Sabres' top 4 players failing to save a sinking season

Owen and Brad's frustrations with the Buffalo Sabres boil down to one hard truth.

The four players this team relies on most are not getting the job done.

That is the central theme of the latest episode of their show on WGR 550.

The Sabres entered the 2026-27 season with high expectations.

They finished first in the Atlantic Division last year.

They advanced to the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 2007.

This season, they are tied with the Detroit Red Wings for the fewest wins in the division.

Both teams have seven wins and 17 points through the first 15 games.

The Sabres offense has fallen off a cliff.

Last season, Buffalo ranked fifth in the NHL in goals per game at 3.45.

This season, they rank 23rd at 2.93 goals per game.

That is a drop of nearly half a goal per game.

General manager Jarmo Kekalainen made several moves in the offseason that have backfired.

The team lost winger Alex Tuch to free agency.

Tuch signed with the Washington Capitals and has scored 10 goals this season.

The Sabres could use those goals, especially on the power play.

Buffalo's power play is tied for the fifth-worst in the league.

Kekalainen was also forced to trade defenseman Bowen Byram to the Chicago Blackhawks.

Byram priced himself out of Buffalo.

But the biggest offseason blunder, according to critics, was failing to trade for goaltender Connor Hellebuyck.

Hellebuyck was dealt from the Winnipeg Jets to the New Jersey Devils.

He sat out the first month of the season.

Since returning, he is 3-0-0.

The Devils have the second-best record in the Metropolitan Division.

Kekalainen recently explained his thinking to Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News.

"You make a big move once, and you're out of other ones a lot of times," Kekalainen said.

"There may be other areas that we feel we need to address more."

"And there's the price of doing business."

"If I can tell you what (Winnipeg) was asking to take off our team, most of the people screaming to get Hellebuyck would probably say, 'No way, don't do it.'"

Kekalainen did not reveal the Jets' demands.

But Sportsnet's Nick Kypreos reported in July that Winnipeg's initial ask was headlined by rising star Zach Benson.

The Sabres' most pressing need remains a true No. 1 center.

That void was created in 2021 when Jack Eichel was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights.

The team tried to land Robert Thomas from the St. Louis Blues ahead of last season's trade deadline.

They have also been linked to Dylan Larkin of the Detroit Red Wings.

Larkin has not added Buffalo to his trade list.

Those types of high-impact players do not come cheap.

Giving up a substantial package of young NHL players, prospects and draft picks for Hellebuyck would have left the Sabres short on trade chips for a centerman.

Owen and Brad's frustrations are not just about the record.

They are about the players who were supposed to be the foundation.

The four players the Sabres rely on most have not performed at the level required.

The team's goaltending has been inconsistent.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Alex Lyon and Colten Ellis form the current trio.

Kekalainen talked them up multiple times.

But the Sabres have allowed the 14th most goals in the league this season.

Alex Lyon has been part of the problem.

The defense has been leaky.

The offense has been anemic.

The power play has been ineffective.

And the four players who were supposed to solve all of that have not delivered.

Owen and Brad went through the specifics on their show.

They broke down each player's performance.

They pointed out missed assignments.

They highlighted goals that should have been stopped.

They questioned the effort level.

They questioned the coaching.

They questioned the roster construction.

The frustration is palpable.