Tuch suffered a minor injury last week that kept him sidelined for several days, but he will draw into Buffalo's lineup on Saturday. The 29-year-old Tuch had 67 points (36G / 31A) in 82 games last season.
Luukkonen was announced day-to-day with a lower-body injury last week, but has yet to return to Buffalo's practice to start training camp. Thankfully, the 26-year-old netminder stated in an interview on Thursday that he would be ready for the start of the season. Buffalo had signed Alexandar Georgiev to replace Luukkonen if he was unable to go for the beginning of the 2025-26 season. Luukkonen is expected to start the majority of Sabre games yet again this season after posting a 24-24-5 record, .887 SV% and 3.20 GAA across 55 starts last season.
Luukkonen missed the start of training camp on Thursday after the injury flared up while ramping up his preseason training. Sabres GM Kevyn Adams said “the imaging is clean,” and that they expect more clarity in the coming days, but added there are “no alarms right now saying that it’s a significant injury.” Buffalo recently signed Alexandar Georgiev, giving them added goaltending depth while Luukkonen recovers.
Tuch had a "minor little thing" sneak up on him right before the start of training camp, so he was held off of the ice on Thursday. Despite missing practice, Tuch said that he is "feeling great" and anticipates skating with the team in the "next couple of days."
Greenway underwent surgery in July after a setback in his recovery from the injury that limited him to just 34 games in 2024-25. Sabres GM Kevyn Adams said he anticipates Greenway will be cleared to resume practicing around the beginning of the 2025-26 campaign. Expect Greenway to miss the season opener on October 9th.
Greenway had an apparent setback from his 2nd mid-body surgery in July and is not expected to be ready for Buffalo's training camp that begins on Thursday. The 28-year-old only appeared in 34 games in 2024-25 due to the same mid-body injury and is hopeful to be ready for the start of the regular season. Greenway has only surpassed 67 games in one of his eight NHL seasons.
Levi was once viewed as one of the top goaltending prospects in hockey, but has struggled to find a foothold in the NHL. The Sabres made it clear there was no guaranteed spot for Levi in Buffalo to start 2025-26 when they signed Alex Lyon in free agency. Levi, who was 25-13-4 with a 2.20 GAA and .919 SV% in 42 AHL games last season, will have to continue to earn his spot in the NHL. Over the span of three seasons, he's got 17-17-2 with a 3.29 GAA and .894 SV% in 39 NHL games.
Conor Timmins and Buffalo avoided arbitration on Sunday after agreeing to a two-year contract worth $2.2 million AAV ($4.4M total). The 26-year-old defenseman was acquired in late June in a trade that saw Connor Clifton go the other way to Pittsburgh. He appeared in 68 games with Pittsburgh and Toronto in 2024-25, picking up three goals, 15 points and a +11 plus/minus.
After three years in New York's organization, Jake Leschyshyn has jumped ship and signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Buffalo Sabres. The 26-year-old forward has appeared in 77 NHL career games but last appeared in the big leagues with New York in 2023-24. He spent the entirety of last season with Hartford (AHL), where he had 13 goals and 24 points in 69 games played.
Mrtka was Buffalo's 2025 1st round pick (9th overall) and has signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Sabres on Tuesday. The 18-year-old Czech defenseman spent 2024-25 as an import player with Seattle (WHL), where he excelled with three goals and 35 points in 43 games played. He is expected to return to the Thunderbirds for the 2025-26 season but will get a chance to make an impression in training camp.
Despite being the talk of much trade speculation, Buffalo and Bowen Byram will avoid arbitration after they agreed on a two-year, $12.5 million contract extension ($6,250,000 AAV) on Monday. The 24-year-old is entering his 6th NHL season after completing all 82 regular season games for the first time in his career in 2024-25, putting up seven goals, 38 points and a +11 plus/minus.
Fiddler-Schultz is an undrafted 23-year-old forward and has earned himself a two-year, entry-level contract with Buffalo on Tuesday after a successful rookie campaign in Rochester (AHL) in 2024-25. The Edmonton native joined Buffalo's minor league system from Calgary (WHL) in 2023-24. In 51 games with Rochester in 2024-25, he had 13 goals and 26 points.
After putting up 70 points in 123 games played across the last two seasons with Rochester (AHL), Zach Metsa has earned himself a two-year, two-way contract to remain in Buffalo's organization. The 26-year-old defenseman is entering his third AHL season after joining Rochester as an undrafted free agent from Quinnipac University (NCAA) in 2022-23.
After five up-and-down seasons in New York that never consisted of more the 46 games played, Zac Jones has joined Buffalo on a one-year, two-way contract to provide some defensive depth. The 25-year-old defenseman posted career highs in games played (46), points (11), PIMs (24) and SOG (51) with New York last season. He should battle for the Sabres' final defensive spot out of training camp to start the season.
One season after putting up 21 points in 29 games played with San Diego (AHL), Carson Meyer has earned himself a two-year, $1.55 million contract ($775,000 AAV) with Buffalo. The 27-year-old last appeared in the NHL in 2023-24 but has two goals and six points in 41 career games played.
In his first season with the Buffalo Sabres in 2024-25, McLeod scored a career-high 53 points (20G / 33A) in 80 games. He returns to the Sabres on a four-year contract extension worth $5 million AAV. The 25-year-old McLeod will likely be relied upon for even more offensive production after the loss of JJ Peterka in the offseason.
Kozak made his NHL debut with the Sabres last season, scoring five points (3G / 2A) in 21 games. The 22-year-old Kozak was drafted in the seventh round in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft by the Sabres. He remains with the team on a three-year deal worth $775K AAV.
Danforth is an undrafted 32-year-old forward who did not make his NHL debut until the 2021-22 season, playing most of the three seasons since at the NHL level with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He scored 21 points (9G / 12A) in 61 games last season with the Blue Jackets.
Buffalo made its first move of Free Agency on Tuesday by bringing in backup goaltender Alex Lyon on a two-year, $3 million contract ($1.5 million AAV). The 32-year-old undrafted netminder had spent the last two seasons in Detroit, appearing in 70 games combined and had a 14-9-1 record, 2.81 GAA and .896 SV% last season.
