3 Sabres players who could still be traded before the 2025-26 NHL season

The Buffalo Sabres will have a handful of fresh faces in the lineup when they open the 2025-26 season against the New York Rangers on Oct. 9. General manager Kevyn Adams still has a couple months to shake things up with another high-profile trade, though.

Adams has already made two notable deals this summer. First, he sent winger JJ Peterka to the Utah Mammoth in exchange for winger Josh Doan and defenseman Michael Kesselring. He followed that up by sending defenseman Connor Clifton and a second-round draft pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins for blueliner Conor Timmins and prospect Isaac Belliveau.

Bowen Byram is Buffalo's most valuable realistic trade chip, though his circumstances have changed in recent weeks. Let's check out who else could be on the move if the Sabres continue their quest to solidify the roster, namely by adding a top-six forward.

LHD Bowen Byram

Byram signed a two-year, $12.5 million contract extension in mid-July to avoid an arbitration hearing. While the agreement lessened his chances of being traded, it didn't eliminate them completely. He's now scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the conclusion of the deal (2027 offseason).

The 24-year-old Canadian is a tough player to analyze. He has an impressive pedigree (No. 4 overall pick in 2019) and helped the Colorado Avalanche win the Stanley Cup in his second NHL season. He's also accumulated above-average counting stats, including 38 points last season. That ranked tied for 35th among the league's defensemen with the Nashville Predators' Roman Josi.

Yet, his underlying numbers are concerning. He posted a lackluster 47.9% expected goals for percentage (xGF%) at 5-on-5 for the Sabres last season, according to Natural Stat Trick. That number dipped even more unsightly 43% when he wasn't on the ice with Rasmus Dahlin, per NST.

Byram still ranks as the No. 1 option on The Fourth Period's summer trade watch list. The outlet lists 10 teams that have been linked to the defenseman, including several big-market organizations: the Boston Bruins, Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers.

The Sabres don't have an obvious replacement for Byram on the top pair. They'd likely have to move Owen Power into that role, which would expose Buffalo's lack of depth on the blue line. In turn, it would take a strong offer for a trade to get done at this stage. Next offseason feels more likely.

LHD Mattias Samuelsson

Samuelsson was trending toward an essential role in the Sabres' latest rebuild, but things have fallen apart in recent years. The Western Michigan University product has struggled with injuries and his play when healthy hasn't matched the level from early in his Buffalo tenure.

The alternate captain also received backlash for his failure to protect superstar Tage Thompson after a high hit from New Jersey Devils winger Stefan Noesen last season. It was another low moment for the franchise, which still lives in the shadow of the failure to respond to a Milan Lucic hit on goalie Ryan Miller in 2011.

Samuelsson is ranked No. 12 on The Fourth Period's aforementioned trade list, but there are no teams mentioned with confirmed interest. His contract, a seven-year, $30 million pact that runs through 2030, is probably a significant issue. That's a long commitment for a player with uneven results.

The Sabres do have two options, Jacob Bryson and Zac Jones, to take over on the left side of the third pair if a trade is ultimately made.

C Peyton Krebs

Krebs' name hasn't popped up in the rumor mill, so his inclusion on this list is purely speculation, but he makes the most sense as a trade candidate among the Sabres' forwards. He's a former first-round pick who's still young (24) and finally showed signs of real improvement in the second half of last season.

When the former Vegas Golden Knights prospect was acquired by Buffalo in the Jack Eichel trade, he was viewed as a potential top-six playmaking center in the future. That never materialized. He's struggled mightily to produce 5-on-5 offense despite being given chances in various roles.

To Krebs' credit, he's reinvented himself as a fourth-line center with snarl and a team-first attitude. It's possible he could eventually grow into a shutdown third-line pivot, and perhaps there's still a little hope his offense can come far enough along to not be a massive hindrance.

He'll be a restricted free agent after the upcoming season and Buffalo has alternatives, including Tyson Kozak, who could handle the bottom-line role. That could make Krebs an option to include if Adams decides to move forward with a blockbuster, multiplayer Byram trade.