Navigating the salary cap is one of the most important tasks for a front office. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those who don’t often see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2025-26 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of PuckPedia. We’re currently covering the Atlantic Division, next up are the Sabres.
Buffalo Sabres
Current Cap Hit: $93,341,521 (below the $95.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Zach Benson (one year, $950K)
F Josh Doan (one year, $925K)
F Jiri Kulich (two years, $886.7K)
Potential Bonuses
Benson: $650K
After a strong rookie year in 2023-24, Benson’s sophomore campaign was largely the same. While he didn’t take a step back in his development, he didn’t really progress either. While he’s someone the Sabres clearly feel will still be a part of their long-term plans, finding a price point low enough for them to be comfortable with and high enough for Benson to be happy with will be tough. With that in mind, a short-term bridge deal around the $4MM territory might make the most sense for both sides. He has three ‘A’ bonuses in his deal and if he stays in their top six all year, he could hit some of those.
Doan was one of the pieces coming to Buffalo in the JJ Peterka trade this offseason. He held his own in a bottom-six role for the bulk of last season with Utah but that’s not the type of player that typically signs a long-term deal at this point. A short-term bridge pact makes sense here, potentially in the $3MM area if he has a similar showing this season. Kulich showed some promise last season despite a relatively limited role. They’re hoping he can be a top-six center of the future and if it looks like he’ll be there at the end of this deal, a long-term pact could be on the table. The rate for that could be in the $8MM territory, even if he’s on the second line given the inflation coming to the cap.
Signed Through 2025-26, Non-Entry-Level
D Jacob Bryson ($900K, UFA)
D Michael Kesselring ($1.4MM, RFA)
F Peyton Krebs ($1.45MM, RFA)
F Beck Malenstyn ($1.35MM, UFA)
F Alex Tuch ($4.75MM, UFA)
Tuch’s contract situation is one of the biggest discussion points in Buffalo right now. He’s a local player who has publicly stated that he wants to re-sign but no agreement has been reached just yet. Seeing the recent explosion of the winger market, it’s likely that Tuch’s camp is seeking to more than double his current price tag. He has only passed the point-per-game mark once in his career but with two 36-goal efforts over the last three seasons, he’s still producing enough that he could very well surpass the $10MM mark on his next deal. If Buffalo continues to struggle, his name will come up in trade speculation quickly so it wouldn’t be surprising to see both sides plug away at this in the coming weeks.
Krebs bounced back last season after a tough 2023-24 campaign but he still hasn’t progressed to being a consistently reliable producer; he has yet to reach 30 points in a single season. However, given that he plays a premium position and has arbitration rights, he should be able to double this price tag next summer. Malenstyn wasn’t anywhere near as impactful in his first year with Buffalo compared to his 2023-24 season with Washington. However, with his physicality, it wouldn’t be shocking to see him pass the $2MM mark next summer, even as a pure fourth liner.
Kesselring was the other part of the return for Peterka and is someone Buffalo likely views as an important building block on the back end. He hasn’t become a full-time top-four piece yet but as a coveted right-shot defender with arbitration rights, he should be in a position to push for $4MM on a shorter-term deal while a long-term pact would likely run past $5MM per season. Bryson has been a depth defender for the last few seasons and is likely to remain in that role moving forward. That should keep him close to the minimum salary for next season and beyond.
Signed Through 2026-27
D Bowen Byram ($6.25MM, UFA)
F Justin Danforth ($1.8MM, UFA)
G Colten Ellis ($775K, RFA)
F/D Mason Geertsen ($775K, UFA)
F Jordan Greenway ($4MM, UFA)
G Alex Lyon ($1.5MM, UFA)
F Jack Quinn ($3.375MM, RFA)
D Conor Timmins ($2.2MM, UFA)
F Jason Zucker ($4.75MM, UFA)
Zucker and Greenway found themselves in similar situations last season, players on expiring contracts who were likely to be moved if they didn’t sign extensions. Instead, both worked out short-term deals that gave them some stability and kept Buffalo’s long-term options open. Zucker’s trips through free agency haven’t always proven fruitful but if he stays in the 50-point range the next couple of years, he could land a small raise and a multi-year pact, even as a 35-plus contract. As for Greenway, he has been the beneficiary of the power forward premium. When healthy, he struggles to reach 30 points and even staying in the lineup has been a concern. But given his size, physicality, and defensive acumen, there’s a high enough floor that Buffalo was willing to pay a premium on. He’ll need to produce a bit more if he wants to beat this by any sort of significant amount.
Quinn wasn’t quite able to live up to offensive expectations last season, resulting in this bridge deal getting signed back in June. Both sides will be hoping that he will be able to take that step forward and become a legitimate top-six piece. If that happens, he could plausibly push past $6MM or more two years from now. Danforth came over from Columbus in free agency as a versatile piece who can move up and down the lineup. But he will have to find a way to produce more if he is going to have a shot at beating this in his next trip to the open market. Geertsen hadn’t played in the NHL since 2021-22 before surprisingly making Buffalo’s roster in training camp. Unless he can establish himself as an every-game player, he’s likely to remain at the minimum salary in the future.
To avoid any risk of an offer sheet, the Sabres filed for arbitration with Byram this summer, setting him up for a two-year deal that took him right to unrestricted free agency. While they settled before the hearing, they couldn’t get any additional team control, meaning he’ll hit the open market at 26, in the prime of his career. Given how much salaries have exploded, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he pushes for a deal in the $10MM range on a max-term agreement. Timmins, acquired in a swap of third-pairing defensemen this summer, also managed to avoid arbitration with this deal. He has shown flashes of offensive upside over the years but has been more of a fifth or sixth option for most of that time. There’s a fine line to navigate for players in his situation as if he remains a lower-producing piece, the offers two years from now might not get to this level. But a few more points could propel him past the $3MM mark.
