Sabres’ Jason Zucker To Miss Start Of Season

During his season-opening press conference, Buffalo Sabres GM Jarmo Kekäläinen announced that veteran winger Jason Zucker will miss the start of the 2026-27 regular season with a sports hernia. According to Kekäläinen, Zucker “could miss maybe a couple weeks of the regular season,” but his exact timeline is unknown.

Additionally, Kekäläinen also revealed that offseason trade addition Louis Crevier underwent shoulder surgery over the summer, and is questionable for the start of the regular season. Kekäläinen said Crevier “looks ready” but noted that the club hasn’t received final confirmation that he’ll be able to hit the ice when the team opens the season Oct. 1 against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The loss of Zucker, 34, means the Sabres will begin the regular season with a hole to fill in their middle-six. Zucker was projected to begin the season somewhere on either Buffalo’s second or third line, perhaps alongside rookie center Konsta Helenius as a veteran presence on his line. Now, he’ll have to wait to see where he’ll fit in head coach Lindy Ruff’s lineup, and another forward will get an opportunity to fill the role he would have otherwise occupied.

It’s an important season for Zucker, who is a veteran of over 800 NHL games. He signed a two-year, $4.75MM AAV contract with the Sabres in March of 2025, a deal that was signed by former GM Kevyn Adams. He’s been a strong fit in Buffalo, scoring 45 goals and 98 points in 135 games since arriving in Western New York.

With the Sabres’ lineup boasting numerous young forwards, Zucker will have to continue to perform in order to hold down his role in the team’s short-term future. But before he can focus on having as strong of a platform year as possible, he’ll have to ensure he gets back to full health.

Crevier, 25, was part of the blockbuster trade the Sabres made with the Chicago Blackhawks in late June. He was acquired from Chicago alongside the No. 4 overall pick (and a second-round pick) in exchange for Bowen Byram, who the Blackhawks promptly signed to a massive $12.5MM AAV contract extension.

A major developmental success story for Chicago, Crevier is a 2020 seventh-round pick who has become a valuable two-way defenseman at the NHL level.

He was Chicago’s No. 5 defenseman in terms of time on ice per game last season, averaging 1:55 per game on the penalty kill and 17:08 per game overall. His size and reach (he stands 6’8″, 228 pounds) gives him real defensive upside. Crevier could slot in alongside Owen Power on Buffalo’s second pairing, giving the team an imposing second pairing behind Rasmus Dahlin and Mattias Samuelsson.