Buffalo Sabres fantasy preview 2026-27.
15 skaters and 3 goaltenders clear the pool line. Tage Thompson leads at 2.30 blended ESPN points per game. The club ranks 11th in the league in assists and 23rd in hits. Every figure below is a completed season or a published calendar.
Every Buffalo name in the 2026-27 pool
Sorted by desk rank in the format selected above. Any header re-sorts. Counting columns are 2025-26 season totals. The value chip is consensus rank minus desk rank: mint means the desk is higher on him than the four published boards, coral means the room makes you pay.
| Pos | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29of 400 | Tage Thompson | C | 28 | 2.38 | 2.25 | 2.30 | +0.10 | 40-41-81 in 81 | 24 | 272 | 85 | 48 | 67% | 27 | -2 | |
| 30of 400 | Rasmus Dahlin | D | 26 | 2.20 | 2.39 | 2.30 | +0.42 | 19-55-74 in 77 | 22 | 194 | 67 | 79 | 62% | 34 | +4 | |
| 128of 400 | Josh Norris | C | 27 | 1.69 | 1.93 | 1.77 | — | 13-21-34 in 44 | 9 | 69 | 24 | 27 | 61% | 219 | +91 | |
| 135of 400 | Mattias Samuelsson | D | 26 | 1.99 | 1.30 | 1.75 | +0.02 | 13-28-41 in 78 | 0 | 109 | 132 | 154 | 40% | 211 | +76 | |
| 164of 400 | Jason Zucker | LW | 34 | 1.71 | 1.60 | 1.63 | -0.36 | 24-21-45 in 62 | 16 | 128 | 57 | 21 | 50% | — | n/r | |
| 275of 400 | Jack Quinn | RW | 25 | 1.38 | 1.19 | 1.35 | +0.29 | 20-31-51 in 82 | 11 | 191 | 52 | 25 | — | 227 | -48 | |
| 276of 400 | Owen Power | D | 23 | 1.23 | 1.53 | 1.35 | +0.41 | 8-21-29 in 81 | 0 | 120 | 29 | 95 | — | — | n/r | |
| 283of 400 | Josh Doan | RW | 24 | 1.53 | 0.95 | 1.34 | -0.03 | 25-27-52 in 82 | 17 | 170 | 78 | 31 | — | 135 | -148 | |
| 293of 400 | Conor Timmins | D | 28 | 1.43 | 1.11 | 1.32 | — | 0-8-8 in 39 | 0 | 44 | 29 | 81 | — | — | n/r | |
| 294of 400 | Louis CrevierNEW · CHI | D | 25 | 1.32 | 1.29 | 1.32 | +0.52 | 7-18-25 in 78 | 0 | 114 | 124 | 95 | — | — | n/r | |
| 349of 400 | Olen ZellwegerNEW · ANA | D | 23 | 1.16 | 1.33 | 1.23 | -0.27 | 7-15-22 in 76 | 3 | 119 | 33 | 85 | — | — | n/r | |
| 352of 400 | Justin Danforth | RW | 33 | 0.63 | 1.26 | 1.22 | — | 0-0-0 in 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | — | — | n/r | |
| 353of 400 | Ryan McLeod | C | 27 | 1.22 | 1.30 | 1.22 | +0.21 | 14-40-54 in 81 | 7 | 90 | 16 | 34 | — | — | n/r | |
| 363of 400 | Jiri Kulich | C | 22 | 1.41 | 1.20 | 1.20 | — | 3-2-5 in 12 | 0 | 20 | 9 | 12 | — | — | n/r | |
| 383of 400 | Zach Benson | LW | 21 | 1.31 | 0.93 | 1.17 | 0.00 | 13-30-43 in 65 | 5 | 116 | 40 | 22 | — | 136 | -247 |
- 29 Tage Thompson C · age 28 · mkt 27 2.30blend 2.3825-26 2.2524-25 +0.10H2−H1 24PPP 272SOG 85HIT 48BLK 67%PG% 40-41-81 in 81-2
- 30 Rasmus Dahlin D · age 26 · mkt 34 2.30blend 2.2025-26 2.3924-25 +0.42H2−H1 22PPP 194SOG 67HIT 79BLK 62%PG% 19-55-74 in 77+4
- 128 Josh Norris C · age 27 · mkt 219 1.77blend 1.6925-26 1.9324-25 —H2−H1 9PPP 69SOG 24HIT 27BLK 61%PG% 13-21-34 in 44+91
- 135 Mattias Samuelsson D · age 26 · mkt 211 1.75blend 1.9925-26 1.3024-25 +0.02H2−H1 0PPP 109SOG 132HIT 154BLK 40%PG% 13-28-41 in 78+76
