Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - Ahead of an appearance before a neutral arbiter to settle on a new contract, the Buffalo Sabres and forward Beck Malenstyn have agreed to a new two-year contract with an average annual value of $1.35 million. Sportsnet hockey insider Elliotte Friedman was the first to report the signing.
The Sabres acquired Malenstyn on Day 2 of the 2024 NHL Draft when Buffalo shipped a 2024 second-round pick (43rd overall) to the Washington Capitals.
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After spending several years coming up through the ranks and paying his dues in the American Hockey League with the Hershey Bears, Malenstyn finally cemented a spot for himself at the NHL level in Washington last season, scoring six goals and adding 15 assists for 21 points in 81 games.
The 2023-24 campaign also saw Malenstyn being a force defensively, being on the ice for 562 defensive-zone faceoffs at 5-on-5, which ranked third in the NHL. He also ranked fifth among all NHL forwards in ice-time while shorthanded (211:32), and led the Capitals this past year with 241 hits and 93 blocked shots.
In 105 career NHL games over parts of five seasons with the Capitals, Malenstyn has eight goals and 16 assists for 24 points.
Malenstyn was a former fifth-round pick (145th overall) of the Capitals in the 2016 NHL Draft.
During his 2022-23 season in Hershey, Malenstyn was a key piece to the Bears' success in the Calder Cup Playoffs. He put up eight points (4+4) in 20 games, helping the Bears to a Calder Cup title, which included an Eastern Conference Final win over the Rochester Americans.
Only one other Sabres player is scheduled to have a hearing with an arbiter, as goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen will reportedly meet on July 29. The only other restricted free agent that remains unsigned is forward Peyton Krebs.
