The Buffalo Sabres open training camp later this week, with only a few changes to the roster that finished second-last in the Eastern Conference and a dozen points out of the final wildcard spot. The club will have a healthy Josh Norris centering one of the top two lines, and added depth forwards Josh Doan, Justin Danforth, defensemen Michael Kesselring, Conor Timmins, and goalie Alex Lyon, but have unanswered questions about an injury to goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and no certain of who will replace the offense of departed winger JJ Peterka.
GM Kevyn Adams seems to be relying on the internal improvement of youngsters Zach Benson, Jack Quinn, and Jiri Kulich to pick up the slack for Peterka’s 68-point output, and as they have done the last few season, the club enters the season with a sizable chunk of unused salary cap room. This could once again be the Sabres operating under their own budget, or it could be that they are holding space in reserve to add players during the season before the March 6th trade deadline if they are in the playoff mix.
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One bit of news that might be a factor in Adams making a move sooner is last week’s determination from the NHL that the five Hockey Canada players (Carter Hart, Michael McLeod, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dube, and Cal Foote) who were suspended indefinitely pending the results of their trial. The players are now eligible to sign an NHL contract on October 15 and play NHL games by December 1.
With the Sabres having six goaltenders on NHL contracts, it is unlikely that they would have interest in Hart or be a destination that the former Flyer would choose to go to, but Buffalo could have interest in either Dube and McLeod. The former Flames forward had consecutive 18-goal seasons in 2022 and 2023 before struggling prior to being suspended. McLeod (the older brother of the Sabres Ryan) played for Lindy Ruff his entire four-year stint in New Jersey and was enjoying his best offensive season (10 goals in 45 games) prior to be suspended by the league.
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