3 Sabres Entering Their Final Year With Buffalo

The Buffalo Sabres continue to struggle to put a full season together and make the playoffs and not much changed with them this offseason. It is a very young team with just three players in their 30s, but while keeping many of their young players, they have to get more veterans who can help in too. There isn't a ton of cap space, but the team definitely has room to maneuver and change, which is what they'll do over the next year.

Bowen Byram

There were plenty of rumors that Bowen Byram was going to be traded this offseason, but then he signed a contract. It was only for two years and it just extended the window in which the Sabres could negotiate with teams to get a good return for the young d-man. The Sabres have too many left-shot d-men and Conor Timmins and Jaycob Bryson are the two oldest on the back-end at 27 years old. With two years on Byram's deal, by the trade deadline or next offseason, potentially at the 2026 draft, seems like good spots to move him.

Beck Malenstyn

The Sabres vastly overpaid for Beck Malenstyn by sending a second-round pick to the Washington Capitals last offseason. Not only that, but he is going into the second and final year of his $1.35 million AAV deal. He hardly plays over 10 minutes per game as a fourth line player and only contributed four goals and 10 points while being one of the worst +/- on the team last season. With young players like Josh Doan, Noah Ostlund, Isak Rosen, and Konsta Helenius ready to take the next step, there is no logical reason to keep a player like Malenstyn around taking up a roster spot.

Jaycob Bryson

Jaydob Bryson barely played over half of last season and it doesn't look like his ice time will increase by very much this season. He is the seventh defenseman, but if the Sabres needed, they have Ryan Johnson, Tyson Kozak, and Jack Rathbone also available to be in the NHL. Bryson is a true seventh defenseman and is on a one-year deal where he's a UFA afterwards. He's past the point where there's still hope that he has potential, so once again, I don't see much of a reason for the Sabres not to make a change.