Buffalo Sabres Sign Three to New Contracts

The Buffalo Sabres announced on Thursday that they have announced that they have reached an agreement with defenseman Jake McCabe on a three-year deal. 

McCabe’s first full season in the National Hockey League, this past season he was able to put up four goals and 10 assists in 77 games. He was able to lead all Sabres in plus/minus with a plus-six rating. 

With 19:07 of ice time, he ranked 11^th amongst all rookies in the NHL and his 14 points put him in an eighth place tie for rookie defensemen. Over the last three seasons, McCabe has appeared in 86 NHL games, totaling 15 points, a plus-three rating and 66 penalty minutes.

 

The second round, 44^th overall selection of the Sabres in the 2012 NHL Draft, spent a majority of the 2014-2015 season with the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League. He led all Rochester defensemen in points per game as a rookie, with 29 points (five goals and 24 assists) in 57 games. 

The Eau Claire, Wisconsin native represented the United States several times throughout his career. He appeared in two International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships in 2014 and 2016. 

He captained the Red, White and Blue to a gold medal during the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship and was named to the tournament’s All-Star team. He also helped Team USA win at the 2011 IIHF Under-18 World Championship. 

The team also announced that they were able to resign Casey Nelson to a two-year deal as well. The six foot two, 183-pound defenseman made his NHL debut during the 2015-2016 season. In seven games he had four assists and a plus-one rating. 

Prior to signing with the Sabres, Nelson was the Western Collegiate Hockey Association’s Defensive Player of the Year, after putting up six goals and 16 assists in 40 games for Minnesota State University. 

Throughout his collegiate career, the Wisconsin Rapids native put up 14 goals and 46 assists, with a plus-28 rating, in 99 games. He led the team in plus/minus rating, as well as leading all Minnesota State defensemen in points during his sophomore and junior seasons. 

In addition, the Sabres announced that they were able to reach an agreement with Cole Schneider on a one-year, two-way contract with the club. The six foot one, 198-pound forward played in two NHL games with Sabres, this past April. 

During the 2015-2016 season, he led all of the Amerks skaters with 56 points (21 goals and 35 assists) in 75 games. 14 of those points, four goals and 10 assists, came after being acquired from the Ottawa Senators organization in February. 

In six seasons with the Binghamton Senators, the Williamsville, New York native has appeared in 282 regular season AHL games, putting up 87 goals and 118 assists, with a plus-15 rating. He has scored more than 20 goals and 50 points in each of his last three seasons.