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Buffalo Sabres 2026-2027 Season Preview: Jarmo still building from within · Jablam Sports Hockey

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_02: Welcome to Jablam Sports Hockey, your home for everything happening around the NHL.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_02: I'm your host, Peter Borgernov, and every episode we break down the biggest topics all hockey fans are talking about with radio writers and TV experts from all 32 teams.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_02: Today we're still doing it.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_02: Our season previews with the Buffalo Sabres.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_02: Back on the show is Chad D.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_02: Dominicis.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_02: What up, Chad?
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_01: What's going on?
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_02: Good to be back.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_02: And you can catch him on the Expected Buffalo Podcast and Chris Ostrander.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_02: Welcome back, Chris.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_02: How are we doing?
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_02: Glad to be here.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_02: And we're gearing up for some regular season hockey coming up quick.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_02: Chris, you can find him on the Instigator podcast.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_02: And in trending now, we'll talk about some young kids getting signed today.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_02: Let's drop the puck.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_02: Buffalo Sabres last season practically came out of nowhere and won a tough Atlantic division, losing in the second round.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_02: What's one thing that needs to happen again or now for them to play in springtime again, Chad?
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, what's one thing that's tough?
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um one specific, if you could.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna steal Chris's thunder and I'm gonna go with goaltending.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_01: I think goaltending is the primary uh the primary thing.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, I'm confident they'll score their goals.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_01: I think they'll be okay defensively as long as they stay healthy.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, but really it comes down, I think, ultimately goaltending.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_01: They have three.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, they need to get one of them, at least one of them, to hold the four that they did last year, the Lucanin or Lion.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and I think if they do so, then you know they'll be fine.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, the division will be tougher.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_01: Do I think they'll win the division again?
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know about that.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, but I certainly think it's still a playoff team with the caliber they have, as long as you know they get that those that backstop goaltending.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: Chris, did you want to touch on that?
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean the goaltending is is for sure a great one from Chad.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, just given how good they were as a unit last year.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: No question that they've, you know, that was a big part of their success.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: But given that Chad stole my uh stole from my wheels, I gotta go special teams.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: You know, lots been made of the uh the the power play changes they're gonna try to implement.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: And I think if they can get that power play up into the top ten, maybe they can make up for some of the overall offensive losses from you know Alex Tuck moving on and even a potential goaltending regression.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: So I would say special teams has got to be up there for uh for their repeated success or their odds of repeated success.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_02: You mentioned there, Chris, uh, in the offseason they did let go of Alex Tuck and they traded away Bowen Bynum.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_02: They were top five in offense last year.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_02: How are they gonna replace some of the goals that those guys replaced, Chris?
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you know, they've been a really, really good five-on-five scoring team for a while now.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: So, and I'm I mean, Alex Tuck plays a big role in that, of course.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: But I I am somewhat encouraged that that because of they've been consistent in that area for some time, that hopefully the regression is you know kind of minimal.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: You know, though there'll likely be some sort of a step back, but but hopefully it's not a huge, huge one when it comes to the their five-on-five scoring.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: Uh everyone's talking about Jack Quinn.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: You know, he's kind of like the the really popular breakout candidate in Buffalo, but for me, it's gonna be the young kids, no Osland, just got an extension.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: Constant Hellenious looks like he's poised to play the full season.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I I don't love the replace a player by committee, but it does kind of seem like that's the territory that they're wading into, and it's gonna be a you know, a season of growth from Zach Benson, and then full seasons from Oslin and Helenius, hopefully making up you know a big chunk, if not all of the goals that they're gonna lose from Tuck and even the offense from Byram to a certain extent.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_02: Chad, uh out of the guys that Chris mentioned, which one do you think has the best potential for a breakout season?
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_01: I I mean from a scoring breakout, I think has the capability.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_01: I would probably say Jack Quinn because I think he has the shot.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_01: I think he has the upside to be a scorer and to replace the 33 goals that they're gonna lose with Tuck being going and then whatever we got, the amount that Byrum added to that too.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um so I think he's the most probable from a productive standpoint.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I think you know, Oslin would be right behind him.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_01: Uh but not so much from a scoring aspect.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_01: I think more from a playmaking.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_01: And then, you know, we'll see what kind of info, not info, but what kind of performance you get out of Hillenius in uh Kulik, Kuleik with the blood collats coming back.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_01: You know, he had a pretty good rookie year a couple years ago, but maybe a slow go, and then Hillenius is kind of a I guess a benefit, whatever you get there, a 20-year-old uh who showed a lot of promise last year, but you know, it's hard to put a lot of pressure on him.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_02: I think uh Bynum had 11 goals last year, which is pretty substantial for a defenseman.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_02: Uh Sabres pretty much locked up their core players.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_02: Chris, does this group have what it takes now to compete for that cup?
