The Buffalo Sabres spent years trying to dig out of a rebuild that seemed to keep changing shape. Last season, they finally looked like a team that had found the right formula and earned a long-awaited trip back to the NHL Playoffs. Now the question is what comes next.
According to Nick Iacoban of Watch The Stats, the answer is pretty encouraging. In his latest “Contention Cycle” chart, the Sabres are one of only four NHL teams in the league’s best category: positioned to win now and later. Iacoban posted the updated chart on Wednesday and described Buffalo, along with the Montreal Canadiens, Utah Mammoth and Washington Capitals, as the only clubs in the Win Now & Later quadrant.
“The [San Jose] Sharks and [Anaheim] Ducks are closing in, looking to make jumps next season to fully cement their spots,” Iacoban wrote.
That marks a major climb for Buffalo, which he said moved in 2025-26 from deep in the “Win Later” area into the Goldilocks zone it occupies heading into 2026-27. It also gives some context to a summer that drew plenty of criticism, especially after the departures of Alex Tuch and Bowen Byram without any elite-level additions to replace them.
Still, the Sabres appear to be betting on internal growth rather than chasing a headline-grabbing splash. General manager Jarmo Kekalainen had bigger swings available, including a possible trade with the Winnipeg Jets for goalie Connor Hellebuyck and a free-agent run at Buffalo native Patrick Kane.
But those moves would have come with steep costs. A Hellebuyck deal likely would have required multiple roster players, a top prospect and a future first-round pick, while Kane would have wiped out Buffalo’s remaining cap space and then some.
Instead, Kekalainen has taken the more measured route so far, showing confidence that the roster can absorb the losses of Tuch and Byram without blowing up the budget. If that bet misses, he’ll take heat for it, because Buffalo fans do not want to see a quick slide back into also-ran territory. But the organization’s path still looks promising.
The bigger picture is that a Stanley Cup run rarely arrives on a straight line. The 2026 champion Carolina Hurricanes are a reminder of that, having gone through an eight-year playoff drought from 2010-18 and then years of postseason disappointment from 2019-25 before finally breaking through.
That kind of timeline helps explain why Buffalo may be resisting the urge to go all-in right now. The window is opening, and forcing the issue too early could shrink it before the Sabres have fully matured. With the Eastern Conference as strong as it is, the priority should be simple: get back to the playoffs year after year and give themselves a chance once they’re there.
If the Sabres can’t stay on that track over the next few seasons, urgency will rise, especially if older Atlantic Division powers like the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning start moving toward rebuilding. For now, though, Buffalo can afford to trust the growth of a young core that includes Owen Power, Zach Benson, Josh Doan, Jack Quinn, Noah Ostlund, Jiri Kulich, Konsta Helenius and Olen Zellweger. Every one of them is 24 or younger.
That youth comes with some risk, especially if replacing Tuch and Byram proves harder than expected. If the production dips too far, Kekalainen may need to make an in-season move. But this is not a roster that should be expected to crater.
The Sabres still have a veteran backbone, too. Rasmus Dahlin and Tage Thompson remain the headliners, and Mattias Samuelsson, Josh Norris, Ryan McLeod, Jason Zucker, Peyton Krebs, Beck Malenstyn and Conor Timmins are also back in the fold.
The one obvious question mark remains in goal. Buffalo got strong regular-season work from Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Alex Lyon and Colten Ellis in a three-goalie rotation, but the setup unraveled in the playoffs.
That is part of why the Sabres have been linked so heavily to Hellebuyck all summer. He would bring a clear No. 1 presence, even if his recent postseason results have not been especially strong either.
Training camp is about a month away, and Buffalo sits in a pretty enviable spot. The pieces are there, the window is open, and the next move is making the right small adjustments while hoping the long chase ends with a championship in Western New York.
In Other News...
Sabres Face One Trade Debate They Cant Ignore This Summer
With Alex Tuch gone, the Sabres are staring at the kind of summer that can shape more than a roster, because the forward group may be heading into the new season without a major external addition. Trade chatter around Buffalo has quieted, but the conversation has not disappeared, and it has naturally turned toward the sort of impact names that would change the conversation overnight.
Among the possibilities floating around, Dylan Larkin has emerged as the kind of player Buffalo insiders believe would move the needle, even if getting him out of Detroit looks like a long shot. The Red Wings are said to be protective of their top center and the asking price would be steep, which leaves the Sabres waiting on a market that has not offered many easy answers. Connor Hellebuyck has also been part of the broader speculation, but the more immediate question in Buffalo is whether a bold swing is coming at all. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Development Pipeline Shifts Again With Another Familiar Face Moving On
Rochesters bench will look different again when the AHL season opens, and that matters in Buffalo because the Americans remain such an important part of the Sabres development pipeline. Head coach Michael Leone is set to work with a new staff after both of his assistant coaches from the previous two years moved on to other roles, leaving another familiar layer of continuity to be replaced.
Nathan Paetsch is among the departures after three seasons with the Americans, and his exit underscores how much turnover can ripple through an organization that leans on its farm team for growth and stability. For the Sabres, the changes in Rochester are more than a personnel note, since the people working closest to prospects often shape the daily habits and details that carry over when players make the jump. [Read more 🡒]