NHL free agency opened Wednesday at noon, and Buffalo’s day was more about filling out the edges than making a splash.
The Sabres had already done some of the heavier lifting in the days leading up to the market opening, trading for defensemen Olen Zellweger and Louis Crevier. Zellweger was also signed to a three-year contract on Wednesday. Once free agency began, Buffalo added a handful of depth players and then let general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen explain the approach.
Kekäläinen pointed first to the value of bringing in forward Conor Sheary on a one-year deal.
“Every organization needs depth. There’s always going to be injuries, so you’re going to have to rely on your depth with players that you know can play in the NHL, and Conor Sheary is one of them. He’s got a lot of experience in the league, so I think he’s going to be a good depth piece for us.”
He also discussed Trevor Kuntar, who signed a two-year, two-way contract. Kekäläinen described Kuntar as a difficult player to face in the American League and said there is room for him to grow into an NHL role.
“He was a hard guy to play against in the American League. I wasn’t at the game when he got his only NHL game, but I watched it on TV live, and he’s got a lot of courage, he can get under the opponent’s skin, he’s hard to play against and he goes to the hard areas. He’s still a young guy, so I think there’s potential there to become an NHL player.”
One of the more notable moves of the week was the trade of goalie Devon Levi to Edmonton for a third-round pick. Kekäläinen said the decision was shaped by the waiver situation and Buffalo’s goalie depth.
“He requires waivers next year. We have three goalies. There’s a chance that he would be with the Buffalo Sabres, and we’d have to send him back to Rochester, in which case he would’ve needed waivers, and there’s a good chance we would’ve lost him for nothing.”
Restricted free agent Peyton Krebs remains unsigned, and Kekäläinen said the process is still playing out with arbitration in the background.
“He’s got the arbitration rights, so the process goes that their side is evaluating what the arb award may come in, and we’re evaluating where the arb award may come in, and usually it’s between those two levels somewhere. And sometimes both sides just want to get a deal done.
… He’s a really important piece for us. It’s just part of the business: Sometimes it takes a little longer.”
As for whether Buffalo is still looking to add more, Kekäläinen said the door is open, but only for the right fit.
“For sure, if there’s an opportunity to make our team better. But by no means we’re desperate to add anything right now.
It needs to be a perfect fit both from role, playing, ability. We’ve talked ad nauseum about this with Lindy and what we may or may not need.
If it’s a perfect fit and also, financially and cap-wise, it fits our system, then we’re open for business.”
He also addressed the trade chatter that has surrounded the team over the past couple of weeks, saying opposing teams have repeatedly asked about Buffalo’s young core.
“Our players’ names get asked about. I can say that, whenever we felt there may have been an opportunity to make the team stronger, the ask is always our really good young players that we don’t have any reason to part with. So, that was usually a short conversation.”
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Sabres Just Made A Goalie Decision Fans Will Debate For Years
Devon Levis time in Buffalo is over, and the move gives the Sabres another chapter in a goaltending conversation that has already stretched on long enough for fans to develop strong opinions. The 23-year-old was shipped to Edmonton along with a 2028 seventh-round pick in a deal that brought back the Oilers 2028 third-rounder, a modest return that speaks to how the market viewed a goalie with upside but an unsettled place in the NHL.
For Buffalo, the deal closes the book on a player many still saw as worth waiting on, even if the path to becoming the No. 1 option never really opened cleanly here. Edmonton, meanwhile, is betting that Levi can keep growing alongside Tristan Jarry and eventually become part of its long-term answer in goal, which only adds another layer to what Sabres fans will likely keep debating for years. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Fans Will Hate Who Buffalo Was Asked To Give Up
A recent layer to the Connor Hellebuyck trade chatter puts a familiar Buffalo name right in the middle of it. Reports indicate the Jets initially asked for Sabres winger Zach Benson in those discussions, a telling sign of how highly Winnipeg viewed the young forward and how seriously Buffalo had to take the possibility of parting with a core piece. Benson has quickly become one of the organizations most important building blocks, and the Sabres have been clear enough in their stance that the conversation never really moved far beyond the opening ask.
For Buffalo, the appeal of exploring a high-end goalie fit against the cost was obvious, but so was the danger of weakening a roster that still needs its best young talent to keep maturing. Benson already looks like the kind of player teams spend years trying to find, which is why his name surfacing in the first place will not sit well with Sabres fans. The goaltending side of the equation only sharpens the debate, because any serious pursuit of Hellebuyck comes with the usual questions about age, price, and whether a contender is wise to pay that much for a netminder at all. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jackets Bring Back A Familiar Columbus Name To The Bench
Don Granatos next stop keeps him in familiar territory, at least in a broad sense. The veteran coach has long circulated through the NHL as both an assistant and a head coach, and his rsum also includes a stint behind the bench with the Sabres, where Buffalo never got over the hump during his four seasons in charge.
The Columbus move also brings a local thread back into the picture, since Granato has past ties to the city through the old Columbus Chill in the ECHL. He now slots into a staff that already includes Rick Bowness, Trent Vogelhuber and Jared Boll, giving the Blue Jackets another experienced voice as they continue sorting out the direction of their bench. [Read more 🡒]