Sabres Signed Center Noah Ostlund To An Eight-year, $52.8 Million Deal ($6.6

Sabres Sign Noah Ostlund to Eight-Year, $52.8 Million Contract

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo Sabres signed forward Noah Ostlund to an eight-year, $52.8 million contract on Monday, the team announced. The AAV of $6.6 million will begin in the 2027-28 season at a 5.81% cap hit on the Sabres' books.

The deal comes just ahead of a league-wide deadline. The contract comes just ahead of Tuesday's deadline for players to sign for eight years when re-upping with their current team, as the max term will drop to seven years when re-signing on Wednesday, with a six-year max for players joining new teams.

Contract Details

The 22-year-old forward is in the final season of a three-year, entry-level contract he signed on July 15, 2022.

The contract will take him through the 2034-35 season, when Ostlund will turn 31 years old, at which point he'll be an unrestricted free agent.

The deal also carries a 7-team no-trade list that begins in 2030 and carries through the remaining years of the contract.

On-Ice Performance

Ostlund was selected 16th overall by the Sabres in the 2022 draft out of Sweden. He made his NHL debut with the Sabres in the 2024-25 season, appearing in eight games, but earned a full-time role for the first time last year, scoring 11 goals and finishing with 27 points in 60 games, helping the Sabres advance to the postseason for the first time in more than a decade.

In the playoffs, Ostlund tallied two points (one goal, one assist) in three Stanley Cup Playoff games, while averaging 13:58 of ice time, with his plus-10 even-strength goal differential ranking fourth among NHL rookie forwards.

Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff praised Ostlund's game earlier this year, saying, "He's a coach's dream, because those are the type of players you don't really have to coach. He pretty well knows where he's going almost every time. Very few times in the (defensive) zone does he get out of position."

Roster Context

With his new contract in hand, Ostlund is expected to remain one of the leading members of Buffalo's youngest cohort alongside Konsta Helenius and Jiri Kulich.

He is now regarded as a key piece of Buffalo's 27-and-younger core that includes forwards Josh Doan, Zach Benson and Josh Norris and defensemen Rasmus Dahlin, Mattias Samuelsson and Owen Power - all of whom are under contract through at least 2030.

Buffalo has awarded long-term contracts to several young, key pieces of its roster this offseason, with Zach Benson and Josh Doan each signing seven-year deals.

With Ostlund signed, the Sabres now have just one notable forward slated to become a restricted free agent in the summer of 2027: Jack Quinn, who set career highs with 20 goals and 51 points in 82 games with the club in 2025-26.

The Sabres open training camp this week, with the preseason opener set for Sept. 21 against Pittsburgh, ahead of the regular-season opener at Columbus.