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: Well, uh, that's a that's a tough one.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I don't know if I would put this team in a cup contender category just yet.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um I think they're weak in goal, and I mean, even setting aside these preseason injuries that they're that are seemingly running through the group, I I, you know, they're they're really young up front and just generally unproven.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's I mean, it's not out of the question that, you know, maybe Constantinus just absolutely explodes this year.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: He's hits the ground running and he's just a total stud.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: But they they seem like they're just a bit young up front overall, and and therefore it's just really hard to say, like, oh yeah, no, they've you know they got a 35 goal score here, they got a 50 goal score there, you know, they got 100-point players off of the lineup.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: I just think they're a little short in that category.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I mean, one thing I've been saying for a while, I've been kind of not pounding the drum on it, but it's something I keep finding myself going back to, and you know, even kind of at the top of the summer before free agency, before the draft, was it just feels to me, even if Tuck had stayed, mind you, it just feels to me that the forward group lacks one more true difference maker.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: And again, and maybe one of these young kids could be that guy, we'll see, you know, in it maybe a year or two's time, but it does feel like they're just lacking one more, you know, real star up front.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: And so, you know, I I don't I can't see him being a true cup contender, but you know, I the the I would still expect or or or hope that this team would win a playoff round.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: I I think you know, certainly missing the playoffs obviously would be a huge disappointment, but even if this team, you know, made the playoffs and was out in round one, I think that would be uh, you know, that that would be a quite a disappointing year, in my opinion, for for a number of reasons.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_02: Is that for the same for you, Chad?
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_02: Do you think it's a disappointing season if they don't get at least the second round?
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, right or wrong, uh the second round's my floor, right?
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_01: You did it last year.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, so that's the floor for me.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_01: That's what you have to get to to for me to say, okay, you had a decent season.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_01: Now I get it.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_01: The division is I don't know, it's hard to say probably better, but maybe it is when it was arguably the hardest division in the league last year.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um and they did end up winning that.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_01: So, yeah, I mean, it definitely playoffs.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_01: No question, you've got to be a playoff team again.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_01: You can't take that step back of breaking the drought and then missing.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, I don't care how hard your division is, they they have the talent to do it and and they should be a playoff team.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and then it's all right, what kind of playoff team are you?
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_01: Are you the wild card two and you have a tough first round matchup?
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_01: Are you a top three team in the division?
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_01: Are you a division winner again?
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_01: And I think then you start to evaluate playoff performance from there, but really it's it's gotta be a playoff team again, and then you know we'll see where things go from there.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_02: Outside of maybe that goaltender, are you on the same boat, Chad, as Chris, with a big hole as maybe a top six forward?
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I going into the to the offseason, and I I have to maintain the stance I had that I wasn't really gonna be in favor of them just relying on youth of Osland and Kuleik and Houlenius, you know, the guys that we talked about, um, just being your talk replacements, and that's what they did.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_01: So I have to stand that you know, I don't I don't agree with that.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um, realistically looking at it, you know, free agency was pretty dreadful this year, so I I am pleased they didn't do that.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_01: Uh the trade market wasn't anything crazy.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of guys that seemed like were going to get dealt ended up not really getting dealt.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um so yeah, you know, I I think they could have used another centers are hard to get, so I'll say a winger up there.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_01: Uh somebody you have a little bit more reliability in.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and you're not hoping and you know, I don't want to say hoping and praying, but relying on a 20-year-old uh player coming off of blood clots and another 22, 23-year-old uh to make up ground for you.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, yeah, I'm with Chris.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_01: I think they they definitely are missing something there.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_02: All right, I'm gonna throw this at you, Chad.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_02: You're the general manager of the Sabres.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_02: What best package are you making for for Hollabuck?
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_01: Oh.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um I mean, I'll I'll try to be realistic.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_01: And in a world where we don't have no trade clauses, uh, Lukanen would be a part of that, because that gets the goalie back to Winnipeg.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um you're probably gonna have to give them one of your centers.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_01: So I would, again, I'm I'm living in a world where I don't have no trade clauses, so I would see if they'll take Norris.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_01: If they won't, then I guess I'll probably have to do McLeod.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then a prospect.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um I'm not talking about one of their young kids we've talked about here, uh a college guy, um defenseman, like I don't know, some a prospect, like a B-level prospect, we'll call it.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then if it requires a draft pick, sure.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_01: Does it have to be a first round?
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_01: Can it be a second with a condition?
