Buffalo Sabres re-sign forward Brett Murray to one-year contract
The Buffalo Sabres have signed forward Brett Murray to a one-year, two-way contract extension, the club announced Friday afternoon.
Murray, 24, collected 23 goals and 49 points in 71 games with the American Hockey League’s Rochester Americans during the 2022–23 regular season.
The six-foot-five, 228-pound left wing added four goals and 10 points in 14 games with the Americans in the 2023 Calder Cup Playoffs.
Murray’s new contract with the Sabres carries a $775,000 NHL cap hit. The Bolton, Ontario product had been a restricted free agent with arbitration rights, although he had elected not to file.
We have signed Brett Murray to a one year, two-way contract worth $775,000.
Details: https://t.co/T3YkNf6QkY pic.twitter.com/EE70PiIz4E
The Sabres originally selected Murray in the fourth round (No. 99 overall) of the 2016 NHL Draft. He spent parts of the following two seasons at Penn State University before shifting to the USHL’s Youngstown Phantoms, with whom he scored 41 goals and 76 points in 62 games during the 2018–19 season.
Murray turned pro with the Americans in 2019–20 and made his NHL debut with the Sabres the following year, being held without a point in his first two games. He appeared in 19 more NHL games in 2021–22, collecting two goals, six points, and 23 penalty minutes.
Through 205 career AHL games over parts of four seasons with the Americans, Murray has racked up 56 goals and 125 points. He’s added 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) in 24 Calder Cup Playoff contests.
Assuming Murray plays fewer than 59 games in the NHL during the 2023–24 season, he’ll be eligible to become a Group VI unrestricted free agent next summer. He’ll be up against the likes of Peyton Krebs, JJ Peterka, Zemgus Girgensons, Tyson Jost, and Kyle Okposo for playing time if he makes the Sabres in a bottom-six role.
With Murray signed, the Sabres now have just one RFA left to sign this summer: Linus Weissbach, a five-foot-nine winger who scored 47 points in 69 AHL games as a 24-year-old last season.