A look at the Buffalo Sabres’ system makes the same problem jump out over and over: they have more defensemen than they know what to do with, and not nearly enough help down the middle.
On the blue line, the organization is stocked for the long haul. Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, Mattias Samuelsson, Olen Zellweger and Louis Crevier are all under contract for at least three seasons, and the pipeline behind them is crowded with legitimate NHL hopefuls. Daxon Rudolph, Radim Mrtka, Adam Kleber, Luke Osburn, Maxim Strbak, Gavin McCarthy and David Bedkowski all sit in that mix, giving Buffalo a surplus that looks impressive on paper and awkward in practice.
The forward side tells a different story. The Sabres have already moved Zach Benson, Noah Ostlund, Jiri Kulich and Konsta Helenius into the NHL in recent years, and Tage Thompson remains the offensive centerpiece. Jack Quinn is also making a push to become a core piece with his strong start to the 2026-27 campaign.
Beyond that, the picture gets murkier. Jake Richard, Brodie Ziemer and Prokhor Poltapov project as possible middle-six wingers, while Ilia Morozov could grow into a dependable second- or third-line center. But the one thing Buffalo still doesn’t have - either in the NHL or coming up behind it - is a true No. 1 center.
That’s where general manager Jarmo Kekalainen comes in. He already tried to land St. Louis Blues center Robert Thomas before last season’s trade deadline, and he’s also been in the mix around Dylan Larkin, though the Detroit Red Wings star hasn’t put Buffalo on his trade list.
The logic is obvious: the Sabres need to turn some of their blue-line surplus into a first-line center, something the franchise has lacked since Jack Eichel left Western New York in 2021. There’s no realistic way to keep all of those defensemen in the pipeline and on the roster, and the longer prized prospects sit in the minors, the more their value can slip around the league. The Ryan Johnson situation is the warning sign.
That urgency is only sharper because Buffalo’s offense has sputtered early in the current season. If there was ever a time for the front office to swing big, this feels like it.
Rudolph’s rise only makes the picture clearer. The No. 4 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft has looked right at home at the University of Denver, putting up 12 points - six goals and six assists - in his first 12 NCAA games. He’s already become a key player for the No. 3 team in the country.
That kind of start makes it easier to imagine Rudolph reaching the NHL next season, which would tighten Buffalo’s depth chart even further. Zach Metsa is still in place as the No. 7 defenseman, though Kleber could challenge for that role once he turns pro. Zellweger could remain alongside Power on the second pair, but that alignment still leaves the Sabres with a crowded back end and limited room for everyone.
Which brings the conversation to Mrtka.
The No. 9 pick in the 2025 draft has not produced much offense. He had just one goal in 48 games, regular season and playoffs combined, with the Seattle Thunderbirds last season, and he has yet to record a point in 13 games with the AHL’s Rochester Americans in 2026-27.
He was never drafted to be a Dahlin-style offensive driver, but there’s a difference between not being a high-scoring defenseman and not scoring at all. There is still optimism about what he can do in his own zone, but his offensive struggles raise a real question: is it smarter to move him now, or keep waiting for the game to come around?
Given how many defense prospects Buffalo has moving through the system, Mrtka can’t be treated as untouchable.
Put him together with the Sabres’ 2027 first-round pick and a couple of NHL centers who could be used as trade chips - Josh Norris and/or Ryan McLeod - and Buffalo has the kind of package that could actually land something meaningful.
Kekalainen has taken a measured approach since taking over the front office last December, but the Sabres may be reaching the point where caution has to give way to aggression if they want proven scoring help.
In Other News...
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 Face A Big Konsta Helenius Decision After Rough Start
Konsta Helenius has hit an early snag in his first NHL season, and the Sabres are trying to balance patience with the reality of a 20-year-old forward who has managed just one goal and three points in 11 games. The rough start has been shaped in part by an upper-body injury, but Buffalos view of Helenius has not changed much from the player it watched develop in Finland and in the AHL, where his talent and upside showed up more consistently.
The question now is what gives him the best chance to keep moving forward, because the Sabres are not ready to write him off as a prospect. A trip back to Rochester is on the table if it means more meaningful minutes and a better developmental path, and the organization will weigh that option carefully as it tries to protect both his confidence and his long-term growth. [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 🡒]