Sabres Extend Peyton Krebs After Arbitration
According to Elliotte Friedman, the Buffalo Sabres and Peyton Krebs have settled their arbitration case.
Krebs will sign a four-year extension in Buffalo with a $4.5MM cap hit, per Friedman. The Sabres later confirmed the report. Krebs will make $18MM across that timeframe, having a modified no-trade clause that includes seven teams for the 2028-29 and 2029-30 seasons, which takes him into UFA status at age 29.
The young forward was one of 15 RFAs who filed for Salary Arbitration. Yesterday, the dates for each player’s arbitration hearings were set, including Krebs, who was scheduled for August 1st of this summer. If a deal wasn’t reached before the proceedings, the Sabres had the option to choose between a one or two-year contract for Krebs, with the arbitrator settling the value of the contract.
The 25-year-old is coming off a career-best 12 goals for 39 points in 2025-26 and was arbitration-eligible while being owed a $1.45MM qualifying offer. He added six points in six playoff games against the Boston Bruins, competing in 13 total postseason games for the Sabres in the second season of a two-year, $2.9MM ($1.45MM AAV) contract signed back in 2024. After serving as a bottom-six presence in previous seasons with Buffalo, Krebs was elevated into a top-line role with Tage Thompson and proved reliable.
“He’s like my Swiss Army Knife that I can just flip out a different blade at any time and let him go at it,” coach Lindy Ruff said per the press release.
Krebs joined the Sabres back in 2021, as part of the blockbuster trade package in return from the Vegas Golden Knights for Jack Eichel. Over the past couple of seasons, since that, he’s played 243 games, the most by a Sabre in a three-season span. He notably finished second on the Sabres in hits with 201, making him one of seven NHLers to produce as many hits with his point production. The Calgary native also provides much-needed speed for the up-and-coming Sabres, ranking one of the NHL’s faster skaters in the 92nd percentile for max speed at 23.28 mph and 90th percentile for 20-22 mph bursts, with 158 total in 2025-26.
The former 17th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft signed a three-year $2.59MM ($863K AAV) deal with the Golden Knights shortly after he was selected and didn’t make his NHL debut until the 2020-21 season, finishing out his major junior career with the Wenatchee Wild in the WHL, winning the leagues Player of the Year Award and finishing a silver medalist with Canada at the World Junior Championships.
The Sabres cut their cap space in half with the signing of Krebs to this extension. They now have $4.1MM in cap space with Krebs being the 14th forward now on the team’s books. Buffalo also still has the buyout of Jeff Skinner on their payroll, as it counts towards 6.2% of the team’s overall cap hit, denting them as they progress forward with the losses of Alex Tuch to Washington and trading Bowen Byram to Chicago. While bringing in defenseman Olen Zellweger, the Sabres could still have more in store if they can get fancy with their moves, with the intrigue of potentially acquiring goaltender Connor Hellebuyck and Buffalo native Patrick Kane remaining unsigned as a free agent.
Photo Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
Hearing Dates Set For Players Who Filed For Arbitration
Salary arbitration hearings are a little more than a week away with a total of 15 players filing for one earlier this month. Ottawa’s Xavier Bourgault has already signed while the other 14 are still without contracts. PuckPedia has received the schedule for hearing dates, which is as follows:
July 20
D Jamie Drysdale, Flyers
F Cole Perfetti, Jets
July 22
F Trevor Zegras, Flyers
July 23
G Jet Greaves, Blue Jackets
July 25
F Connor McMichael, Blues
F Jason Robertson, Stars
July 27
F Cole Sillinger, Blue Jackets
July 28
F Nicholas Robertson, Penguins
July 29
D Braden Schneider, Rangers
D Ronan Seeley, Hurricanes
July 30
F Kirby Dach, Canadiens
F Alex Jefferies, Islanders
August 1
F Peyton Krebs, Sabres
G Akira Schmid, Panthers
Philadelphia will be busy early in the process but that is by choice, as teams can request where their players are scheduled on the arbitration docket. Conversely, teams like Montreal, Florida, and Buffalo likely requested that their players be placed at the back, allowing for more time for negotiations or planning.
A refresher on the arbitration rules:
- A player and team can settle on a deal at any point before the hearing starts.
- Once the hearing has taken place, the arbitration decision must be issued by email within 48 hours of the closing.
