Sabres center Peyton Krebs was one of several players earlier this week who signed contracts before training camp got underway. The 23-year-old told reporters including Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald that he had been following his agent’s advice throughout the process but eventually relented, telling his agent to get a deal done while prioritizing getting a two-year agreement. He was able to do just that, landing a two-year, $2.9MM pact. Buffalo was busy over the summer reshaping their bottom six with the additions of Ryan McLeod, Beck Malenstyn, Sam Lafferty, and Nicolas Aube-Kubel so Krebs will have his work cut out for him to hold onto a regular spot in the lineup after getting into 80 games last season.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson skated on his own today before practice, relays Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter link). The veteran has yet to take part in any team activities during training camp due to an upper-body injury and is listed as day-to-day. Karlsson’s offensive numbers took a big dip last season after putting up 101 points in his final year with San Jose but he still managed 11 goals and 45 assists, good for a tie for third in team scoring.
- Former Montreal prospect Rhett Pitlick has found a new place to play as Minnesota State University announced that the forward has enrolled with them for his senior season. The 23-year-old spent the last three years at the University of Minnesota, putting up 36 points in 39 games last season. However, he deregistered earlier in the offseason, allowing him to become a free agent in the process. Clearly, there wasn’t an offer to his liking so he’ll now play out his NCAA eligibility and will look to secure an NHL deal after that.