September has arrived, and the Buffalo Sabres are just about a month from opening the 2026-27 season on October 1st in Columbus against the Blue Jackets. After last season’s breakthrough - a run that finally snapped the playoff drought, finished with an Atlantic Division title and carried them past the Boston Bruins before a Game 7 overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens - the Sabres are back with most of the same core. The exceptions are Alex Tuch, Bowen Byram and Jordan Greenway, and that leaves them with a few major decisions still hanging in the air.
The biggest possible swing still sitting out there is a Connor Hellebuyck trade. Buffalo didn’t make a headline-grabbing move in the offseason, but the connection to the Vezina Trophy winner is real, and Hellebuyck made the trade public recently.
The Sabres got by in the regular season with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Alex Lyon and Colten Ellis, but the playoffs exposed a different problem. Buffalo rotated between Luukkonen and Lyon, and neither one gave them steady enough play.
Hellebuyck has a no-movement clause, so if Buffalo is the destination he wants, the issue becomes finding the right package. The Jets also have every reason to want this resolved before training camp or even the regular season, which keeps the door open for the Sabres.
There’s also a major opening on the blue line after Jarmo Kekalainen sent Bowen Byram and Jordan Greenway to the Chicago Blackhawks for Louis Crevier and picks, including the fourth overall pick. Buffalo may end up ahead in that deal over time, but it leaves a clear vacancy next to Owen Power.
Crevier is in the mix, and Olen Zellweger is another option after the Sabres traded for him from the Ducks following the Byram move. That battle is likely to play out in camp, with Zellweger bringing the kind of upside that could make the decision more interesting as the preseason unfolds.
The Sabres have a similar question up front, where they still need to sort out who anchors the top line at center. Replacing Alex Tuch’s production is part of the puzzle, but the center spot may be the first domino.
Tage Thompson handled that role for most of last season, and Buffalo could simply stay with that setup. But they’re also deep down the middle, and moving Thompson to wing would open the door for a camp competition involving Jiri Kulich, Noah Ostlund, Josh Norris or even Konsta Helenius.
That name, Helenius, is one of the most intriguing in the group. He spent last season piling up 63 points in 63 games with Rochester, then got nine games with Buffalo in the regular season and posted four points.
He was also back in the lineup for four playoff games against Montreal and scored two goals. The Sabres have a cluster of young players trying to help fill the void left by Tuch, including Zach Benson, Josh Doan, Jiri Kulich and Noah Ostlund, but Helenius may have the highest ceiling of the bunch.
If he takes a big step, he could even put himself in the mix to become the first Sabres player to win the Calder Trophy since Tyler Myers in 2010. Just making the Opening Night roster would be a meaningful first step.
The last big question is the one Buffalo has been asking for a while now: can the power play finally turn the corner? The Sabres have had too much talent for this unit to keep sitting in the bottom half of the league, especially with players like Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin on the roster.
The issue may be as much about the coaching staff as the personnel, with Lindy Ruff and Seth Appert both overseeing stretches where the man advantage has lagged. Buffalo doesn’t have to look far for a model, either.
The Rochester Americans have been one of the AHL’s best power-play teams and finished fourth last season in power-play percentage. If the Sabres can take what works there and make it work in the NHL, that alone could change the shape of their season.
The Sabres are coming off a season that changed the conversation around the franchise. Now they’re back in the spotlight with a roster that still looks capable, but a handful of unanswered questions will decide how far this next run can go.
In Other News...
Sabres Prospect Suddenly Carries Much Bigger Stakes Into Camp
Konsta Helenius arrives at Sabres camp with far more attention than a typical young forward, and for good reason. The 20-year-old Finn turned heads with a strong run in the AHL and followed it with an eye-catching playoff stretch, enough to put himself in the conversation for a full-time NHL roster spot as Buffalo opens a season looking for more punch down the middle.
What makes Helenius especially intriguing is how quickly the stakes have risen around his development. The Sabres already see him as a player who can matter in their offensive mix, and there is a real sense that his camp performance could determine just how soon he gets a meaningful role at the next level. For a prospect who entered the organization with promise, the path ahead now looks a lot bigger than simply earning another look. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Young Core Suddenly Faces Pressure That Could Define Buffalos Rise
Buffalos next step is going to lean heavily on its young core, and the pressure is already obvious. Konsta Helenius, Jiri Kulich, Rasmus Dahlin, Zach Benson and Tage Thompson are all expected to take on more responsibility in the coming season, with the club asking for more production and more stability from the group as it tries to keep moving forward.
The timing matters because this is no longer just about promising talent, it is about whether those players can become the backbone of a rising team. Dahlin and Thompson are already established pieces, while Benson, Helenius and Kulich are being counted on to grow into larger roles, and Buffalos hopes for the 2026-27 season may depend on how quickly that transition happens. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Camp Battle Could Reshape Two Crucial Spots In Ruffs Lineup
Training camp has a way of turning every depth chart into a referendum, and for Lindy Ruff, Buffalos next few weeks could shape more than just the opening-night lineup. The Sabres still have some important sorting to do up front, where the coaching staff is weighing the top-nine forwards and trying to settle on a look that fits around its core pieces. Josh Norris, Jiri Kulich, Noah Ostlund and Jason Zucker are all in the mix for roles, and the picture could shift again if the front office makes a trade before camp breaks.
There is similar uncertainty on the back end, where the Sabres are also evaluating defensive pairs and looking for the right partner for Owen Power on the second unit. Those decisions tend to ripple through the rest of the roster, especially when a few spots remain open and competition is tight enough to make every practice rep matter. By the time camp ends, Buffalo may have a clearer idea of who fits where, but it still sounds like a lineup with one more surprise waiting to happen. [Read more 🡒]