- Arbitration awards can only be one or two years in length; players who are in their final year of restricted free agency are only entitled to a one-year term.
- The team decides on the awarded term, as these were all player elections.
- The team can walk away from the arbitration decision if a contract with an average annual value of more than $4.9508MM is Teams have 48 hours to decide if they’ll accept or walk away.
Once a team has had all of its cases settled or awarded, a second buyout window will open up three days later. However, only a player who was on the roster at the trade deadline and has a cap charge of $4MM or more is eligible to be bought out during this 48-hour window.
15 Players Elect For Salary Arbitration
The deadline to file for salary arbitration passed at 5 P.M. ET on July 5. 15 players elected to head to arbitartion before then, including the market’s top free agent, Dallas Stars’ winger Jason Robertson. Arbitration hearings will take place between late-July and early-August. Filing for arbitration will restrict players from negotiating contracts with any other team, removing high-value RFAs like Robertson from offer sheet eligibility. Players will have the opportunity to continue negotiating with their current team and could avoid arbitration by reaching a new deal before their hearing occurs. The full list of players who filed for salary arbitration in 2026, per Chris Johnston of The Athletic, is as follows:
F Xavier Bourgault (Ottawa Senators)
F Kirby Dach (Montreal Canadiens)
D Jamie Drysdale (Philadelphia Flyers)
G Jet Greaves (Columbus Blue Jackets)
F Alex Jefferies (New York Islanders)
F Peyton Krebs (Buffalo Sabres)
F Connor McMichael (St. Louis Blues)
F Cole Perfetti (Winnipeg Jets)
F Jason Robertson (Dallas Stars)
F Nicholas Robertson (Pittsburgh Penguins)
G Akira Schmid (Florida Panthers)
D Braden Schneider (New York Rangers)
D Ronan Seeley (Carolina Hurricanes)
F Cole Sillinger (Columbus Blue Jackets)
F Trevor Zegras (Philadelphia Flyers)
Sabres Notes: Byram, Malenstyn, Krebs, Meloche
Sabres defenseman Bowen Byram is eligible to sign a contract extension as of July 1st when he officially begins the final year of his contract. Inked to a two-year deal after the club filed for arbitration last summer to prevent an offer sheet, the downside to that was that it set the 24-year-old up to hit unrestricted free agency in 2027.
After a prolonged state of uncertainty with winger Alex Tuch who played his walk year without an extension, it appears GM Jarmo Kekalainen is hoping to avoid that this time around. Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic reports that the GM met with Byram’s agent, Darren Ferris, at the NHL Combine this week, a discussion that likely conveyed interest in discussing a new deal over the coming weeks.
Byram had his best season yet in 2025-26, picking up 11 goals and 31 assists while playing in all 82 games, a mark he has now reached for the second straight year. Given his long history with concussions (or concussion-like symptoms), not missing a game in back-to-back seasons is particularly notable. He also logged more than 22 minutes per night of ice time for the second straight year.
Given his performance and the big jumps coming to the Upper Limit of the salary cap, Byram is going to be in line for a significant increase on his current $6.25MM price tag. AFP Analytics pegs a seven-year extension in the $9.5MM range but that might ultimately be on the low end, especially depending on what some of the contracts for unrestricted free agent defenders check in at over the next month or so.
Staying on the UFA front, Fairburn adds that the team met with the representatives for winger Beck Malenstyn this week as he gets set to test the open market for the first time. The 28-year-old has impressed on the fourth line over his two seasons, providing plenty of physicality (including a career-high 282 hits in 2025-26) while taking a regular turn on the penalty kill. Coming off a deal that paid $1.35MM per season, Malenstyn could plausibly double that in free agency. But with only $11.9MM in cap room per PuckPedia and others to sign (including Tuch and RFA Zach Benson), spending that much on a fourth liner might not be the most advisable route to take.
Buffalo has another RFA of some significance this summer in center Peyton Krebs. Fairburn noted that initial discussions on a new deal started this week though no meaningful progress has been made. Krebs is coming off a career-best 39 points this season and is arbitration-eligible while being owed a $1.45MM qualifying offer. Realistically, he should easily more than double that on his next deal, especially if he’s tendered the qualifying offer that then allows him to file for a hearing. With the tender deadline coming up on June 29th, this will need to be a priority for Kekalainen as if they’re too far apart in talks, a trade or non-tender would become a real possibility.
