Latest news
May 20 – Updates from locker cleanout
Several players held end-of-season press conferences at KeyBank Center on Wednesday. Here are the injury updates that came out of those interviews:
- Tage Thompson admitted to dealing with lower-back issues throughout the playoffs. “Nothing ridiculous, but just stuff from a long season,” he said.
- Owen Power sustained a grade-3 high-ankle sprain in Game 5 against Montreal but was able to play Games 6 and 7. He said he doesn’t expect the injury to impact his offseason training.
- Noah Ostlund sustained a lower-body during the third period of Game 5 against Boston and did not play again in the playoffs. He said he was hoping to return late in Round 3 and does not expect the injury to impact his offseason training.
- Logan Stanley was playing through an injury in the playoffs, general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen said. Kekäläinen said the injury was “a lot worse than [Stanley] let on.”
- Justin Danforth is “pretty close to being healthy” and should be ready for 2026-27 after a broken kneecap cost him nearly the entire season, Kekäläinen said. The injury required an initial surgery to fix the kneecap, then an additional operation to clean up cartilage that was still affecting him later in the season.
May 19 – Update on Jiri Kulich (blood clot)
Forward Jiri Kulich addressed the media Tuesday and shared that he underwent a procedure two months ago to completely remove his blood clot. Out of game action since Nov. 1, Kulich has been non-contact skating for the last few months and expects to be full-go for the 2026-27 season.
“I’m just so grateful how this organization treated me, and they were helping me every single day,” he said. “They even allowed me to see some experts (Mayo Clinic in Minnesota), so I think everything’s going the right way, and looking forward for next season.
“… Excited to (be) working hard again and be on the ice, too. So, yeah, I’ll be able to play hockey again.”
May 19 – Helenius joins Finland for World Championship
Konsta Helenius will join Finland for the IIHF World Championship, which is underway in Switzerland. He joins fellow Sabres prospect Maxim Strbak, who is representing Slovakia at the tournament.
The World Championship runs through May 31. Finland is currently 3-0 with a roster that boasts NHL talent including Florida Panthers centers Aleksander Barkov and Anton Lundell and former Sabres defenseman Henri Jokiharju.
Helenius, 20, is coming off a strong second season in North America. He had 63 points in 63 games with Rochester and impressed during a nine-game debut with Buffalo during the regular season, then had two goals in three playoff games for the Sabres.
