Sabres place Nicolas Aube-Kubel on waivers

The Buffalo Sabres have waived right winger Nicolas Aube-Kubel, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

Through 19 appearances with the Sabres this season, Aube-Kubel has recorded one goal and one assist for two points alongside 17 penalty minutes and a minus-four rating. Scratched for seven of the Sabres’ past eight games, Aube-Kubel’s last showing came last Monday against the Seattle Kraken in which he finished with a minus-one rating through 6:50 in ice time.

Skating in his first season with the Sabres, Aube-Kubel split last season between the Washington Capitals and the team’s farm club, the Hershey Bears. With the Capitals, Aube-Kubel notched six goals and 10 assists for 16 points through 60 appearances, while with the Bears he tallied one goal and two assists for three points in 11 outings.

A veteran of 301 NHL games counting stops with the Philadelphia Flyers, Colorado Avalanche, Toronto Maple Leafs, Capitals, and Sabres, Aube-Kubel has totaled 32 goals and 48 assists for 80 points with 200 penalty minutes. Aube-Kubel’s career is highlighted by the 2021-22 season that saw him hoist the Stanley Cup as part of the Avalanche. The 28-year-old native of Slave Lake, Alta., was originally chosen 48th overall by the Flyers in the 2014 NHL Draft.

Per PuckPedia, Aube-Kubel carries a $1.5-million annual average value and can become an unrestricted free agent in July.

For the Sabres, the club is in the midst of a two-game losing skid and sits at the bottom of the Eastern Conference with a record of 18-26-5 and 14 points back of the Tampa Bay Lightning for the second wildcard position in the East. The Sabres have not qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2011, the longest-active drought in the NHL. The Sabres return to the ice Tuesday to take on the Atlantic Division rival Boston Bruins.