Meanwhile, on the prospect front, goaltender Samuel Meloche was on the move earlier this week as QMJHL Saint John announced that they had acquired him. Meloche was a fourth-round pick back in 2025, going 116th overall. The 18-year-old posted a 2.75 GAA and a .897 SV% in 50 games during the regular season with Rouyn-Noranda but was better in the playoffs, putting up marks of 2.52 and .905, respectively. Meloche is committed to play for Northeastern University but evidently, he won’t make the jump to the college ranks for another year as a result of this move.
Sabres Notes: Ruff, Tuch, Kekalainen
The Buffalo Sabres’ magical run of 2025-26 came to an end at the hands of a Game 7 loss to the Montreal Canadiens in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. After a stretch where they earned an NHL-best 63 points from a 29-9-5 record since the beginning of 2026, the Sabres ended a drought where they missed the playoffs for 14 years. They won the Atlantic Division for the first time in franchise history, having never finished above fifth in the division before this season. Overall, Buffalo finished with 50 wins and 109 points en route to the postseason.
A huge positive in the right direction for the trending upward Sabres came earlier today during end-of-season press conferences, after the team announced the extension of head coach Lindy Ruff to a two-year deal. Ruff has been with the Sabres before, but in his current stint with the Sabres, he has 86 wins across two seasons and is a finalist for the Jack Adams Award, an honor bestowed upon him 20 years ago when he won the award behind the same bench in 2005-06.
The biggest headline outside of Ruff saw all eyes on pending UFA forward Alex Tuch. The Syracuse, NY native finished his fifth season with the Sabres, scoring 33 goals for 66 points in 79 games and adding seven points in 13 playoff games to cap off the final season of his seven-year, $33.25MM ($4.75MM AAV) contract. Tuch said he has an interest in coming back to Buffalo, and that general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen expressed that he wants him back in exit interviews. Contract talks were put on hold during the playoffs, but we’ll see where things go between the Sabres and Tuch.
Additional notes:
- Tage Thompson said he was dealing with lower back injuries that had been lingering from the regular season. He also expressed ‘hitting a wall’ throughout this hockey season, a campaign which began for him at the IIHF World Championships, winning gold for the USA in the summer of 2025 and later at the Olympics in February, leading into the playoff push. The 28-year-old forward finished his 2025-26 NHL season with 81 points in 81 games played and had 15 points in Buffalo’s 13 playoff games.
- In terms of injuries, there were a few notable admissions along with Thompson. Owen Power was dealing with a grade-3 ankle sprain that he suffered late in the second round series against the Montreal Canadiens. Logan Stanley was playing with an undisclosed injury, and Sam Carrick was rushed back from a left-arm injury he suffered in the regular season.
- Along with Lindy Ruff being a ‘no-brainer’ extension for Kekäläinen, there are certainly some decisions that will require all parties to take time as Buffalo moves into its first summer where the grass is greener, thanks to a playoff berth. The window is now open, and Kekäläinen has to build on what this team he inherited had been able to accomplish. Buffalo has just $12.9MM in cap space as they enter this summer, and a good chunk of impact players that they’ll want to ensure they can retain before they make additions to the core. Along with Tuch, Buffalo has to address UFA forwards Beck Malenstyn, Tanner Pearson, Joshua Dunne, and defensemen Luke Schenn and Logan Stanley. On the RFA side, three key younger members in Peyton Krebs, Zach Benson, and defenseman Michael Kesselring are expiring this summer. Kekäläinen also said he told defenseman Bowen Byram, who has a year left at $6.25MM, that he’d like to have him back on a long-term deal.
Snapshots: Krebs, Karlsson, Pitlick
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.
Sabres Sign Peyton Krebs To Two-Year Deal
The Sabres have signed restricted free agent center Peyton Krebs to a two-year, $2.9MM contract, the team announced Tuesday.
Krebs, 23, was Buffalo’s only late-summer RFA holdout but will be in training camp when it opens Wednesday if the contract is registered without incident. His deal will keep him with the Sabres through 2025-26 and cost $1.45MM against the salary cap.
The 17th overall pick of the Golden Knights in the 2019 draft, Krebs appeared in just 13 NHL games with Vegas before being traded to Buffalo in November 2021 as part of the Jack Eichel blockbuster. Early on, it looked like Krebs wouldn’t have any issues developing into a core top-nine piece for the Sabres. He immediately stepped into a full-time role as a middle-six winger, recording 22 points (7 G, 15 A) in 48 games after the trade, averaging 14:45 per game. His 0.46 points per game finished ninth on the team.
