After winning the Atlantic Division and advancing to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, not a great deal of changes were expected from the Buffalo Sabres on the opening day of free agency, and the club mostly took care of housekeeping items on July 1, trading goalie Devon Levi to Edmonton for a draft choice, locking up recently acquired blueliner Olen Zellweger, and bringing back a pair of former Sabres in free agency. 

Levi, who spent nearly all of the last two seasons in AHL Rochester and would not have waiver exemption next season, was sent to the Oilers along with a 2028 seventh round pick for Edmonton’s 2028 third round pick. The 24-year-old was in the second year of a two-year, $1.625 million deal and his fate in the organization was sealed when Buffalo claimed Colton Ellis off of waivers from St. Louis last October and kept him on the NHL roster all season. 

Zellweger, 22, who was acquired in a deal with Anaheim for a 2026 second-round pick and minor league forward Anton Wahlberg, signed a three-year, $9.3 million deal, giving the Sabres some cost certainty and stability on the blueline. The former Duck will likely slot in as a bottom-pairing defender to start next season, but has the ability to move up in the lineup.  

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There was some thought that GM Jarmo Kekalainen, would seek to make a big splash to make up for the departures of defenseman Bowen Byram and winger Alex Tuch, either in free agency or in a trade. Rumors connecting the Sabres to a deal for Winnipeg goalie Connor Hellebuyck have not come to fruition at this time, but the cost of players in a weak free agent class, and Buffalo’s lack of cap space contributed to the Sabres being quiet on Wednesday. 

The Sabres brought back two former Sabres; defenseman Dennis Gilbert and forward Conor Sheary on one-year, $850,000 contracts. The 29-year-old Gilbert (a Buffalo native) played 25 games for the club in 2024-25 before being included in the Dylan Cozens - Josh Norris trade in March, 2025. Sheary played 133 games from 2018 to 2020 for the Sabres and has played for four other clubs over 11 NHL seasons. Last season, he played 62 games for the New York Rangers. Both players are expected to be veteran depth in AHL Rochester who could get called up instead of younger players still gaining experience with the Amerks. 

The club also added AHLer Jason Polin on a one-year contract, and Buffalo native Trevor Kuntar to a two-year, $1.75 million two-way deal.       

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