The 2026–27 Buffalo Sabres season is the 57th season of play for the Sabres in the National Hockey League (NHL). It is their third season since head coach Lindy Ruff returned to the team and second since general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen was hired.

The Sabres look to improve on their 50–23–9 record.

Standings

Divisional standings

Conference standings

Off-season After exceeding expectations and breaking their 14-season playoff drought, Lindy Ruff was signed to a 2-year contract extension on May 20, 2026. During this time, the Jacksonville Icemen ended their agreement with the Sabres and became the ECHL affiliate for the Minnesota Wild.

Several players were traded to other teams during or around the 2026 NHL entry draft, which took place in Buffalo. Michael Kesselring was traded to the San Jose Sharks, while Bowen Byram and Jordan Greenway were traded to the Chicago Blackhawks. Only a few hours before the deadline to submit qualifying offers to restricted free agents, Peyton Krebs and Olen Zellweger were both given extended qualifying offers. On the same day, Beck Malenstyn was extended for 6 years for a total of $17.5 million. One day after the draft, team captain Alex Tuch, who was not re-signed in free agency, would sign with the Washington Capitals on an 8-year contract with $84 million dollars. Zellweger was eventually signed to a three-year contract, worth $3.1 million a year, on July 1. Only a few hours later, fourth string goalie Devon Levi and a 2028 seventh-round pick were traded to the Edmonton Oilers for a 2028 third-round pick. As part of a new collective bargaining agreement taking effect for 2026–27 NHL season, all teams must hire a permanent emergency back-up goaltender (EBUG) who may travel with the team; the Sabres hired Jack McNaughton as their EBUG on August 14.

Schedule and results

Preseason The preseason schedule was published on June 23, 2026. 2026 preseason game log: 1–2–1 (Home: 1–1–0; Road: 0–1–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Recap 1 September 21 Buffalo 1–4 Pittsburgh Lyon 11,947 0–1–0 2 September 22 Columbus 1–5 Buffalo Luukkonen 16,328 1–1–0 3 September 24 Buffalo 2–3 Detroit OT Ellis 15,887 1–1–1 4 September 26 Pittsburgh 3–1 Buffalo Luukkonen 16,078 1–2–1