After the breakout, Buffalo moved Krebs to his natural center position for the last two seasons. With the shift came a steady decrease in offense. Last season was especially difficult for Krebs, who scored just four goals in 80 games and added 13 assists for 17 points. His 0.21 points per game were his worst since becoming a Sabre, and he received his lowest usage at 12:30 per game.
Krebs isn’t skilled in the dot, winning 44.5% of his 1,352 career draws. However, he has had positive relative shot attempt impacts at even strength since being shifted to center, and his 47.8% share of expected goals is fine for a rebuilding team.
After the Sabres’ bevy of free-agent signings and trade additions geared toward overhauling their bottom-six forward group this summer, there isn’t a clear fit for Krebs in the lineup at first glance. He doesn’t have the offensive track record to break into the top nine on a team desperate to end its 13-season playoff drought. Therefore, he’ll have to knock one of Nicolas Aubé-Kubel, Sam Lafferty, or Beck Malenstyn – Buffalo’s projected fourth line – to the press box.
The easiest candidate for him to unseat will be Lafferty, who projects to open the season as the Sabres’ fourth-line center but is also historically subpar in the dot. Aubé-Kubel and Malenstyn made up two-thirds of an extremely effective fourth line for the Capitals last season and likely won’t be separated. But even pushing Lafferty to the role of 13th forward will be challenging for Krebs. Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams made a significant financial commitment to Lafferty in free agency, inking him to a two-year, $4MM deal in July.
Buffalo has $7MM in projected cap space with a full roster of 13 forwards, seven defensemen, and three goaltenders after signing Krebs, per PuckPedia. The Calgary native will be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights when his contract expires after the 2025-26 season.
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was first to report the terms of Krebs’ deal.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Snapshots: Krebs, Pekarcik, Ducks
It’s been nearly three years since the Buffalo Sabres acquired Peyton Krebs as the centerpiece prospect in a deal that sent franchise icon Jack Eichel to the Vegas Golden Knights. Unfortunately, as things would play out, Krebs has yet to become the player that Buffalo has needed him to be and he remains the only player on the team without a contract for the 2024-25 NHL season.
In an article from Michael Augello of The Hockey News, he asserts that Krebs may have lost a spot in Lindy Ruff‘s lineup entirely after the Sabres acquired Ryan McLeod, Beck Malenstyn, and Sam Lafferty over the offseason. After a poor offensive showing last year, it is difficult to ascertain where exactly Krebs fits into the lineup. He spent much of last year on Buffalo’s fourth line with Eric Robinson and Zemgus Girgensons where he became akin to an irritating player who lacked offensive punch.
There hasn’t been much word surrounding negotiations between Krebs and the Sabres brass, but the silence from both sides is becoming noticeable. Krebs shouldn’t expect to earn more than his qualifying offer of $874K on a new deal with Buffalo so the lack of a contract may indicate a move is in the making. Augello opines that the Sabres could look to move Krebs in a deal to acquire Joel Farabee from the Philadelphia Flyers but his supposed value in that hypothetical feels off-base. If Buffalo does move on from Krebs before the start of next year, it will be to a team looking to round out their bottom six for a much milder return.
Other snapshots:
- St. Louis Blues prospect Juraj Pekarcik was a part of a deal in the QMJHL earlier today as the Moncton Wildcats acquired him from the Acadie–Bathurst Titan in exchange for a third-round pick in 2026. Pekarcik has yet to play a game in the QMJHL as he spent last year with the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the USHL after being selected 76th overall by the Blues organization in the 2023 NHL Draft. In his first season after being drafted, Pekarcik suited up in 43 games for the Saints and scored nine goals and 49 points.
- In a write-up regarding the Anaheim Ducks, David Satriano of the NHL relays that the Ducks will lean more heavily on their young stars next season. Anaheim has not qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs since the 2017-18 season and has not finished higher than sixth in their division in the same amount of time. The team should open up more minutes for the likes of Leo Carlsson, Jackson LaCombe, Pavel Mintyukov, and Olen Zellweger so the Ducks can firmly transition into the future. Although Anaheim is not expected to compete for playoffs next season, they hope to play meaningful games well into March and April while being led by their young players.
