The Buffalo Sabres are still sorting through their options after the NHL Draft and the opening of free agency on July 1, and the list of possible offensive additions has already started to take shape. With winger Alex Tuch and defenseman Bowen Byram gone, GM Jarmo Kekalainen is looking for help to replace the 44 goals those departures took with them.
That need goes beyond pure scoring. Kekalainen would ideally like to recover as much of the 60-to-70 point production lost with Tuch as possible, while also finding someone who can help cover the leadership void and bring a little more snarl and sandpaper to the middle-six. The idea is to ease some of the pressure on younger players like Konsta Helenius, Jiri Kulich, and Noah Ostlund, who could otherwise be asked to shoulder too much of the load.
One name that fits that profile is Michael Bunting, who remains unsigned and could offer secondary scoring along with a bit of agitation. The 30-year-old winger was originally drafted by the Arizona Coyotes in 2014 and spent five seasons in the American Hockey League before getting a short NHL look during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season.
Born in Scarborough, ON, Bunting scored 10 goals in 21 games and, because of his long run in the minors, reached unrestricted free agency at 25. He then landed with Toronto, where former Soo Greyhounds GM Kyel Dubas signed him to a bargain deal under $1 million. Bunting made that contract look like a steal, scoring 23 goals in each of his two seasons on Auston Matthews’ wing and earning a Calder Trophy nomination in 2022.
He hit free agency again in 2023 and signed a three-year, $13.5 million contract with Carolina, but the cap hit quickly became an issue. In each of the past three seasons, he has been moved at the deadline - from Carolina to Pittsburgh in 2024, Pittsburgh to Nashville in 2025, and Nashville to Dallas last season. Even with all that movement, his goal totals have held up: 19, 19, and 14.
That kind of production could make him a strong value play if he comes at a lower salary. Bunting is not especially reliable defensively, so he does not look like a natural fit for special teams work.
Still, he is a decent passer and could slot into a middle-six role at five-on-five, with some second power play usage possible. If he is still sitting unsigned at the end of July, that may signal he is open to taking less - and that could line up well with where the Sabres are financially.
In Other News...
Three Sabres Suddenly Carry Huge Pressure To Prove Last Year Was Real
With Alex Tuch and Bowen Byram no longer in the mix, the Sabres are heading into camp with a little less margin for error and a lot more attention on the players who can help replace what those departures leave behind. Mattias Samuelsson, Jack Quinn and Josh Doan all come out of last season with legitimate momentum, and Buffalo needs those gains to look real again if it is going to push back toward the playoff race.
Samuelssons jump in production, Quinns emergence as a top-nine option and Doans growing role give the roster some needed upside, but they also raise the bar for what comes next. The Sabres do not just need those seasons to be remembered as a nice stretch, they need them to become the new standard, especially with the lineup thinner than it was a year ago and the pressure to prove last season was no fluke hanging over a key part of the forward group. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres May Finally Be Circling The Top Six Scorer Fans Want
Kirill Marchenko has quietly become one of the more intriguing names in the summer trade market, and Buffalo is at least being mentioned as a possible fit if Columbus decides to move him. The Blue Jackets winger has given teams plenty to think about after a strong season and a productive two-year stretch, and for a Sabres club still looking to add more scoring punch, that kind of player naturally lands on the radar.
The wrinkle is timing, because the chatter around Marchenko has not settled into anything concrete yet. Buffalo can keep monitoring the situation while sorting through its own forward group, and if the market does shift later in the summer, the Sabres look like the sort of team that could jump in when the price and the fit line up. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Single Game Tickets Are Here And Fans Will Feel It
The first chance to see the Sabres at home this season comes Oct. 3 against the Chicago Blackhawks, and single-game tickets are already on sale with even the cheapest seats carrying a hefty price tag. For fans eyeing the home opener, the market is reflecting more than just a date on the calendar - it is also showing the buzz around a team coming off a playoff run and the added pull of marquee home dates.
VIPTix president and CEO Nick Giammusso said the opener and holiday games are drawing the highest prices because demand is strongest for those nights, while the rest of the schedule should be more fluid as the season gets closer. For anyone not locked in on being there from the start, there is at least a chance the numbers soften later, once the market has time to settle. [Read more 🡒]