The Buffalo Sabres face the challenge of snapping a NHL-record 14-year playoff drought this season and after a summer in which the club traded away their second-leading scorer in JJ Peterka in exchange for winger Josh Doan and defenseman Michael Kesselring and made only depth additions in Justin Danforth, Conor Timmins, and Alex Lyon, the onus will be on internal development and their core players playing up to expectations.
In the Athletic’s tiered rankings of the Top 150 NHL players, the Sabres have just two players in defenseman Rasmus Dahlin and forward Tage Thompson listed.
The 2018 top pick and team captain was listed in the “franchise player” tier after a 68-point season and an impressive performance at the 2025 NHL Four Nations Face-Off, describing him as an all-situations, everything player”, but the critique of Dahlin had little to do with his talent or performance, but his situation with the Sabres, and that he would be more appreciated in the league if he was not on in Buffalo.
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Thompson was listed in the “all-star player” tier after bouncing back from an injury-plagued 2023-24 with a 44-goal performance last season. The main critique of the big forward is at the defensive end of the ice, which is less of a liability when playing the wing.
Notable omissions from the Sabres on the list were winger Alex Tuch and defenseman Owen Power. Tuch, who is entering the final year of his contract, tied a career-high with 36 goals and was invited to the US Olympic Development Camp last month. Power, the top pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, achieved career-highs in goals (7), assists (33) and points (40), but the reason for that is likely the 6’6”, 226 lb. blueliner’s lack of physicality.
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