Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR) - When Noah Östlund signed an eight-year, $52.8 million contract extension with the Buffalo Sabres back on Sept. 14, many wondered why a 22-year-old with only 71 NHL games played would be rewarded so soon.
In Tuesday's preseason home opener against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Östlund netted two goals, and showed why head coach Lindy Ruff counted on him in key situations last season after he was called up from the Rochester Americans.
In 60 regular season games last year, Östlund had 11 goals and 16 assists for 27 points. He added a goal and an assist in three playoff games before missing the rest of the postseason due to injury.
In seven games played with the Amerks last season, he had three goals and seven assists for 10 points.
Östlund admits he wasn't expecting it a new contract before the start of the season.
"It came as a little bit of a surprise. I didn't really think about it during the summer," said Östlund earlier this training camp. "But when we started talking, I just wanted to get things done."
Ruff showed a lot of faith in both Östlund and Konsta Helenius last season. Östlund appreciates the trust his coach has in him.
"It feels great," the young Swede said. "I think we had a good last year, and I think we're just going to continue to get better. We have a lot of young guys that are signed for a lot of years."
Sometimes people forget Östlund was part of the Jack Eichel trade back in 2021 with the Vegas Golden Knights. He ended up being the 2022 first-round pick (16th overall) selected by the Sabres acquired from Vegas, along with forwards Peyton Krebs and Alex Tuch, as well as a 2023 second-round pick.
Buffalo got five good years from Tuch until he decided he wanted to move on, and now they're getting the benefits of improved production from Krebs and Östlund, who is only getting better-and-better.
Östlund says eight years was on the table right away because that's what he wanted, and general manager Jarmo Kekalainen wanted cost certainty.
During the offseason, Östlund worked to put on 10 pounds worth of muscle, and acknowledged he needed to get stronger to play at this level.
"That's where I think I'm a little bit behind, and something I want to keep getting better at," Östlund admitted.
The weight isn't slowing him down, but it is noticeable to him.
"I'm feeling stronger, and it doesn't even feel like I've lost any speed. So I feel great," Östlund said.
I don't think there's any question that Östlund will always be finding ways to make himself better. He knows the offense is going to come for him.
"I've been an offensive player all my career, so I think that will come with time, getting more comfortable, getting more confident too," Östlund said.
To start camp and in Tuesday's preseason game, Östlund is centering Zach Benson and Jack Quinn. Östlund feels the chemistry with the younger Benson is already off the charts.
"It was fun. He's a great player, and I love playing with him," he said. "He works so hard and it makes it easier for me and 'Quinner'.
"We're just trying to play our style, and we played a little bit together last year. So we're trying to build on that and we do compliment each other out there."
After Tuesday's 5-1 win, Ruff announced that defenseman Oleg Zellweger is in concussion protocol after taking a hit from Blue Jackets defenseman Carson Soucy. Ruff said on Wednesday that the defenseman is feeling much better.
Also, midway through the game, defenseman Mattias Samuelsson blocked a shot and was out for the rest of the game. Ruff said he is going to be out week-to-week with a lower-body injury. Ruff said he may use Owen Power with Rasmus Dahlin, but anything is possible.
DEFENSEMEN PAIRS ON WEDNESDAY:
Dahlin - Crevier
Power - Timmins
Gilbert - Metsa
Johnson - Mrtka
The next preseason game is Thursday in Detroit against the Red Wings. Faceoff is slated for 7 p.m. on WGR.