Lyon became a full-time backup goaltender over his two years with Detroit, getting into 74 games overall. However, his save percentage dipped to .896 last season which hurt his chances of getting a bigger deal this summer. Still, he did enough to get his biggest guaranteed contract. At this point of his career, it’s hard to see him moving into that top echelon of backups so while another small raise could be doable, he’s probably not going much higher than that. Ellis was claimed off waivers and has yet to make his NHL debut. Buffalo feels he has some upside as evidenced by the claim but when everyone’s healthy, he’s no higher than third on the depth chart. This doesn’t feel like a situation where he’s going to get a chance to play into a big contract but if he does well in limited action, he could land where Lyon is now.
Signed Through 2027-28
D Ryan Johnson ($775K, RFA)
F Tyson Kozak ($775K, RFA)
Both Johnson and Kozak are on identical three-year deals. However, with the minimum salary moving to $850K next season and $900K in 2027-28, their cap hits beginning next season should jump to $841.7K.
Kozak made his NHL debut last season, getting into 21 games where he did okay with limited playing time. He wasn’t a big point producer with Rochester either but the security of a three-year pact with two one-way years was enough to get him to sign. He’ll need to establish himself as a regular and make a bit of an impact to help his cause for a new deal as if he winds up with minimal production, he’ll become a non-tender candidate to avoid arbitration eligibility.
Johnson, a 2019 first-round pick, has had a limited role so far when he has played, including a 41-game stint in his rookie year. He also opted for the security of two one-way years while he looks to establish himself as a full-time defender. Like Kozak, he’ll want to be more established by the end of this deal to avoid being a non-tender candidate to avoid arbitration eligibility. If he’s a regular third-pairing option by then, Johnson could move up into the $2MM range on a contract.
Signed Through 2028-29
G Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen ($4.75MM, UFA)
F Ryan McLeod ($5MM, UFA)
The McLeod trade raised some eyebrows with a prominent prospect (Matthew Savoie) going to Edmonton but a bigger role allowed the center to have a breakout year, creating an interesting situation where they had to work out a contract off a platform campaign much better than any other season. They ultimately settled on this spot, one that bought two years of UFA eligibility and gave him lower-end second-line money. If he stays in the 50-point range that he reached last year, this will be a bargain but if he goes back to his Edmonton point levels, then it’ll be an overpayment.
The goalie market has seen a lot of inflation lately which has likely affected the value of Luukkonen’s pact. What seemed like a risky move at the time given that he had just the one strong season now looks like something that has the potential to be a team-friendly deal before long. If he can help turn around Buffalo’s fortunes by the time this contract expires, he could go past the $7MM mark on his next contract.
Signed Through 2029-30 Or Longer
D Rasmus Dahlin ($11MM through 2031-32)
F Joshua Norris ($7.95MM through 2029-30)
D Owen Power ($8.35MM through 2030-31)
D Mattias Samuelsson ($4.286MM through 2029-30)
F Tage Thompson ($7.143MM through 2029-30)
The Sabres took a risk when they moved Dylan Cozens and his long-term deal to Ottawa last season to take on Norris and his long-term pact to shake up his core group. The early returns haven’t been great as he has played in four games, suffering long-term injuries in two of them. When healthy, he’s a legitimate top-six center but staying in the lineup continues to be a challenge and significantly negatively affects his current value. Thompson, on the other hand, continues to make this contract a team-friendly one. No, he hasn’t gotten back to the 94-point mark but he had a 44-goal effort last season and is averaging over 70 points per season over the last four years. This is becoming second-line money and Thompson’s production is very much that of a top-liner.
There was a bit of sticker shock on Dahlin’s deal, one that makes him one of the top-paid defensemen in the NHL. However, it bought out seven UFA years so the price was going to be high. Is Dahlin a top-five defender? At first glance, some might not be inclined to put him there but he’d at least belong in the discussion, especially since he has become one of the top offensive producers from the back end league-wide. As other veterans get their next contracts in the coming years and we start to see the type of inflation we’ve seen among forwards impact some defensemen, this deal should look much more favorable and provide a fair bit of value for the Sabres.
Power signed what was briefly the highest AAV for a defender coming off an entry-level deal, a mark that has been passed several times since then. He’s still just 22 and improving so while the contract might be a slight overpayment now, that should change relatively soon. Meanwhile, Power should still be able to command a max-term contract at a bigger rate when this deal expires in 2031. Buffalo gave Samuelsson an early extension, hoping that they were buying low on a top-four shutdown defender. That hasn’t exactly been how things have worked out as he has been more of a secondary player than a core one so far. But again, as salaries rise, this should get a little better value-wise over time, though not enough to flip this to a team-friendly agreement.
Buyouts
F Jeff Skinner ($4.44MM in 2025-26, $2.44MM from 2026-27 through 2029-30)
Retained Salary Transactions
None
Carryover Bonus Overage Penalty
None
Best Value: (non-entry-level) Thompson
Worst Value: Norris
Looking Ahead
Despite the longest playoff drought in the NHL, the Sabres find themselves pretty tight to the cap to start the season. They have enough flexibility to withstand a couple of injuries but if that happens, they won’t be far off from being a money-in, money-out team if they’re buying at the trade deadline. But if things go off the rails again and they sell, they should easily have enough cap space to absorb any of the bonuses that Benson reaches.
Buffalo has a little over $21MM in space for 2026-27. Tuch could take up half of that while new deals for Benson, Kesselring, and Doan would likely eat up most of the rest. However, with more than $61MM in room for 2027-28 at the moment, GM Kevyn Adams will have some flexibility to truly shake up the roster at that time, assuming he’s still running the show by then.
Photos courtesy of Brian Bradshaw Sevald and Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images.