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Meet the Buyers: The Buffalo Sabres are good for the first time in a decade and a half
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Photo credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Mar 4, 2026, 12:00 ESTUpdated: Mar 4, 2026, 00:07 EST
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It appears like the longest playoff drought in the National Hockey League is set to come to an end.
The last time the Buffalo made the post-season was back in 2011, and the last time they won a playoff series was back in 2006. It’s safe to say that the last decade and a half has not been kind to the Sabres, often selecting high in the draft and later trading those players for pennies on the dollar.
Things look different in 2025-26. After 60 games, they are 35-19-6 with 76 points, second in the Atlantic Division. Since a 7-4 loss to the Calgary Flames on Dec. 8, the Sabres are 24-5-2, bringing their Moneypuck playoff odds to 88.8%.
During this decade and a half of struggles, the Sabres have been close to making the post-season before, namely the 2022-23 season. On Mar. 2, 2023, they sat just four points out of a spot, but ultimately fell two points shy of making it. Although their odds are higher in 2025-26, adding at the deadline is a must for the New York-based team.
In this article, we’ll take a look at their needs, their cap situation, and what the Sabres have to offer the Flames if the two teams make a trade.

Sabres’ needs and cap situation

Thanks to accumulating cap this season, the Sabres will have about $7.865 million in cap space ahead of Mar. 6’s trade deadline. Every single Flames player who has been in trade rumours, the Sabres can absorb the full cap hit. Of their three best trade pieces, Nazem Kadri has a cap hit of $7 million until the end of the 2028-29 season, Blake Coleman has a cap hit of $4.9 million, and MacKenzie Weegar has a cap hit of $6.25 million.
On Tuesday, Darren Dreger reported that talks between the Sabres and the St. Louis Blues are heating up regarding centre Robert Thomas. While both he and Kadri are top six centres, Thomas is a tier or two above Kadri in that regard. Perhaps if they can’t get a deal done for Thomas, they turn to someone like Kadri, who was born and raised in London, Ontario.
Additionally, Dreger on Friday’s edition of Barn Burner (around the 44 minute mark), he noted that Sabres are looking to add a bottom six forward and a depth defenceman. If they chose to go down this route, or do it on top of adding someone like Thomas, the Flames are an ideal trading partner as they have players that fit both categories.
In these articles, I haven’t mentioned Ryan Lomberg a lot, because I personally think having him around is the wiser idea. However, he’s a bottom six forward who has won it all in the past. You could make an argument that Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee fit the bottom six description, but they’re also capable of playing in the middle six.
Zach Whitecloud, who has a $2.75 million cap hit, is also a depth defenceman, but someone a contender wishes to have on their bottom pairing. Joel Hanley is likely a better fit for the description of a “depth defenceman”, as he’s played that role on a contender in the past when he was with the Dallas Stars.

What the Sabres have to offer

In terms of assets, the Sabres are in a good place to add before Mar. 6th’s trade deadline. As this is their first season of legitimate contention, they have all their first round picks.  In fact, the only pick they’re missing is the second-rounder in the coming draft. However, they have two fourth-rounders and two sixth-rounders.
Heading into the season, Konsta Helenius ranked as Daily Faceoff’s top Sabres’ prospect. The right-shot centre has played nine games with the Sabres in 2025-26, scoring a goal and four points, but has 13 goals and 40 points in 43 American Hockey League games. He’s a little undersized for a centre, standing at just 5’11”, 190 lbs.
Radim Mrtka was their first-rounder in 2025, and the right-shot defenceman has a goal and 29 points in 34 games with the Western Hockey League’s Seattle Thunderbirds. Standing at 6’6”, 218 lbs, he’s a physical defenceman who is probably unobtainable for the Flames.
If there was any chance the Sabres would be willing to depart with either of these players, it’d likely be for someone like Thomas. If the Sabres and Flames make a trade, it seems likely for one of the depth players.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
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