The Buffalo Sabres are heading into the 2026-27 season with real buzz around them, but the good vibes come with a few loud warning signs. After a marvelous 2025-26 campaign and a drought-breaking playoff run, the question isn’t whether this team can compete. It’s whether it can hold onto enough of what made it work.
The biggest issue starts with the players who are no longer there. Bowen Byram was traded to Chicago for the fourth overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, a pick that became defenseman Daxon Rudolph.
Alex Tuch was also moved, landing in Washington in a sign-and-trade deal. That leaves Buffalo staring at two major vacancies, one on defense and one in the attack, and both are tough to replace.
Byram and Tuch weren’t just useful pieces. Together, they put up 108 points in 2025-26, with 44 goals and 64 assists. That kind of production doesn’t vanish quietly, and now the pressure shifts to Rasmus Dahlin and Tage Thompson to raise their games and help cover the gap.
There’s also the matter of expectations, which have changed fast. The 14-year playoff drought is over, and now the bar is higher.
Making the playoffs won’t be enough anymore. The Sabres are being measured by how much further they can go, and by whether they can keep this thing rolling beyond one breakthrough season.
That gets even trickier when you look around the Atlantic Division. The Toronto Maple Leafs landed the first overall selection and used it on franchise player Gavin McKenna, which could push them right back into the mix. Auston Matthews is also set to have two fantastic wingers alongside him, a setup that could lift him back into the NHL’s elite tier.
Then there’s Florida, which went all-in this summer with Brady Tkachuk joining his brother Matthew. If that plays out the way the Panthers want, they’ll be back in the playoff picture too.
That means Buffalo is dealing with more than just its own roster losses. Two teams that missed the postseason last year look close to getting in next season, and the division already sent five clubs to the playoffs just a few months ago. The Sabres have ground to make up, and the margin for error is getting thinner.
The final concern is whether last season was the start of something real or just a one-off. Hockey has seen plenty of teams flash bright for a year and then fade.
The New York Rangers, for example, went from Presidents’ Trophy winners in 2023-24 to a retool after two straight missed postseasons. Buffalo has to avoid becoming that kind of cautionary tale.
There’s still reason to believe this group can stay competitive. Head coach Lindy Ruff should have plenty to work with, and Jarmo Kekäläinen is expected to use the trade deadline to add whatever he can while the Stanley Cup window is “open.” But even with all that optimism, the Sabres enter 2026-27 carrying more questions than they probably expected when the season ended on May 18.
In Other News...
Sabres Organization Faces Another Amerks Coaching Shakeup
Another ripple in the Sabres player-development pipeline is forcing Rochester to adjust again. A former Buffalo player and assistant with the Americans, someone who spent 17 seasons in the organization, has moved on to become head coach of the Youngstown Phantoms in the USHL, opening yet another spot on the Amerks bench for Buffalo to fill.
It is the second coaching vacancy the Sabres have had to address with Rochester this offseason, a reminder of how much turnover can hit the AHL side of an NHL organization at once. Youngstowns move was tied to a broader shuffle of its own, with Ryan Ward leaving for an assistant role with the Providence Bruins, and Buffalo now has another decision to make as it tries to keep the Amerks staff stable. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Could Face One Painful Core Decision If Expansion Returns
The chatter around NHL expansion has picked up again with Atlanta and Houston being discussed as possible landing spots, and for the Sabres that brings an old headache back into view. Any expansion draft would force Buffalo to sort through the kind of core decision teams hope to avoid, balancing established talent, contract status and long-term roster plans while trying to keep the group intact.
On paper, the Sabres would still have a fairly clear sense of who sits near the top of the priority list, especially up front where the protection math gets tricky in a hurry. Defense would pose its own important choices as well, and if expansion ever moves from speculation to reality, Buffalo could be staring at a list that says as much about its future direction as it does about the players it keeps. [Read more 🡒]
Ryan McLeod Gave The Sabres A Huge Boost They Still Need
Ryan McLeods first season in Buffalo gave the Sabres exactly the kind of two-way stability they have been chasing down the middle. The center finished with career highs in assists and points, and his work away from the puck made him more than just a solid depth piece. He was one of the more dependable forwards on the penalty kill, and his defensive impact fit neatly with a team that has spent too much time looking for consistency from its middle six.
The part that keeps his season interesting is how much more there could still be. McLeods faceoff game remains an area to clean up, and that matters for a player expected to shoulder more responsibility as Buffalo sorts out its forward group and contract picture for the seasons ahead. If he can build on what he already provided, the Sabres may have found a player whose value goes well beyond the box score. [Read more 🡒]