The Buffalo Sabres have hit a rare kind of problem: too much demand.
On Tuesday, the team announced it has sold out of season tickets for the 2026-27 season, a reflection of the surge in interest that followed last season’s turnaround. With that, the Sabres are bringing back a familiar move from the mid-2000s - a season-ticket waiting list.
Fans can get on the list with a $100 deposit. That gets them in line for a shot at season seats before the general public, plus playoff ticket pre-sale access and a one-time discount to Buffalo ProShop, the team’s online store. Sign-ups are available at Sabres.com.
The spike in interest comes on the heels of a season that put Buffalo back among the NHL’s top clubs. Under coach Lindy Ruff, the Sabres won 50 games, finished with 109 points and ended their NHL-record 14-year postseason drought in emphatic fashion. They knocked off the Boston Bruins in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, then pushed the Montreal Canadiens to seven games before bowing out in a memorable series.
That success showed up in the building, too. KeyBank Center drew an average of 17,853 fans per game last season, almost 2,000 more than the 2024-25 campaign. The team sold out its final 24 games, playoffs included, and the crowd energy inside the rink was often loud and lively.
It was the first time the Sabres had averaged 17,000 fans per game since the 2019-20 season.
In Other News...
Former Sabre JJ Peterka Just Created A New Buffalo Debate
JJ Peterkas path has already taken him from Buffalo to Utah and now back into the conversation around the Sabres after another major move. The 24-year-old winger, who was traded out of Buffalo one year ago, has now been dealt from the Utah Mammoth to the Boston Bruins, a transaction that immediately lit up another round of what-could-have-been debate for Sabres fans.
Peterkas next stop gives him a chance to reunite with some familiar faces from his Buffalo days, which at least softens the landing as he heads to Boston. He sounded surprised by the move and is approaching the change with optimism, but for the Sabres the storyline is less about where he is going now and more about how often his name keeps circling back into the conversation in Buffalo. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Just Became The Goalie Contract Benchmark Fans Need To Watch
Joel Hofers rise in St. Louis has quietly turned him into one of the more interesting young goalie cases in the NHL. After taking over as the Blues starter last season and backing it up with strong numbers in 46 games, he has moved from promising depth piece to a legitimate part of the teams core, which is exactly why his next contract is drawing so much attention around the league.
For Buffalo fans, the part to watch is how the market treats a young starter with upside when a club is trying to lock him in before the cost climbs further. Hofer is a restricted free agent after this season, and the Blues could face the kind of contract decision that has become harder to navigate in a league where offer sheets are no longer just a theoretical threat. St. Louis has dealt with that landscape before, and the way it handles Hofer could help define the goalie market for teams like the Sabres looking ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Now Face One Uncomfortable Devon Levi Question
Devon Levis exit left the Sabres making another clear statement about where their goaltending plans stand. After an impressive AHL track record, Levi had slipped out of favor in Buffalo, and the club moved on by claiming another goalie off waivers before dealing Levi and a draft pick to Edmonton for a better pick in the future. It was the sort of transaction that says as much about organizational priorities as it does about the player involved.
Now Levi gets a fresh start with the Oilers, where he will compete for the starting job, while Buffalo continues reshaping a roster that has been changing in other spots too. The Sabres have also been working to account for the blue-line holes left by recent trades, and the next layer of the conversation is whether the pieces they brought in can steady the defense while the crease picture keeps getting more complicated. [Read more 🡒]