The Buffalo Sabres are retaining goalie Malcolm Subban on a one-year, two-way deal worth $850,000 against the cap, per the team.
Subban becomes the second (healthy) goalie Buffalo has signed for next season after quite literally every goalie in the organization was on expiring contracts last year. He likely won’t see a whole lot of NHL time next season, given the team’s already retained Craig Anderson, restricted free agent Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is ahead of him on the depth chart, and the team is still expected to hunt for another goalie in free agency to bolster their team on the rise.
The 28-year-old played in just four games for Buffalo last season due to injury, compiling a 0-2-1 record and .871 save percentage. While he’s no longer a dependable NHL backup like he was in his days with the Vegas Golden Knights and Chicago Blackhawks, he’s strong organizational depth and gives the Sabres multiple options in case of injury, which is likely given Anderson’s age and Luukkonen’s injury history already.
The Athletic’s Matthew Fairburn was first on the deal.
WHYYYYY … ???
They needed an anthem singer
Gotta replace Doug Allen somehow, right?