The Buffalo Sabres are just about ready to open their 2026-27 NHL season.
They’ll be on the road on Thursday night to take on the Columbus Blue Jackets, who are undergoing some changes of their own after the blockbuster trade that sent Kirill Marchenko to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Matthew Knies.
That’s outside the Sabres’ concern, though. Buffalo will be focused on starting the season strong after a magical 2025-26 campaign that featured the franchise’s first playoff appearance in 15 years, and which also included a series win before bowing out.
To start strong, the Sabres will be hoping to be as close to full strength on the ice as possible. It sounds like that won’t quite happen.
The good news from earlier this week is that the concern about goalie injuries seems mostly unfounded. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen should be good to go for Buffalo.
The bad news is that the defensemen injuries haven’t totally resolved themselves.
Olen Zellweger Injury Update
Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff told reporters Wednesday that Zellweger won’t play in the season opener for Buffalo.
Zellweger was concussed during the preseason, and he hasn’t yet cleared concussion protocol, per Ruff.
It’s not the start that Zellweger would’ve wanted to his Sabres tenure after they acquired the young defenseman in the offseason.
Buffalo traded for the 23-year old D-man from the Anaheim Ducks.
Last season, Zellweger played in 76 games for Anaheim and put up seven goals and 15 assists for 22 points.
His absence has likely at least slightly hampered his ability to build a comfort level with his new teammates, including whoever he’s slated to be paired with on the blue line.
Concussions are tricky things, though, and the Sabres will clearly be responsible with Zellweger’s health. Eventually, he’ll get to make his Buffalo debut, but it won’t be Thursday. It could be as soon as the home opener on Saturday.
Mattias Samuelsson Injury Update
Samuelsson, on the other hand, has not yet been ruled out for Thursday.
He’s racing to make it back from a lower-body injury sustained in the preseason.
Ruff told reporters that he hopes to have Samuelsson available in Columbus.
Olen Zellweger won’t play in the season opener for the Sabres. Hasn’t cleared concussion protocol yet. But he has a chance to play in the home opener on Saturday. Lindy Ruff said he’s hoping Mattias Samuelsson will be an option for tomorrow.
— Matthew Fairburn (@MatthewFairburn) September 30, 2026
It would be big if Samuelsson is back, and it would feel a bit ahead of schedule based on previous comments about his potential timeline.
The 26-year old left-shot defenseman was a massive performer in the postseason a year ago and will be expected to have a big role again on the blue line for Buffalo in the 2026-27 season. He put up a career-best 41 points in 2025-26, including 13 goals and 28 assists.
The good news here is that Samuelsson sounds like he’ll be back soon, whether or not he’s quite ready for the opener.
Sabres Injury Updates Differ for Mattias Samuelsson, Olen Zellweger