Benson played 17:23 TOI in Buffalo's season debut on Friday as part of the NHL Global Series in Prague but was unavailable for their contest on Saturday due to a lower-body injury. The 19-year-old Benson appeared in 71 games in 2023-24 and picked up 11 goals and 30 points. He is considered day-to-day at this point.
Kulich will get the chance to make his season debut in his home country of Czechia after it was announced Zach Benson would be out on Saturday vs. New Jersey. The 20-year-old centre is only making his second NHL appearance ever after making it into one game in 2023-24. He is expected to take Benson's spot in Buffalo's top-six.
Benson played 17:23 TOI in Buffalo's debut on Friday but is absent from the lineup for their second game on Saturday in Prague due to a lower-body injury. The Sabres' have yet to provide any updates on the severity of the issue of the flashy 19-year-old who appeared in 71 games in 2023-24 and picked up 11 goals and 30 points.
Levi split his 2023-24 season between the NHL and the AHL and will start 2024-25 as the Sabres' No.2 netminder behind Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. During his 23 NHL games last season, Levi was 10-8-2 with a 3.10 GAA and .899 SV%. Buffalo is coming off of a 4-1 loss to the Devils on Friday and are +127 underdogs.
Levi split his 2023-24 season between the NHL and the AHL and will start 2024-25 as the Sabres' No.2 netminder behind Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. During his 23 NHL games last season, Levi was 10-8-2 with a 3.10 GAA and .899 SV%. Buffalo is coming off of a 4-1 loss to the Devils on Friday and are +127 underdogs.
Danforth underwent off-season wrist surgery and has not participated in training camp. Danforth will likely start the season on injured reserve, and Mikael Pyyhtia looks like the player who will take his place in the Blue Jackets' bottom-6.
Pearson was originally brought to Vegas on a PTO but has signed a one-year, $775,000 contract to remain with the Golden Knights for the 2024-25 season. The 32-year-old left-winger is entering his 12th NHL season with his fifth different team and had five goals, 13 points and 21 PIMs in 54 games played in 2023-24 with Montreal.
Luukkonen emerged as the Sabres' starting netminder in the 2023-24 season, surprisingly edging out Devon Levi, and will likely begin the 2024-25 campaign with an opportunity to reprise his role in the team's first game on Friday against the New Jersey Devils in Prague as part of the NHL Global Series. In his first full season, the 25-year-old netminder played 54 games (27-22-4), recording a solid 2.57 GAA and .910 SV%. Luukkonen will look to pick up where he left off but will be challenged in his first outing against an improved Devils squad that is oozing with offensive talent.
Luukkonen emerged as the Sabres' starting netminder in the 2023-24 season, surprisingly edging out Devon Levi, and will likely begin the 2024-25 campaign with an opportunity to reprise his role in the team's first game on Friday against the New Jersey Devils in Prague as part of the NHL Global Series. In his first full season, the 25-year-old netminder played 54 games (27-22-4), recording a solid 2.57 GAA and .910 SV%. Luukkonen will look to pick up where he left off but will be challenged in his first outing against an improved Devils squad that is oozing with offensive talent.
Norris has been out since late-February after undergoing his third surgery on his left shoulder. The Senators have been cautious with Norris throughout training camp to ensure he's ready to go for the start of the season. Tuesday will be his pre-season debut and he'll look to stay healthy this season after missing 106 games over the last two seasons.
Stanley's run of injuries and bad luck continued on Friday after it was announced the 26-year-old would be undergoing knee surgery and is expected to miss a minimum of four weeks. The towering defenseman has struggled to stay healthy throughout his entire four-year career, missing 120 of the last 164 games in the previous two seasons alone. In 2023-24, he struggled to get anything going offensively with a goal, two points, 36 PIMs and 29 SOG in 25 games played.
Dahlin left practice early on Wednesday with an undisclosed injury but luckily will only be forced to miss a couple of days of training camp after Lindy Ruff announced Thursday he was "doing well". The 24-year-old defenseman surpassed the 20-goal mark for the first time in his career in 2023-24 while also putting up 59 points, 235 SOG and 66 PIMs in 81 games played.
Just a few minutes into the Sabres' first skate of training camp, Dahlin left with what head coach Lindy Ruff described as a middle-body injury. Dahlin experienced discomfort on a routine pass and did not return after being evaluated by trainers. Ruff did not have an update on Dahlin after the skate.
Krebs will remain a Sabre after agreeing to a two-year, $2.9 million ($1,450,000 AAV) contract extension on Tuesday morning. The 23-year-old was Vegas' 2019 1st-round pick (17th overall) but has spent the last three seasons in Buffalo. In 2023-24, he unfortunately failed to take an expected step forward but still put up four goals, 17 points, 67 PIMs and 74 SOG in 80 games played.
Buffalo solified its goaltending for years to come after it signed Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to a five-year, $23.75 million contract extension ($4,750,000 AAV). The 25-year-old was drafted by Buffalo in the 2nd round of the 2017 NHL Draft (54th overall) and set career highs in wins (27), appearances (54) and GAA (2.57) in 2023-24 as Buffalo's starter.
Buffalo acquired Beck Malenstyn's rights on June 29th in a trade with Washington for a 2024 second-round pick and have signed the 26-year-old forward to a two-year, $2.7 million contract ($1,300,000 AAV). The left-winger is entering just his second full NHL season after playing in only 24 games in his first three years in the NHL before completing 81 games played in 2023-24. He set career highs last season in all statistical categories with six goals, 21 points, 25 PIMs and 98 SOG.
Helenius was selected with the No.14 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft after posting 36 points (14G / 22A) in 51 games with Jukurit Mikkeli (Liiga). He also represented Finland at the World Juniors, registering two points (1G / 1A) in seven games. Expect the 18-year-old to remain in Finland to start the 2024-25 season.
Stanley has been a fringe player for the Jets the last two seasons, playing in just 44 of 164 games. The massive (6-foot-7, 231 lbs.) defenseman has just two goals and three assists (five points) in those two seasons combined. If given a full work load, Stanley would likely top 150 hits and 100 blocked shots.
McLeod settled in on the Oilers third line and penalty kill during the 2024 season. The 24-year-old centre had career-highs in goals (12), assists (18) and points (30) but became expendable this offseason when the Oilers signed Viktor Arvidsson, Jeff Skinner, Adam Henrique, Mattias Janmark, Connor Brown and Corey Perry. In Buffalo, he should serve as their No.3 centre and provide the Sabres with additional speed and penalty-killing prowess.