Regular season The regular season schedule was published on July 16, 2026. 2026–27 game logOctober: 2–1–0: 4 points (Home: 2–0–0; Road: 0–1–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Logo Attendance Record Points Recap 1 October 1 Buffalo 3–6 Columbus Luukkonen Main 18,207 0–1–0 0 2 October 3 Chicago 3–4 Buffalo Luukkonen Main 19,070 1–1–0 2 3 October 6 Minnesota 2–3 Buffalo OT Ellis Main 19,070 2–1–0 4 4 October 8 Dallas – Buffalo 5 October 10 Utah – Buffalo 6 October 12 Florida – Buffalo 7 October 13 Buffalo – Montreal 8 October 15 Buffalo – Toronto 9 October 17 Buffalo – Montreal 10 October 21 Philadelphia – Buffalo 11 October 24 Buffalo – Washington 12 October 27 Buffalo – San Jose 13 October 29 Buffalo – Anaheim 14 October 31 Buffalo – Los Angeles November: 0–0–0: 0 points (Home: 0–0–0; Road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Logo Attendance Record Points Recap 15 November 4 Ottawa – Buffalo 16 November 6 Columbus – Buffalo 17 November 8 Vegas – Buffalo 18 November 11 Tampa Bay – Buffalo 19 November 12 Buffalo – Chicago 20 November 14 Buffalo – Dallas 21 November 17 Buffalo – Philadelphia 22 November 19 Buffalo – Washington 23 November 21 Buffalo – Florida 24 November 22 Buffalo – Tampa Bay 25 November 25 NY Rangers – Buffalo 26 November 27 Pittsburgh – Buffalo December: 0–0–0: 0 points (Home: 0–0–0; Road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Logo Attendance Record Points Recap 27 December 1 Buffalo – Edmonton 28 December 3 Buffalo – Calgary 29 December 4 Buffalo – Vancouver 30 December 6 Buffalo – Seattle 31 December 10 Edmonton – Buffalo 32 December 12 Anaheim – Buffalo 33 December 14 Buffalo – Ottawa 34 December 15 Calgary – Buffalo 35 December 18 Montreal – Buffalo 36 December 20 Los Angeles – Buffalo 37 December 22 Buffalo – Pittsburgh 38 December 26 New Jersey – Buffalo 39 December 28 Detroit – Buffalo 40 December 30 Buffalo – Florida January: 0–0–0: 0 points (Home: 0–0–0; Road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Logo Attendance Record Points Recap 41 January 2 Buffalo – Tampa Bay 42 January 4 Winnipeg – Buffalo 43 January 5 Buffalo – Boston 44 January 8 Buffalo – Columbus 45 January 9 Carolina – Buffalo 46 January 12 New Jersey – Buffalo 47 January 14 Colorado – Buffalo 48 January 16 Nashville – Buffalo 49 January 18 Montreal – Buffalo 50 January 20 Buffalo – NY Islanders 51 January 21 Seattle – Buffalo 52 January 24 Buffalo – Winnipeg 53 January 27 Buffalo – Utah 54 January 28 Buffalo – Vegas 55 January 30 Buffalo – Colorado February: 0–0–0: 0 points (Home: 0–0–0; Road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Logo Attendance Record Points Recap 56 February 3 NY Islanders – Buffalo 57 February 13 Buffalo – Carolina 58 February 15 Buffalo – NY Rangers 59 February 18 Carolina – Buffalo 60 February 20 Buffalo – New Jersey 61 February 21 Buffalo – Detroit 62 February 24 Buffalo – Philadelphia 63 February 26 Ottawa – Buffalo 64 February 27 Toronto – Buffalo March: 0–0–0: 0 points (Home: 0–0–0; Road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Logo Attendance Record Points Recap 65 March 2 Pittsburgh – Buffalo 66 March 4 St. Louis – Buffalo 67 March 6 NY Rangers – Buffalo 68 March 7 Buffalo – Ottawa 69 March 9 Vancouver – Buffalo 70 March 12 Buffalo – Detroit 71 March 14 Buffalo – Minnesota 72 March 15 San Jose – Buffalo 73 March 18 Washington – Buffalo 74 March 20 Florida – Buffalo 75 March 21 Buffalo – NY Islanders 76 March 23 Buffalo – Boston 77 March 25 Toronto – Buffalo 78 March 28 Buffalo – St. Louis 79 March 30 Buffalo – Nashville April: 0–0–0: 0 points (Home: 0–0–0; Road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Logo Attendance Record Points Recap 80 April 1 Boston – Buffalo 81 April 3 Buffalo – Toronto 82 April 5 Tampa Bay – Buffalo 83 April 7 Boston – Buffalo 84 April 10 Detroit – Buffalo Legend:

Roster

Player statistics As of games played on October 6, 2026

Skaters Regular season Player 3 1 4 5 +3 0 3 2 2 4 +3 2 3 1 2 3 +2 0 3 2 0 2 +1 0 3 1 1 2 4 3 1 1 2 +1 2 3 1 1 2 +2 0 3 0 2 2 0 2 3 1 0 1 0 0 3 0 1 1 +1 0 3 0 1 1 2 3 0 1 1 +1 0 3 0 1 1 +1 4 3 0 1 1 +1 5 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0

Goaltenders Regular season Player 2 2 119:08 1 1 0 8 4.03 37 .784 0 0 0 0 1 1 64:22 1 0 0 2 1.86 20 .900 0 0 0 0 †Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Sabres. Stats reflect time with the Sabres only. ‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Sabres only. Bold/italics denotes franchise record.

Transactions

Trades

Players acquired

Players lost

Signings Date Player Term Ref July 1, 2026 Olen Zellweger 2-year July 13, 2026 Peyton Krebs 4-year

Draft picks

Below are the Buffalo Sabres' selections at the 2026 NHL entry draft, which was held on June 26 and 27, 2026, at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York.

Round # Player Pos Nationality Team (league)14 Daxon Rudolph D Canada Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)120 Ilia Morozov C Russia Miami RedHawks (NCHC)4124 Olivers Murnieks C Latvia Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL) 5156 Domán Szongoth C Hungary KooKoo U20 (U20 SM-sarja) 6188 Dylan Dumont RW Canada Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL)

Notes

References