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, get in the semantics there, but I I'm not going crazy.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_01: Like I don't I don't even love putting Norris and McLeod in it right now where we're at.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_01: Uh but I think realistically, if you want to get it done, you'd probably have to include one of them, and I can find ways to replace them.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um, probably not now, which is the difficulty uh with this the season a week away.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, but if we were doing this back in June and July, uh that would probably be around the package that I would offer.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_02: Hey, he could still be dealt as early as tomorrow or or in the next month.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_02: Chris, what's your best package?
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_02: Is it similar?
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_02: Is it different?
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: I I would say pretty similar.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, we we talked about it a couple weeks ago on or last week on the pod.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_00: My days are getting a little confused.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but you know, we talked about it a bit.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, gener generally same kind of neighborhood.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I mean, quite frankly, my my thought process like pre-holdout, you know, but you know, before camp had opened, before we knew that for sure that he was holding out, my general approach would have been like, yeah, you know, an NHL player that, you know, that Josh Norris and Ryan McLeod, if you have to, probably a solid prospect.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Redeemerck has been the most popular one discussed.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: And I think he'd probably be the one that they could most easily part with.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_00: It'd be just because Dax Rudolph is in the pipeline.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_00: They have other, you know, pretty strong defensive prospects that they could backfill with.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, building some sort of a package around your NHL body.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_00: So let's call it McLeod, a solid prospect in Merca, and then a first-round pick you know with some protection.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_00: That being kind of the centerpiece of the deal, I would hope that at least gets you, you know, really deep into the conversation, if not almost all the way there.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: But now with the way that the leverage has changed here, I mean, I'm having a hard time giving them Redeem Merca and an NHL body, quite frankly.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I understand that Winnipeg's got to hold firm here, but they've lost all the leverage.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: And so, you know, and I have my hesitations about just how much I'd want to pay for Hellebuck in general, just given his age.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, now you're you're creeping into the regular season and him not playing games and just how rusty is he gonna be.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, right now I'm probably yeah, probably trying to avoid the first round pick.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: I'd probably still dangle Murka, like Murka and McLeod, and I I, you know, and then I'm trying to, you know, kind of chip away with some B pieces just because again, the the leverage is just falling out from under shovel day off.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, put me down for you know a solid prospect, an NHL body, Murka McLeod, and then you know, a second round pick, maybe Adam Kleber, his rights.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: I don't I don't see why you want to really really push the boat out for these guys at this point.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_02: Time for some trending now.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_02: The Chicago Blackhawks announced today that they've extended forward Oliver Moore to a five-year contract at 4.25 per year.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_02: And of course, the big one, the RFA in Columbus, the Blue Jackets signed their RFA, Adam Fantilli for six years at 13.75.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_02: Are we in a league, Chad, now that if as long as you're a high draft picked and you play decent in that like first season in the NHL, you're already gonna get paid big money?
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think it's the just the way the nature of the cap is now.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um I mean, like here in Buffalo, we we live it.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, it's been that way.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_01: It goes all the way back to Tage Thompson and Matias Samuelson and Dylan Cousins years ago, getting their contracts early, and then Dallen and Done and Benson and Auslin, you know, we're seeing it, right?
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_01: We're living in here for sure.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_01: Uh but around the league, it's just a trend.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you're getting guys locked in, guys see the way the cap is going, the way it's trending.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um, ultimately, I mean, free agency isn't anything great, anyways, but this will ultimately probably kill a lot of free agency.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and for a league that doesn't like to do trades, that's not always the best for fans.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, and you know, I get it.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, it's cost certainty.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_01: It's when the cap is going up.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of these teams, you know, it's gonna be difficult for them to be cap teams uh still, but if you get that cost certainty locked in long term, uh you can kind of project yourself a couple years out and know who you got locked in, know what you have space for, and uh it certainly will make for some interesting conversations uh because you would think not all of these guys are gonna hit.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_01: So maybe do we see more buyouts down the road or you know, what's the repercussions of some of these if they don't hit?
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so that'd be kind of fascinating to watch.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, it makes sense.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I get it.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_01: I get the reason doing it.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_01: I'm definitely in support of it.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, if you believe in your guys, get them early, save the money before, you know, we're in a post uh Carlson offer sheet world uh where these guys, you know, if they're good or if you score 20, 25 goals, you're not a six, seven million dollar player anymore.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_01: Now you're a twenty you're an eleven to twelve million dollar player.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so I I get you know trying to bank on the future, but get these guys a little bit lower while you can if you believe in them.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_02: That's it for this episode.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_02: Chris, thanks for joining me.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_02: Thanks for having me on.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_02: And you too, Chad.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, anytime, man.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_02: Fans remember to subscribe to the show when you're listening app or follow us on X at Jablam Sports.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_02: See you next time.