The Buffalo Sabres are on a mission to prove that last season wasn’t a fluke.
Last year, picked by media and fans alike to miss the playoffs, Buffalo shocked the hockey world by not only snapping the franchise’s ugly 14-year playoff drought but also finishing with 109 points, which placed them first in the Eastern Conference Atlantic Division.
When hockey fans think of Buffalo, such names come to mind as forward Tage Thompson, up-and-coming forward Josh Doan and captain defenseman Rasmus Dahlin as the true stars, which they are.
However, a deeper look into the Sabres roster uncovers some other great contributors who perhaps don’t get the true recognition and are underrated. Such talents as 26-year-old, 6’4″, 234-pound defenseman Mattias Samuelsson, who is coming off a 41-point (13 goals, 28 assists) season and finished last year with the fourth-best mark among defenseman, with a plus/minus of +41.
Despite finishing at +41, Samuelsson, who also averages 22:50 of ice time per game, didn’t finish in the top 14 for Norris Trophy voting, which just goes to show how underrated he is.
With the regular season only a few days away, Sabres fans have to be concerned about what kind of start the team will have after Samuelsson was shaken up after blocking a shot in the second period of a Tuesday, September 22nd 5-1 exhibition win at Key Bank Center against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Without Samuelsson, who is listed as week-to-week to start the year, Buffalo will have a big hole on defense and will be challenged to have that pivotal fast start.
If losing one defenseman wasn’t bad enough, in that same game against Columbus, the Sabres’ misfortune on the blue line continued as they lost another in newly acquired Olen Zellweger.
Sabres Face Challenge; Goal of a Quick Start Got Harder Due To Injuries
Zellweger Suffers Concussion In Sabres Debut
Olen Zellweger‘s Sabres’ debut couldn’t have gone any worse.
Zellweger, who last year scored seven goals and 22 points for the Anaheim Ducks, was traded on June 26, 2026, to the Sabres in exchange for a 2026 second-round draft pick and forward Anton Wahlberg.
His debut against Columbus was going well until 17:35 into the second period when Blue Jackets defenseman Carson Soucy caught him with a bad hit 17:35 into the second period.
“The elbow was down. I think he just got caught kind of admiring his pass,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “I think the shoulder of the player got him right on the chin. But I don’t think that part hurt him. I think when he fell, it looked to me like he might’ve banged his head off the ice.
Zellweger, drafted in 2021, 34th overall by the Ducks, has in his career played 164 games where he scored 16 goals along with 51 points and 58 PIMs.
He’ll also obviously be greatly missed on defense.
Forward Jason Zucker Will Miss Beginning Of Season For Sabres
The Sabres injury issues have also struck at forward, where 34-year-old left winger Jason Zucker is still recovering from sports hernia surgery, which will keep him sidelined for approximately two weeks of the season.
While it might only be two weeks, this again makes getting off to a solid start to the season that much harder, as Zucker is a hard-nosed, dependable two-way forward who provides that depth scoring. Last year in what was his second year as a Sabre, he produced 21 goals and 45 points, 57 hits, 21 blocked shots and 23 PIMs, averaging 15:37 of ice time per game in only 62 games.
Zucker, had stints with the Minnesota Wild, Pittsburgh Penguins, Arizona Coyotes and Nashville Predators before signing on July 1, 2024 as an unrestricted free agent to a one-year $ 5 million deal.
His first year as a Sabre saw Zucker not disappoint as he produced 21 goals along with 53 points and 57 PIMs.
Late that first year, on March 7, 2025, Sabres’ management showed how impressed they were with Zucker’s play by giving him a two-year $9.5 million extension.
The Sabres are obviously a talented, exciting team with a bright future. Saying that, there will be a lot of pressure on them to make sure that, with the absence of these three important players, the Sabres don’t get off to a bad start and fall behind the eight ball.
