The start of last season looked like it might be another disappointing one for the Buffalo Sabres. They opened with three straight losses and won only four of their first 11 games in October. Two months later, they were three games under .500, last in the Eastern Conference and hadn’t won more than two in a row.
Then, on Dec. 9, the turnaround began with a 4-3 overtime victory against the Edmonton Oilers in which the Sabres held a 3-0 lead after two periods. That sparked a 10-game winning streak and a 39-9-5 run through the rest of the season to end Buffalo’s NHL-record 14-year playoff drought.
The Sabres will aim to be a force from the get-go when they open their 2026-27 slate with a visit to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday.
“We’ve talked about that we’re not going to surprise anybody,” Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said. “… Teams around us have improved, which at the same time is going to make it more difficult than it was last year. There’s a lot of elements that we’ve talked about, that now the expectations are higher. With success comes those expectations, and that’s where you want to be.”
The Sabres lost veteran winger Alex Tuch in the offseason in a sign-and-trade with the Washington Capitals. Defenseman Bowen Byram was traded along with left wing Jordan Greenway to the Chicago Blackhawks in return for defenseman Louis Crevier, the fourth overall pick and a second-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
Olen Zellweger, acquired via trade from the Anaheim Ducks in June, will be counted on to contribute from the back end. That won’t come on Thursday, however, as the defenseman continues to recover from a concussion sustained in a preseason game on Sept. 22. Ruff didn’t rule him out for Buffalo’s home opener against Chicago on Saturday.
Mattias Samuelsson also was injured on Sept. 22 (lower body) but could be ready to face the Blue Jackets. The defenseman was a full participant in his return to practice on Wednesday.
“I’ve got to see how it feels flying, and then just see how it responds after a real skate,” said Samuelsson, who had a breakout season with 41 points (13 goals, 28 assists) in 78 games (all career highs) in 2025-26. “Looking good, but I guess we’ll see in the morning.”
The Blue Jackets, meanwhile, will be looking for better results after missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs for a sixth straight season in 2025-26.
It was a tumultuous offseason for the club, which dealt with speculation that Zach Werenski — the Norris Memorial Trophy winner last season as top defenseman — would not re-sign at the end of his current contract, and the knowledge that forward Kirill Marchenko had no intention of re-signing with Columbus.
The team also lost captain Boone Jenner to Washington in free agency, but Werenski has softened his stance on staying in Columbus.
Marchenko was dealt Monday to the Toronto Maple Leafs in a trade involving six players and one draft pick, with hulking forward Matthew Knies (6-foot-3, 227 pounds) among those coming to Ohio.
The Blue Jackets also acquired veteran forward Valeri Nichushkin (6-4, 210 pounds) in a June trade with the Colorado Avalanche. Both Knies and Nichushkin add size and physicality, fitting into the team’s identity.
“You can have size, but you have to be able to move,” Columbus coach Rick Bowness said. “That’s Val and Matthew and (wing Dmitri Voronkov); they can move. They’re going to be hard to keep away from the front of the net, and they cover a lot of ground when they forecheck.”