- 164 Jason Zucker LW · age 34 · mkt n/r 1.63blend 1.7125-26 1.6024-25 -0.36H2−H1 16PPP 128SOG 57HIT 21BLK 50%PG% 24-21-45 in 62n/r
- 275 Jack Quinn RW · age 25 · mkt 227 1.35blend 1.3825-26 1.1924-25 +0.29H2−H1 11PPP 191SOG 52HIT 25BLK —PG% 20-31-51 in 82-48
- 276 Owen Power D · age 23 · mkt n/r 1.35blend 1.2325-26 1.5324-25 +0.41H2−H1 0PPP 120SOG 29HIT 95BLK —PG% 8-21-29 in 81n/r
- 283 Josh Doan RW · age 24 · mkt 135 1.34blend 1.5325-26 0.9524-25 -0.03H2−H1 17PPP 170SOG 78HIT 31BLK —PG% 25-27-52 in 82-148
- 293 Conor Timmins D · age 28 · mkt n/r 1.32blend 1.4325-26 1.1124-25 —H2−H1 0PPP 44SOG 29HIT 81BLK —PG% 0-8-8 in 39n/r
- 294 Louis Crevier D · age 25 · mkt n/r 1.32blend 1.3225-26 1.2924-25 +0.52H2−H1 0PPP 114SOG 124HIT 95BLK —PG% 7-18-25 in 78n/r
- 349 Olen Zellweger D · age 23 · mkt n/r 1.23blend 1.1625-26 1.3324-25 -0.27H2−H1 3PPP 119SOG 33HIT 85BLK —PG% 7-15-22 in 76n/r
- 352 Justin Danforth RW · age 33 · mkt n/r 1.22blend 0.6325-26 1.2624-25 —H2−H1 0PPP 2SOG 3HIT 4BLK —PG% 0-0-0 in 4n/r
- 353 Ryan McLeod C · age 27 · mkt n/r 1.22blend 1.2225-26 1.3024-25 +0.21H2−H1 7PPP 90SOG 16HIT 34BLK —PG% 14-40-54 in 81n/r
- 363 Jiri Kulich C · age 22 · mkt n/r 1.20blend 1.4125-26 1.2024-25 —H2−H1 0PPP 20SOG 9HIT 12BLK —PG% 3-2-5 in 12n/r
- 383 Zach Benson LW · age 21 · mkt 136 1.17blend 1.3125-26 0.9324-25 0.00H2−H1 5PPP 116SOG 40HIT 22BLK —PG% 13-30-43 in 65-247
Buffalo are 11th in assists
Six categories, summed across every Buffalo skater in the pool for 2025-26, each drawn against the league average of the same sum. The tick on every track is that average. A middle club in both halves of a category league; the edge here is player-by-player, not roster-wide.
- G 206 lg avg 194 12th
- A 358 lg avg 329 11th
- PPP 114 lg avg 130 22nd
- SOG 1758 lg avg 1644 11th
- HIT 778 lg avg 909 23rd
- BLK 813 lg avg 789 13th
Where the blended points sit
Share of the club's total blended points per game contributed by forwards, defencemen and goaltenders in the pool. A club heavy in the D band is a club whose value survives a league that starts four defencemen.
Deep at defence, barren at left wing
Ordered by blend inside each column, tinted by the same number on a fixed league-wide scale. Darker is better, and an empty column is the club telling you where you will have to shop elsewhere. Every tile links to the player.
Defence 6
6 deep · 2nd of 32
Dahlin2.30 +4 Samuelsson1.75 +76 Power1.35 Timmins1.32 Crevier1.32 Zellweger1.23Crease 3
Buffalo against the other 31
Draftable stock
2 Buffalo skaters inside the desk's top 100 — 23rd of 32
Every club, sorted. DAL lead with 5; the thinnest club has 0. A tall bar is a roster you will keep bumping into in the first eight rounds.
Power-play concentration
55.3% held by the top three — 16th-most concentrated
Above the league median of 55.2%. The names outside the top three are even-strength assets.
A split Buffalo crease
Last season's starts, split between the goaltenders the pool ranks here. The calendar puts 14 back-to-backs in front of them, and those are the nights the starter does not get.
