The Buffalo Sabres spent a busy week reshaping their roster, starting with the 2026 NHL Entry Draft and continuing into a pair of notable trades that changed the look of the team’s future on defense and up front.
At the draft, the Sabres stayed at No. 4 and used the pick on right-handed defenseman Daxon Rudolph from the Prince Albert Raiders of the Western Hockey League. Gavin McKenna went first overall to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday, with Ivar Stenberg taken second by the San Jose Sharks.
Rudolph brings a big season with him to Buffalo’s system after putting up 78 points, including 28 goals and 50 assists, in 68 games. The plan now is for him to spend one year at the University of Denver before making the jump to the NHL in 2027-28.
Buffalo also added four more players over the weekend. With the 20th pick in the first round, the Sabres selected forward Ilia Morozov from Miami University. Later, they added Olivers Murnieks at No. 120 from Saint John of the QMJHL, Doman Szongoth at No. 156, a forward from Kookoo in Finland U20, and Dylan Dumont at No. 188, another forward from Drummondville of the QMJHL.
Then came the first major roster shakeup of the week. The Sabres and Alex Tuch had been trying to work out a contract extension, but they couldn’t get there, so Buffalo traded his rights to the Washington Capitals on Friday.
In return, the Sabres received a 2027 third-round draft pick and David Kampf’s contract rights. Washington wasted no time, signing Tuch to an eight-year deal worth $10.5 million per season.
Tuch was one of Buffalo’s most productive players this year, finishing with 66 points, split between 33 goals and 33 assists, in 79 games. He also added seven points, including four goals and three assists, in 13 playoff games.
Buffalo wasn’t finished. After moving Bowen Byram to the Chicago Blackhawks for the fourth-overall pick last week, the Sabres kept working the phones and landed defenseman Olen Zellweger from the Anaheim Ducks. The cost was the 45th-overall pick and defense prospect Anton Wahlberg.
General manager Jarmo Kekalainen said Zellweger will get a shot to compete for a second-pairing role alongside Owen Power. Even with a reduced role in Anaheim, Zellweger still posted a career-high 22 points in 72 games this season, and he now enters a Sabres blue line that suddenly looks a lot deeper.
In Other News...
Rangers Fans Wont Like Which Current Piece Just Entered Trade Buzz
Capitals general manager Chris Patrick has already started the kind of early-summer business that usually decides how a roster looks once the offseason settles in. He said he has spoken with the agents for Brandon Duhaime and Trevor van Riemsdyk, which at least signals those conversations are underway, while ESPN analyst Kevin Weekes reported Washington is also exploring ways to add a defenseman and some forward depth.
One name to keep in mind is Boone Jenner, a pending unrestricted free agent who fits the sort of versatile help the Capitals appear to be chasing. Around the league, chatter is already building around several notable targets, and Washingtons place in that market could depend on how aggressively it wants to move, especially with so many teams monitoring the same pool of available talent. [Read more 🡒]
Capitals Fans Just Got A Worse John Carlson Scenario To Fear
The John Carlson storyline took another turn after the Capitals moved him at the trade deadline and the Ducks quickly began handling the next phase of his future. For Washington fans, the discomfort was always less about the trade itself than about where things could go from there, because once a player of Carlsons stature is out of the system, his next stop can matter almost as much as the deal that sent him away.
Now the watch has shifted to free agency, where Carlson is nearing the open market and a quick resolution could follow. There is already interest building around him, and for Capitals fans the unnerving part is not just that he is available, but that his next contract could end up placing him in a very familiar and very unwelcome part of the league landscape. [Read more 🡒]
Capitals Urged To Make One More Bold Metro Swing
Washington has already been active on the trade front, but the conversation around its forward group does not feel finished. The latest idea floating around the Capitals is another bold Metro swing, one aimed at adding a proven winger who can give the lineup more punch and fit into a top-six mix that still has room to grow.
The appeal is easy to see after a productive season that included 27 goals and 40 assists, production that would immediately raise the floor of Washingtons offense. The question is what it would take to get a deal done, with draft picks or one of the clubs prospects mentioned as the kind of return that could be on the table, and whether the Capitals are willing to keep pushing after their recent moves. [Read more 🡒]