Atlantic Notes: Lightning, Bruins, Lucic, Sabres, Jones
Before their game tomorrow night against the St.Louis Blues, the Tampa Bay Lightning took the ice for practice this morning, with a few notable pieces back on the ice. Lightning beat writer, Chris Krenn, reported that goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy was seen back on the ice for practice, as well as forward Nikita Kucherov, who had missed the team’s last game against the Carolina Hurricanes with an illness.
As he works his way back from injury, Tampa Bay is becoming increasingly desperate to have Vasilevskiy return to the crease. In 15 games started between Jonas Johansson and Matt Tomkins, they have procured a 6-5-4 record with a .897 SV% and a 3.42 GAA combined, becoming an area of their game they haven’t had to worry about in several years.
Aside from returners to the ice, the Lightning also had a missing piece, as defenseman Erik Cernak has officially been listed as day-to-day, but could be expected for tomorrow night’s game against the Blues (X Link). In Saturday’s game against the Hurricanes, Cernak left in the second period after only accruing a little under 10 minutes of ice time and did not return to the matchup.
Other notes:
- In what has become another infamous ‘paper’ transaction in the NHL, after sending down both Ian Mitchell and Oskar Steen yesterday, Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal is reporting that the Boston Bruins have recalled both players today. Of the two, Mitchell has been a much better player in terms of production, scoring two points in seven games played, averaging over 14 and a half minutes of ice time per night.
- Sticking with the Bruins, the head coach of the team, Jim Montgomery, shared that forward Milan Lucic is recovering much slower than expected from his lower-body injury. After eight years away from Boston, Lucic has not played in a game for the Bruins since their October 21st game against the Los Angeles Kings. In only four games played this season, Lucic has tallied two assists for the organization, averaging just a touch under 12 minutes of ice time per game.
- After being a surprise scratch in the team’s loss against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night, Lance Lysowski reported that forward Peyton Krebs was out of the lineup that night due to a family matter, meaning that Krebs should be expected back either tonight or Friday. One player for Buffalo who will indeed not be in the lineup tonight against Boston is Alex Tuch, as Lysowski also reported that the veteran forward is still out with an upper-body injury, but should be expected back against the Winnipeg Jets later this week.
- In his first call-up to the NHL since his time with the Seattle Kraken last season, the Toronto Maple Leafs announced goaltender Martin Jones will join the team in Sweden in their upcoming matchup against the Detroit Red Wings on Friday as a part of the NHL’s Global Series. Jones will not be counted against the cap nor the team’s 23-man roster, as in Sweden, the team will not have access to an emergency backup goaltender; meaning Jones will ultimately take that role on in the upcoming trip overseas.
Hockey Canada Releases Initial 2023 World Championship Roster
Hockey Canada has released the initial complement of 20 players that will represent their country at the 2023 IIHF Men’s World Championships next week in Finland.
It’s a more experienced roster than their American counterparts released, at least in terms of current NHL caliber. In net, they’re likely the most well-set team in the tournament, with projected rookie sensation Devon Levi sharing the crease with Montreal Canadien Sam Montembeault, who had a strong season in a tandem role with Jake Allen.
While 2023 presumptive first-overall selection Connor Bedard won’t join the team, likely to avoid risking injuries prier to his rookie season in the NHL, projected second-overall pick Adam Fantilli will. After capturing the Hobey Baker award in what’s likely his only season at the University of Michigan, Fantilli will join seasoned NHL veterans such as Milan Lucic, Scott Laughton, and Tyler Toffoli as Canada goes for gold at the Worlds.
Their defense is highlighted by MacKenzie Weegar. Although he had a tough season in Calgary, he’s not far removed from being a top 20 defender in the world and should make a significant impact at the tournament. Youngsters Pierre-Olivier Joseph and Justin Barron will also get a chance to shine for the Canadians.
The full 20-player roster is as follows:
F Cody Glass
F Jack McBain
F Milan Lucic
F Peyton Krebs
F Scott Laughton
F Jack Quinn
F Jake Neighbours
F Lawson Crouse
F Tyler Toffoli
F Sammy Blais
F Joe Veleno
F Adam Fantilli
D Pierre-Olivier Joseph
D Justin Barron
D MacKenzie Weegar
D Tyler Myers
D Ethan Bear
D Jake Walman