Sabres Need A Good Strategy Going In To The 2026 Draft

The Sabres find themselves in a very unique position right now. As the 2026 NHL draft takes place later today, they will hold both the 4th overall, and 20th overall selections, and both were acquired via trade in recent weeks. The unique part of this situation is that they were a very good playoff team, so they would have been picking at the 27th overall selection, but general manager Jarmo Kekalainen decided that moving some pieces around to get some better draft picks was what the team needed.

As the Sabres go into the draft today, they will need to be thinking of all of their options; not just who they could take with their two first round selections, but what they could add if they choose to trade those selections. The team has a good structure, and it is very evident over the last few days that teams are willing to deal big players, so the Sabres have to make the most of their assets today, and go in with a good strategy.

What Do The Sabres Need?

They moved out defenders Michael Kesselring, and Bowen Byram, along with forwards Jordan Greenway, and Alex Tuch, who they did a sign and trade with the Washington Capitals. This leaves them with holes in their top six forward group, and a hole in their top four defenders. Could young players like Jiri Kulich, Noah Ostlund, and Konsta Helenius play full time in the NHL and fill Tuch’s role? They sure showed signs that they had the ability to. Can their top defensive prospect Radim Mrtka jump up to the NHL after just one season off being drafted? It is unlikely, but possible.

The reality is that they are a bit thinned out on the defensive end, while still holding on to three of their best four pieces, and that they will need to add some firepower up front to replace Tuch’s offensive production, or his defensive capabilities. Then they still have to make a choice with their goaltending, as to whether they will run with Alex Lyon, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Colten Ellis, or even Devon Levi. With four goalies that will need NHL playing time, a choice will need to be made on if they are good enough to run with, or a couple of them need to be traded for something else. The bottom line is, they need at least one top six forward (possibly two), a reliable top four defender, and a choice on the starting goaltender.

Sabres’ Best Assets

With their draft capital, their most valuable piece is the fourth overall pick, followed by the 20th overall pick. Then they have plenty of top prospects and young players to dangle for the rest of the teams to trade for. Mrtka, Kulich, Ostlund, Helenius, Levi… All of those prospect names come to mind when it boils down to assets that they can move for immediate roster upgrades. Some being moved would be easier to swallow than others, but at the end of the day, if the team is better both now, and for the future, then make the move.

On top of the prospects, they still have some decent young players in Jack Quinn, Ryan McLeod, and Peyton Krebs that can be offered up for trade. Both Quinn and McLeod have shown they have some good offensive capabilities, and Krebs had a breakout season. Some teams could look at any one of them and find value to improve their roster. The Sabres have a ton of capital between players that could still be moved, and the draft picks they have in hand. Using them to acquire one or more of their needs, prior to free agency on July 1st would be a sight to see compared to prior draft days.

How Should The Sabres Use Their Draft Picks?

There is still a good chance that Kekalainen holds onto his newly acquired draft picks, and chooses some high end talent. With the value young players can bring along with their cap flexibility from being on an entry level contract, adding a young prospect that has the chance to produce in the NHL within 1-2 seasons would be invaluable.

If they choose to hold on to their 4th overall pick, they will have a number of good options to choose from. With names like Gavin McKenna and Ivar Stenberg having a high chance of being picked at the 1st and 2nd selections, whether the Sabres choose a high end defender like Chase Reid, or a dynamic forward like Caleb Malhotra, or even going a bit off the board and going for a bigger power forward type player like Ethan Belchetz, they will have the freedom to take the best player for their roster in the near future.

If they also hold on to their 20th overall selection, the choice will be more at liberty of what the remaining draft board looks like, but they will still have some great options to improve their depth and prospect pool as a whole. Picking up one of the two better Russian prospects in the draft in this spot would be a great move. Looking at players like Nikita Klepov if they decide they need some more potential scoring options, or Ilia Morozov, a more safe and reliable two way center that they could mold into one heck of a problem for other teams.

Moving off of their first round selections, they have a lone second round pick, a fourth round pick, a fifth round pick, and a sixth round pick. These are the picks usually meant to fill out the prospect pool based on what is lacking. For the Sabres, it is a little bit of everything. After Devon Levi, their goalie prospect pool is fairly dry, so adding at least one with one of these picks would be wise. A great option would be Tobias Trejbal, who is one of the better goalie options in this draft. While he likely may get chosen at the start of the second round (or late first round if a team is really feeling the need), if he is still around by the time the Sabres pick at 45th overall, he would be an amazing addition.

The remainder of the picks should be split between 1 forward, and 2 defenders. With their defensive prospect depth stretching a little thin, even with names like Maxim Strbak and Adam Kleber on the list already, it does not hurt to add some more defenders to develop, especially since it takes longer for them.

Sabres Best Case Scenario

Ideally, the Sabres use the fourth overall pick to choose a player like Reid, and get a top end right handed defender to eventually pair with Owen Power. Then, they move out the 20th overall pick alongside a player like Quinn to upgrade at the forward position. Once those are taken care of, they can reassess where they are at, and focus in on moving out any dead weight, or making a move to secure their crease.

Devon Levi is both good enough to have a real shot at the NHL next season, and his contract would force the Sabres to have to waive him if they choose to try and send him back to the minors. Losing him off a waiver claim would be a tragedy, so either moving on from Ellis, Luukkonen, or Lyon is a must of they intend to keep him. If they do not, the draft would be the best time to move him. He would make a great trade piece as part of a package deal to a team looking for a young goalie (Florida?), and the time to move him would be sooner before team start looking to free agency for depth.

The Sabres have a lot on their plate for today, and it is bound to be one of the more entertaining drafts in recent years with how much movement there could be from all the teams. Buckle up folks… This weekend and the 2026 NHL draft are going to be one to remember.