Benson signs 7-year, $52.5M deal with Sabres; Buffalo trades Tuch, Byram

On Wednesday, June 25, 2026, the Buffalo Sabres reshuffled their roster. “We have a lot of internal options for the role—more ice time, more responsibility, more offensive ice time,” said general manager Jarmo Kekalainen. “We’re in really good shape.”

Zach Benson signed a seven-year, $52.5 million contract that day, tying the 21-year-old forward to an average annual value of $7.5 million. The 2023 13th overall draft pick has recorded 101 points in 211 regular-season games for Buffalo. Last season he put up 43 points—13 goals, 30 assists—across 65 games, then added 9 more points in 13 playoff games.

The Benson deal was part of a larger reshaping. That same day, Buffalo shipped Alex Tuch to the Washington Capitals, acquiring forward David Kampf and a 2027 third-round pick. Tuch had been productive: 33 goals and 66 points in 2025-26. Kampf will hit unrestricted free agency on July 1.

The day before, the Sabres had already traded defenseman Bowen Byram and forward Jordan Greenway to the Chicago Blackhawks, landing the No. 4 pick in the 2026 draft, defenseman Louis Crevier, and a second-round pick (No. 45) in the same draft.

Kekalainen saw the departures as a chance for younger players to grow. “Our young leaders like Zach Benson and Josh Doan will grow into that role and fill that void,” he said. “We’ll miss some things the veteran players brought—they’ve been through a lot. But we’re going to grow as a group. The playoffs already showed us these guys are leaders by example, and now they can take on more responsibility.”