The Buffalo Sabres\u2019 offseason activity might be complete. After signing Conor Timmins and Devon Levi, the Sabres don\u2019t have any restricted free agents remaining. They have 23 roster spots filled with enough players on the organizational depth chart at all positions.<\/p>\n
The Sabres also don\u2019t open training camp until mid-September. There is time for things to change. But here are some leftover summer thoughts on Buffalo\u2019s roster as it stands today.<\/p>\n
Is cap space really an issue?<\/p>\n
The Sabres have $5.2 million in salary-cap space, according to PuckPedia. If that figure holds on opening night, it will be the sixth consecutive season the Sabres have entered the season with at least $5 million in cap space. And it\u2019s worth pointing out that the Sabres are carrying a $4.4 million dead cap hit from the Jeff Skinner buyout. So the real spending is lower than the total cap hit.<\/p>\n
The Sabres\u2019 lack of player spending has been criticized in recent seasons, and that\u2019s been fair. According to Spotrac, the Sabres had more than $8 million in cap space in 2024-25, more than $10 million in 2023-24, more than $17 million in 2022-23, more than $15 million in 2021-22 and more than $8 million in 2020-21. The salary cap was flat for most of that time, so the lack of spending was a real issue and one that held this team back.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not quite as hung up on the $5 million in cap space remaining this summer for a few reasons. One is that half that number puts the Sabres right in the middle of the league in cap space. A few teams could pass them some late-summer signings, but the Sabres aren\u2019t down near the bottom of the league in spending. The rising cap and lack of available players in free agency have created quite a few teams with plenty of money but nobody left to spend it on. And that\u2019s the second reason the cap space isn\u2019t as glaring an issue this summer. The Sabres and the rest of the league didn\u2019t have a lot of options in free agency. It wasn\u2019t a great class, and a lot of the best players stayed put. We already know Buffalo isn\u2019t a free-agent destination to begin with, so Mitch Marner and Nikolaj Ehlers weren\u2019t realistic targets.<\/p>\n
The Sabres\u2019 lack of spending under general manager Kevyn Adams is more of a multi-season issue than it is a 2025-26 issue. The summer of 2023 was a major missed opportunity when it comes to adding to the roster. Last summer, the Sabres bought out Skinner and didn\u2019t spend the cap savings. Adams\u2019 explanations over the last few years have ranged from not wanting to block young players in the lineup to wanting to save money for future restricted free agents. Whether it was internal penny pinching, bad strategy or lack of foresight, spending has been a major problem over the last five seasons.<\/p>\n
But now? The Sabres have just over $5 million in space. That\u2019s enough to make a late-summer trade if an opportunity arises. It\u2019s enough to comfortably make an in-season trade, too. Whether Adams can make those types of moves remains to be seen, but the cap space question isn\u2019t as pressing as it was the last few seasons. Now it\u2019s about whether Lindy Ruff can get the most out of the group that he has.<\/p>\n
Devon Levi\u2019s contract and the goalie picture<\/p>\n
Levi getting a two-year contract worth just $812,500 per season is a team-friendly number. It gives Levi, who hasn\u2019t yet become a full-time NHLer, a chance to prove himself before signing a longer deal. After starting the last two seasons in the NHL, Levi played 50 games in the AHL between the regular season and playoffs last season. Goalie development coach Seamus Kotyk said this summer that more time in the AHL wouldn\u2019t be a bad thing for Levi. The Sabres\u2019 addition of veteran goalie Alex Lyon was a strong indication that they don\u2019t want to force Levi into the NHL again. He can still go to the AHL without waivers until he plays 21 more NHL games, so waivers shouldn\u2019t be a concern this season unless an injury forces Levi into action. Levi turns 24 at the end of December, so this isn\u2019t the time to push the panic button on his development. Another strong season in the AHL should help him have a better chance to step in as a full-time backup in 2026-27. The Sabres need stability in net this season, and it\u2019s hard to say whether Levi can provide that yet.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s interesting is what the Sabres\u2019 goalie picture will look like beyond this season. Lyon is on a two-year contract that matches Levi\u2019s two-year term. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has four years left on his contract. By the time Levi is ready for his next contract, the Sabres should have a clearer picture of what they have in both Luukkonen and Levi and can plan their goalie situation accordingly.<\/p>\n
Conor Timmins could be a bargain<\/p>\n
The Sabres and Timmins avoided arbitration by agreeing to a two-year contract worth $2.2 million per year. That\u2019s a reasonable number for a player who should help stabilize Buffalo\u2019s bottom pair. Timmins has never played a full NHL season and has some tough injury luck dating back to junior hockey. Last season, he played in a career high 68 games. His on-ice expected goal share has been consistently above 50 percent throughout his career, so the upside in his game is clear. But the Sabres will need him to stay on the ice. His likely defensive partner, Mattias Samuelsson, has a long injury history of his own. The Sabres do have some depth on defense with Zac Jones, Jacob Bryson and Ryan Johnson. But the lack of another righty who can step in puts a spotlight on Timmins\u2019 ability to stay healthy.<\/p>\n
Attention turns to Tuch<\/p>\n
With all of their restricted free agents signed, the most important offseason item left for Adams is Alex Tuch\u2019s next contract. The two sides have started a dialogue, and Tuch has expressed an interest in getting a deal done. That\u2019s good news for the Sabres, who can\u2019t afford to lose a player as important as Tuch is on and off the ice. Given how the last couple of seasons have gone, it\u2019s been easy to wonder what Tuch would be thinking heading into his next contract negotiation. He\u2019ll be 30 when that contract starts, and it could be his last in the NHL. He has the leverage to ask for the max term of eight years and should be the highest paid forward on the team at north of $8 million. It shouldn\u2019t be a cause for concern that a deal isn\u2019t done yet, but Adams should be working to get this contract done before the season starts. The Sabres and Tuch don\u2019t need that uncertainty lingering over the team during the regular season.<\/p>\n
(Photo: Timothy T. Ludwig \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Buffalo Sabres\u2019 offseason activity might be complete. After signing Conor Timmins and Devon Levi, the Sabres don\u2019t…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":126541,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[1720,293,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-126540","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-buffalo-sabres","9":"tag-nhl","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-united-states","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114987950719236428","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=126540"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126540\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/126541"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=126540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=126540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=126540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}