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Michael Kesselring, Utah Hockey Club (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

3 Most Important Sabres to Getting Back to the Playoffs

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Ryan Womeldorf | Last updated Aug 11, 2025 11:10 AM ET

As the dog days of summer drag on, hockey fans can do nothing but clamor for opening night. For fans of the Buffalo Sabres, there is hope that this will finally be the season that the team gets over the hump and back into the playoff bracket once again.

Ignoring the rumors of a franchise-shifting trade, the focus internally is on the coming season. There are more than a few things that need to happen for the Sabres to succeed, but these three players are going to play the biggest roles of all.

Michael Kesselring, D

The trade that landed Michael Kesselring was not without controversy. While the move was initially met with derision, given how hard it is to find scoring forwards like J.J. Peterka, the move has been gaining momentum within Sabres circles.

Kesselring was a standout for the Utah Hockey Club last season, playing quality top-four minutes in the face of injuries that decimated the defensive corps. Now, he comes to Buffalo with the expectation that he can do the same while finally providing a quality partner for Owen Power.

If Kesselring is everything he’s been billed as, the Sabres could quietly have one of the best top-four defensive units in the league. Team defense has been a major issue for a long time, but Kesselring has the chance to right a lot of wrongs this coming season.

Jack Quinn, RW

There may be no more polarizing figure in the Sabres organization than Jack Quinn. The eighth overall pick in 2020, Quinn has felt like he is right on the cusp of big things. Invariably, injuries intervene and set him back. That said, 2024-25 was a different beast.

Quinn finished with an abysmal 15 goals and 39 points last season, but there is more to feel good about than meets the eye. After a really bad first third of the season, Quinn showed life as a playmaker and scorer.

Now unquestionably recovered from previous injuries, the hope is that a clean bill of health and a little bit of fire beneath him can see Quinn elevate his game. Many still believe that he has the potential to score 30 goals. Given the offense lost in the Peterka trade, a breakout from Quinn would go a long way toward making up for that loss.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, G

It seems like things never line up for the Sabres. The offense takes off, but defense and goaltending struggle. Goaltending shows up, but the power play dies off. Nothing ever seems to sync up. For Luukkonen, it feels like he fell out of sync last season.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Buffalo Sabres (Evan Sabourin / The Hockey Writers)

After a breakout 2023-24 campaign, Luukkonen took a noticeable step back. By season’s end, he had lost the starting job to veteran James Reimer. The 25-year-old will have another shot to claim the lion’s share of starts again in 2025-26 and needs to show that he is still the Sabres’ goalie of the present.

When he’s on, Luukkonen has a cool, calm demeanor in the face of pressure. He has been let down by team defense in the past, so the hope is that improvements throughout the roster will help him find his game again in 2025-26.

Make-or-Break Season

Each offseason for the Sabres seems to carry with it substantial drama. But it is critical that the Sabres at least come as close as possible to making the playoffs. Not only would it be embarrassing to go a 15^th consecutive season without a playoff appearance, but there is a lot at stake for the roster.

Another failed go at the playoffs means that there is a very real potential that guys like Alex Tuch, Tage Thompson, and Rasmus Dahlin ask to be dealt. That could set the franchise back even further, something they can’t afford. For that reason, it is critical that these three guys make sure to become focal points in the coming season.