The Buffalo Sabres put on a memorable run in the second half of the 2025-26 National Hockey League season, climbing from last place in the Eastern Conference to regular-season champions of the Atlantic Division. Entering the playoffs for the first time in 14 years, the Sabres advanced into the second round before the clock finally struck midnight for Cinderella.
Sabres general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen, looking back on last season when asked about the season ahead, said "pretty good" is not good enough.
“Last season was last season, and now we move forward,” Kekäläinen said. “And you know, if we for one second think that we can exhale now, though you know there's no more streak, (a) bad streak that we didn't make the playoffs hanging over our heads, that's not good. We need to focus on doing the right things right from Day One.”
The GM called complacency a pitfall. Head coach Lindy Ruff said what is needed to sustain and build upon the success of last season is working hard within the game.
“The way we played away from the puck, our defensive play which improved — there's still room for improvement — made us an a lot better team,” Ruff said. “Those are the areas we're focused in on. To remain where we're at, we know, is a difficult task. A lot of teams got better.”
The team’s first practice is Thursday morning. On Saturday morning at 11:30 a.m., the Sabres will host a blue-gold scrimmage at KeyBank Center that is open to the public. Then, the team travels to Pittsburgh Monday for its first preseason game.
Along the way, they’ll be without forward Jason Zucker and defenseman Louis Crevier, who are coming back from injuries. Zucker underwent surgery for a sports hernia and is not expected to return until after the start of the regular season in October.
“He's very close to the start of the year, but he could miss maybe a couple weeks of the regular season,” Kekäläinen said.
Crevier, who came to Buffalo from Chicago in a June trade for defenseman Bowen Byram and forward Jordan Greenway, underwent shoulder surgery and, according to Kekäläinen, was awaiting an update on his status from the doctor. The GM is hopeful Crevier could be ready for the start of the season.
Ruff looks forward to having him in the lineup when ready.
“He gets in the way a lot. I mean, I've watched a lot of film on him. I've watched the way he moves the puck,” Ruff said. “He can cover a lot of space in a very short period of time. So I think he can be a very valuable piece for us.”
One potential distraction is the continuing status of Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck. The U.S. netminder, who was a member of the gold medal-winning team at the 2026 Winter Olympics, is seeking a trade out of Winnipeg, and Buffalo has been rumored to be a strong candidate for a next destination.
Ruff was asked about how the team works through the rumors, and whether it’s on the minds of its current goalies, Ukka-Pekka Luukkonen, Alex Lyon, and Colten Ellis.
“I think I've been really honest with our goalies and how I feel that the type of year they had, and they had a great year for us. You look at the numbers. You look at what they did for us,” Ruff said. “Part of rumors, it’s just part of today's game.”
