive. In nine games last season, he scored a goal and finished with four points, then added two goals in four playoff games.
So while this season has not gone the way he or the Sabres wanted, it still fits the larger arc of a young player learning how to stick in the NHL. He has only played 20 NHL games, which is nowhere near enough to stamp him as a bust.
A trip back to the AHL would not be out of the question, but it would need to be handled carefully. The Sabres can’t do anything that chips away at his confidence. If they send him down, it would need to be because they can replace his spot with a better option and because the move would give Helenius regular top-six minutes.
If that kind of setup isn’t available, Buffalo can afford to keep giving him more runway while he works through the early bumps in his NHL transition.
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The bigger issue is the same one Buffalo has been trying to solve since Jack Eichel left: finding a true No. 1 center. General manager Jarmo Kekalainen has shown interest in adding that kind of top-line pivot, and the most obvious way to make it happen may be to deal from the position where the Sabres are strongest. The question now is whether that surplus on defense can finally be turned into the offensive centerpiece this team has been missing. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres May Have A Real Answer To Their Top-Six Scoring Problem
The Sabres have spent enough time looking for more punch in their top six that any plausible upgrade is going to get attention, and Owen Tippett has emerged as one of the more interesting names to watch. The Flyers winger brings size, speed and a track record that suggests there could be another level in his game, which is exactly the kind of profile Buffalo has been trying to find as it searches for more reliable scoring help up front.
What makes Tippett especially intriguing is that he is still young enough to fit the Sabres' long-term timeline while also carrying enough value that Philadelphia would not move him cheaply. Any real discussion would have to start with Buffalo deciding how aggressively it wants to go after a player like this and what kind of roster piece it is willing to part with, whether that means a center such as Ryan McLeod or another notable asset. For now, it is all speculation, but it is the sort of speculation that makes sense for a team still trying to solve a familiar problem. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Still Have One Big Question Despite Luukkonens Recent Rise
The Sabres week offered a little of everything, from a 5-2 win over Columbus to quieter nights in losses to Ottawa and Vegas, and the offense still looks like the bigger concern. Buffalo has scored seven goals in three games and sits 21st in the NHL in goals per game, even with Josh Norris scoring twice against the Blue Jackets and Josh Doan adding another. For a team trying to climb out of the middle of the pack, the mix of finishing bursts and dry spells remains hard to ignore.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has helped steady things in net, giving Buffalo a more reliable presence as the rest of the roster works through injuries and lineup shuffling. Matt Grzelyck, Konsta Helenius, Alex Lyon and Justin Danforth are all either sidelined or still working back, leaving the Sabres to piece together answers in the meantime. The goaltending has been better, but the bigger question is whether Buffalo can get enough consistent scoring around it to turn that into a real run. [Read more 🡒]