The tick is the league median busiest-goaltender share, 64.7% across the 32 clubs with a pool-ranked crease. Lyon sits at 41.5%.
| Goaltender | GS | W | SO | GAA | SV% | Blend | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Lyonage 33 · mkt 184 | 34 | 20 | 3 | 2.77 | 0.906 | 2.03 | Tandem |
| Ukko-Pekka Luukkonenage 27 · mkt 118 | 34 | 22 | 1 | 2.52 | 0.909 | 2.02 | Tandem |
| Colten Ellisage 25 · mkt n/r | 14 | 8 | 1 | 2.90 | 0.903 | 1.95 | Depth |
Power-play points are normally split in Buffalo
- 1 Tage Thompson C 24 PPP · 21.1% · 29.6% of his own points
- 2 Rasmus Dahlin D 22 PPP · 19.3% · 29.7% of his own points
- 3 Josh Doan RW 17 PPP · 14.9%
55.3% is a league-typical split: a first unit that takes most of it, a second unit that is not decorative.
0 in, 2 out
Only moves that changed a ranked player's club are tracked. Every blend on this page is computed from the player's own history, so a summer arrival brings his numbers with him.
Departures
- Alex Tuch 2.3 FPPG last season; top-line fit alongside Wilson
- Bowen Byram 25+ min/game and PP1 anchor projected
The Buffalo schedule edge
The only input on this page that is already known. It does nothing to a first-round pick and a great deal to your last two bench spots.
Season opens 2026-10-01. Mint tiles help you; coral tiles cost you.
What this roster already did
Tage Thompson put up 3-2-5 with 3 shots on 2026-01-15 for BUF, worth 9.8 ESPN points. It is the 17th-biggest single game in the desk's ten-season file.
Rasmus Dahlin owns the 11th-best D season in the ten-year file: 2023-24, 81 games, 20-39-59, 2.58 ESPN points per game.
4 Buffalo names to keep on the shelf
Where they play now and their NHL games so far. None of these are draft-night picks in a standard 12-team league. They are the names that change this page next August.
- Konsta Helenius Rochester Americans AHL 63 GP · 63 P · 1.00 P/GP 9 NHL games
- Daxon Rudolph WHL 68 GP · 78 P · 1.15 P/GP no NHL games yet
- Ilia Morozov NCAA 36 GP · 20 P · 0.56 P/GP no NHL games yet
- Radim Mrtka WHL 43 GP · 34 P · 0.79 P/GP no NHL games yet
Reading the Buffalo board
15 Buffalo skaters clear the pool line, plus 3 goaltenders. Tage Thompson sets the ceiling: 2.30 a night, 29th in the pool. Rasmus Dahlin (2.30) sits 0.00 back. A shared top, not an anchor.
Shape: 11th in assists, 23rd in hits. A middle club in both halves of a category league; the edge here is player-by-player, not roster-wide.
Josh Norris is the widest gap: desk 128, market 219. 91 slots in your favour. Zach Benson runs the other way, 383 here against 136. You pay 247 slots over. 2 names carry a 20-slot edge.
Three players hold 55.3% of the club's 114 power-play points. A league-typical split, which makes the third name the underpriced one.
35 off-nights of 84, 8th in the league. 14 back-to-backs, 27th-fewest. Stream from here.
Alex Lyon started 34 at 2.77 and 0.906. Tandem volume caps the ceiling whatever the rates say.
0 in, 2 out on the tracked ledger, headlined by Alex Tuch leaving. Average pool age 26.1. 7 trending up, 4 down. Next in line: Konsta Helenius.
What this page does not know
Caveats, printed as the builder wrote them
- There is no projection here. Every rate is a weighted blend of what already happened, 0.6 on 2025-26, 0.3 on 2024-25, 0.1 on 2023-24, so a player whose role is about to change will be mispriced by exactly the amount his role changes.
- The DNA bars are club sums, not rates. A club with more pool-ranked skaters sums higher, which is the point: it measures the fantasy roster you can draft, not the average player on it.
- Power-play share is a proxy for first-unit time, not a measurement of it. It reads last season's points, so a club that rebuilt its top unit in the summer will read wrong until the season corrects it.
- The depth chart uses the pool's listed position. It is not a line-combination projection and no club has confirmed any of it.
- PG% is joined from a 250-player game-level build. Where a skater is missing from that build the column is blank rather than estimated.
- Roster membership follows the live NHL roster feed as of 2026-08-31. Training-camp cuts, waiver claims and September trades are not in it.
- Goaltender start counts are last season's, from whatever club the goaltender played for. They are workload evidence, not a depth-chart declaration.