Sabres Have One Make-or-Break Priority This Offseason

The 2025-26 season has barely ended but it is never too early to think ahead. The Buffalo Sabres have a crucial offseason coming up, especially with a few players turning in disappointing performances in the team’s second-round loss to the Montreal Canadiens.

There are a few names that will come up in rumors repeatedly, and a few are almost certainly gone. The Sabres have a few players of importance that they would like to have back but one player stands above the rest.

Alex Tuch is Important…

Contract talks have begun with winger Alex Tuch, though they are still preliminary. He is easily one of their most important pieces for the offseason. He has been arguably their best forward for years now, one of the game’s elite two-way forwards.

That being said, there are a few things worth considering with Tuch. First and foremost, he is 30 years old. Realistically, anyone who signs him can expect three or four good seasons before his age begins to really show. Which leads to the second point: his contract terms.

Rumors have been swirling about what his camp is asking for, somewhere in the $10-$11 million range per season. For a max of four years, that’s fine. But a contract north of six years is more than likely. Signing Tuch means probably having anywhere from 2-4 years where his contract is a problem.

Those considerations are important and should be weighed heavily. All that being said, the Sabres have a much larger priority to consider going into the offseason.

…But Zach Benson is Critical

At a 10,000-foot view, Benson doesn’t necessarily look like the most important figure. The 21-year-old put up 43 points in 65 games and has made significant offensive strides since debuting as an 18-year-old. Those who watched the Sabres, however, know that he was arguably their best player in the playoffs and a key driver throughout the regular season.

During the playoffs, Benson was a monster at even strength. The Sabres had 60% of the expected goal share, substantially outshot (93-59) and out-chanced (96-69) the opposition, and did it while having the most defensive-zone starts among all of Buffalo’s top nine forwards.

More than that, he sets the tone for the Sabres. His work alongside Josh Doan was what drove the team throughout the regular season, and it went up another notch in the playoffs. Their relentless forecheck caused visible problems for both the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens, resulting in nine points in 13 playoff games.

Simply put he was the heart and soul of the Sabres. He aggravates opponents in much the same way Brad Marchand has but does it without crossing the same lines that Marchand routinely did. He plays the role of pest and it is clear that the locker room loves him.

A Foundational Piece

Benson has been on the Sabres everyday roster for three seasons, and it feels like a lifetime. To those who haven’t been watching, it feels like he should be approaching his late-20s. But the reality is that he is just 21 years old and has so much room to grow as a player.

The fact that he already plays like a mature two-way player while continuing to show growth in his offensive game speaks to how special he is for the Sabres. His performance in the playoffs merely cemented what we already knew as spectators.

For a franchise that has been mired in mediocrity for the past 15 years, Benson is one of the most critical pieces of the puzzle for getting them out of that slump. Benson, Tage Thompson, Rasmus Dahlin, Mattias Samuelsson, and Doan make up the nucleus of this team in both the short- and long-term.

The Sabres will have to work to find the right value, but nearly anything will be worthwhile if it means locking in Benson for the long haul. The Sabres feel like a franchise ascending and Benson is one of maybe two or three Sabres that played the biggest role in getting them here.