Buffalo’s front office has handed the next wave of young forwards a real chance to grab jobs and run with them. With Alex Tuch gone, the door is open for Jiri Kulich, Noah Ostlund and Konsta Helenius, while more established names like Zach Benson, Josh Doan and Jack Quinn are also in position to take a meaningful step in 2026-27.
That plan could work out nicely. It also leaves Buffalo with a little less margin for error if the offense stalls early or injuries start chewing through the forward group. In an Eastern Conference that figures to be a grind for playoff spots, the Sabres may need outside help sooner rather than later.
If that happens, the free-agent market still has a few forwards who make sense. Here are the best options.
Vladimir Tarasenko sits at the top of the list. At his peak, he was one of the league’s most feared scorers, and his 82-point season with the St.
Louis Blues in 2021-22 - 34 goals and 48 assists in 75 games - still jumps off the page. The 34-year-old Russian winger has worn six different sweaters over the past four seasons, but he was still effective in 2025-26, finishing with 23 goals and 24 assists for the Minnesota Wild.
His defensive game has obvious flaws, yet Buffalo wouldn’t be asking him to carry a shutdown load. He’d be there for middle-six minutes, power-play time and offense, and in that kind of role he could be a real asset.
Michael Bunting comes next, and he brings a different kind of value. He has bounced around plenty too, playing for six teams in the last three years and splitting 2025-26 between the Nashville Predators and Dallas Stars.
The former Toronto Maple Leafs forward is described as the most complete player on this list, and at 31 he should still have useful years ahead. The issue is speed, specifically his lack of skating burst.
That matters for Buffalo, which wants to keep the pace high for 60 minutes and already saw Logan Stanley have trouble matching that tempo after arriving before last season’s trade deadline. Even so, Bunting would give Lindy Ruff lineup flexibility and bring something the Sabres have been missing: a real net-front presence on the power play.
James van Riemsdyk rounds out the group. His production has slowed, including 31 points in 72 games for the Detroit Red Wings last season, but he still offers secondary scoring and power-play help.
He scored seven goals with the man advantage in Detroit and has piled up 176 power-play points over a 17-year NHL career. The 37-year-old New Jersey native also brings 82 games of playoff experience, along with five points in 11 postseason games during his last run with the Boston Bruins in 2024.
He could be the kind of veteran who waits on the market until midseason, then returns with fresher legs and helps a contender like Buffalo down the stretch and into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
In Other News...
Former Sabres Just Revived A Brutal Question For Buffalo
The first night of the 2026-27 NHL season served up an uncomfortable reminder for Buffalo, with a cluster of former Sabres immediately making an impact elsewhere. Jordan Greenway got on the board for the Chicago Blackhawks, JJ Peterka scored for the Boston Bruins, and Jack Eichel and Victor Olofsson each found the net for the Vegas Golden Knights, a sharp start that put a familiar ex-Sabres problem back in focus.
For Buffalo, the bigger issue is not just that these players moved on, but that they wasted no time looking at home in their new sweaters. Eichels and Olofssons goals came in Vegas, while Greenway and Peterka added theirs in separate debuts that only deepened the sense that the Sabres are still carrying around the same old question about talent development and what happens after players leave Western New York. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Already Face An Opening Night Blue Line Problem
The Sabres are heading into the season with an early blue line question before they even get through opening night. Buffalos defense was already under a spotlight, and now the team has to start the year without Olen Zellweger, who is dealing with concussion protocol at the worst possible time for a group trying to find its footing right away.
There is at least some hope the absence does not stretch long. Zellweger could be back in time for Saturdays home opener against Chicago, which would give Buffalo a quick boost if he clears in time. Until then, the Sabres will have to manage the opener shorthanded on defense while other teams in the division are already dealing with their own injury news, including the Islanders waiting on Mathew Barzal and the Blackhawks being without Andrew Mangiapane. [Read more 🡒]
Jessica Pegula Just Opened A New Buffalo Sports Conversation
Jessica Pegula spent part of a CNBC Sport interview looking past the baseline and into the next chapter, and for Buffalo fans it was hard not to hear the bigger implication. The tennis star, who has long been tied to one of the citys most prominent sports families, made it clear she has an eye on staying in the sporting world once her playing days are done.
What made the comment resonate locally is where that future could lead, even if nothing is imminent. Pegula said she may help her family run the Bills after her tennis career ends, a thought that naturally invites fresh conversation about how deeply the Pegula familys influence could continue to shape Buffalo sports, and in what role she might eventually fit. [Read more 🡒]