BUFFALO, N.Y. — Jarmo Kekäläinen seems comfortable with his roster.Speaking just before 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Buffalo’s general manager expressed confidence in what the Sabres have but left the door open for more moves.“We’re still open for business for sure. If there’s an opportunity to make our team better, but by no means are we desperate to add anything right now,” Kekäläinen said. “It needs to be a perfect fit both from role, playing ability. We talk ad nauseum about this with Lindy (Ruff) about what we may or may not need. If it’s a perfect fit and also financially, cap-wise, fits our system, then we’re open for business.”The only signings the Sabres announced on Wednesday were depth moves to add Dennis Gilbert and Conor Sheary on one-way deals and two-way deals for Trevor Kuntar and Jason Polin. The Sabres also traded Devon Levi and a seventh-rounder for a third-round pick and signed defenseman Olen Zellweger to a three-year contract worth $3.1 million per year.Who are the top five NHL players to hit free agency?There was nothing splashy about anything Kekäläinen did on Wednesday. The Sabres still have $7.8 million in salary-cap space, according to PuckPedia, with only RFA Peyton Krebs left to sign, so Kekäläinen has left himself some flexibility if another move pops up. A few worthy veteran forwards like Patrick Kane and Claude Giroux are still available on the free-agent market. The trade activity in the league doesn’t stop on July 1. Kekäläinen may very well have another move or two up his sleeve between now and when the season starts.But so far, Kekäläinen’s first offseason in Buffalo has been about making moves with the big picture in mind. He has a lot of faith in the Sabres’ emerging young players. Zach Benson was signed to a seven-year extension worth $7.5 million per year, and Buffalo is counting on a big step forward in production from him. Noah Östlund, Konsta Helenius and Jiri Kulich combined to play 81 games last season. All three should be counted on for bigger roles this season.Relying on four players who are 22 and younger is risky. But all four of those players have shown flashes of being difference-makers. Benson, Östlund and Helenius all showed that in the preseason. How you feel about the Sabres’ offseason depends largely on how you feel about the ability of those four players to offset the loss of Alex Tuch’s production.The Sabres patched up their defense after trading Bowen Byram by adding Zellweger and Louis Crevier. But Tuch’s departure hasn’t been addressed. The roster has 14 forwards with Krebs still to sign, so any addition at forward would require some subsequent subtraction.After making the playoffs for the first time in 15 years, Buffalo’s competitive window is opening. That taste of the postseason creates an urgency in the fan base to see “win now” moves. That’s understandable when the Florida Panthers have spent the last few weeks reloading. The Toronto Maple Leafs look improved on paper, too.
Sabres free agency thoughts: Did Buffalo do enough to build on playoff run?
Sabres GM Jarmo Kekäläinen expressed confidence in what the team has but left the door open for more moves.






