The Buffalo Sabres have made a couple of interesting trades this offseason, including acquiring former fifth-round pick Beck Malenstyn from the Washington Capitals on June 29. And the franchise avoided arbitration with the restricted free agent, signing him to a two-year, $2.70 million contract on Tuesday, the team announced.
“This guy is a player who’s direct, hard, finishes checks – and not just finishes checks, but finishes checks hard,” Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams said about the 26-year-old shortly after the trade broke, per NHL.com's Jourdon LaBarber. “There was a real need for that.”
Malenstyn was selected No. 145 overall by the Capitals in the 2016 NHL Draft, but didn't make his transition to the NHL full time until last season. He chipped in six goals and 21 points over 81 games while primarily playing a bottom-sox role in the nation's capital. He also finished 11th in the National with 241 hits.
The Canadian winger figures to see similar minutes with the Sabres over the next two years, and brings a tenacity that is badly needed on Buffalo's forward core. He's a big body at 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, and clearly isn't afraid to use it.
Overall, Malenstyn is up to eight goals and 24 points over 105 regular-season games. Although he doesn't figure to move the needle too much in Western New York, he's a physical, defensive-minded player who should be effective on his new team.
And Nicolas-Aube Kubel, who played with Malenstyn for basically the entire 2023-24 season in Washington, had nothing but good things to say about his new teammate — and potential linemate.
Beck Malenstyn receives high praise from potential new Sabres linemate
“It was a joy playing with him the whole year,” Aube-Kubel said about his new teammate in Buffalo, per LaBarber. “He’s a really hard player to play against. That’s something I learned when I played against him in the American League. Also, while playing with him, it’s not just how many shots he blocks, (it’s) how many little details. He plays safe, he plays the right way. So, it was a pleasure to play with him this year.”
After spending most of the last two seasons with the Capitals himself, Aube-Kubel was signed to a one-year, $1.5 million pact by the Sabres in free agent frenzy on July 1. The 28-year-old is projected to line up with Malenstyn and another new addition in Sam Lafferty on the fourth line, per Daily Faceoff. Lafferty played with the Vancouver Canucks last season.
With Malenstyn locked up and not heading to arbitration, the Sabres are down to two restricted free agents: forward Peyton Krebs and goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
The former came to Buffalo as part of the trade that sent Jack Eichel to the Vegas Golden Knights, while the latter was selected 54th overall by the Sabres in the 2017 NHL Draft and projects as the goaltender of the future in Western New York.
Once Krebs and UPL are re-signed — which isn't guaranteed but highly likely — the Sabres should have a full roster as they try to break the longest playoff drought in North American professional sports next April.
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