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Bowen Byram, Buffalo Sabres (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Ranking Sabres’ Needs Heading Into the Offseason

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers | By Zach Berta | Last updated May 14, 2025 12:55 PM ET

The Buffalo Sabres have a long offseason ahead of them. There have been no significant changes in the front office since hiring Eric Staal as the special assistant to the general manager (GM). At this moment, Sabres GM Kevyn Adams has his work cut out for him. He only has one more year left on his current contract, and with no clear sign of an extension even being discussed, he has to do whatever it takes to get this team into the playoffs; at least you’d think that.

The Sabres’ roster is far from perfect and has some glaring holes that need to be filled. In this article, I’ll list every need they have heading into the offseason and a possible solution to fill them.

Defense Depth

It’s no secret that the Sabres need to add to the blue line this offseason. Outside of Rasmus Dahlin, the rest of the defense was mediocre. Yes, that includes Owen Power and Bowen Byram. The team had many defensive breakdowns in front of the goaltenders, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and James Reimer. Byram is a restricted free agent heading into the offseason, and with him needing a new contract, money will be thrown at him. If the Sabres decide they don’t want to pay him, then they will end up having to trade his contract rights. Power suffered an injury on April 12 in a 3-2 loss vs the Florida Panthers and is out for the next two months. With those two situations I mentioned, it is even more critical for the Sabres to improve their defense.

Whether it’s drafting well or bringing in players via free agency or trade, Adams needs to make moves. Being in the last year of his deal, going all out seems like a must for him. Otherwise, I’d expect the Sabres to clean house in the front office.

Outside of Dahlin, who had an on-ice expected goals differential of 23.3, the rest of the defense ended up in the negatives. Power was second on the blue line at minus-5.4, and Byram was at a rough minus-15.2; the Sabres need better play out of both of them, as they are looked at as potential number one defensemen. Assuming the Sabres re-sign Byram, the plan should be to keep him with Dahlin on the top pair, find a right-handed defenseman for Power on the second pair and have Connor Clifton and Jacob Bernard-Docker together on the third pair. Unless head coach Lindy Ruff really wants to keep Power and Bernard-Docker together and find a third-pair defenseman for Clifton, but personally, I would not agree with that. We shall see, though.

Goaltending

When the Sabres signed Luukkonen to a five-year contract worth $4.75 million per season, I expected him to continue his strong play from last season into this season. However, his play did not translate into this season. In 55 games, he posted an abysmal 3.20 goals-against average (GAA) and a .887 save percentage (SV%). Some of that is, of course, due to not-so-great play in front of him, but not all of it. Luukkonen did not make a ton of saves to bail out the team when asked to, which hurt the team and was the reason the Sabres finished 29th in the NHL in goals against. At one point down the season’s final stretch, Reimer even stole his job.

I’m not expecting big changes with the team’s goaltending. Two things I know will happen: The Sabres keep Devon Levi on the NHL roster as a full-time goaltender and run with a tandem of Levi and Luukkonen, or they sign a goaltender in free agency. Also, don’t count out bringing back Reimer if he wants to play another season.

I’d run with a tandem of Levi/Luukkonen. Levi has dominated the American Hockey League (AHL) this season for the Sabres’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Rochester Americans. In the regular season in 42 games played, he recorded a record of 25-13-6, seven shutouts, a 2.20 GAA, and a .919 SV%. He has played three games in the Calder Cup Playoffs, winning all three of his starts, posting two shutouts, a 0.68 GAA, and a .978 SV%. He has played 39 career games in the NHL, posting a record of 17-17-2 with a 3.29 GAA and a .894 SV%. Not significant numbers, but he hasn’t been given a full season to develop in the AHL, so the Sabres may keep Levi there for the entire 2025-26 season.

Top Line Forward

This is arguably a need for the Sabres, but most fans and media believe this team lacks another top-line scorer. Do I think it’s unlikely any major shakeups happen with the forwards? Yes, especially when the team was eighth in the NHL in goals for with 273, which averages out to 3.32 goals per game. However, Adams needs to approach this offseason with the mindset that if they do not make the playoffs, he’s out as GM.

In that case, make swings at guys like a Brock Boeser (Vancouver Canucks), Mitch Marner (Toronto Maple Leafs), Nikolaj Ehlers (Winnipeg Jets), Sam Bennett (Florida Panthers) and John Tavares (Maple Leafs) if they don’t re-sign with their current teams. Adding one of those players would be so crucial to the team’s success. If this organization is as serious about being a playoff contender as they say, make big pitches to the big fish. With a projected cap space of $21.5 million, they can overpay for one to play for them.

Overall, the Sabres have a ton of work to do this offseason. I don’t expect there to be a major roster overhaul, but I would expect some moves to be made, at least with the defense.