Buffalo Sabres sign forward Sam Lafferty to two-year contract

The Buffalo Sabres have signed unrestricted free agent forward Sam Lafferty to a two-year contract worth $2 million per season, according to multiple reports.

TSN’s Chris Johnston was the first to report the news of Lafferty signing with the Sabres, while Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman revealed the terms of the deal shortly thereafter.

Lafferty, 29, spent the 2023-24 season with the Vancouver Canucks, collecting 13 goals and 24 points in 79 games. The Canucks acquired him from the Toronto Maple Leafs at the end of their 2023 training camp in exchange for a fifth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.

The Chicago Blackhawks acquired Lafferty’s exclusive signing rights along with Ilya Mikheyev’s contract from the Canucks back on June 26 but were unable to sign Lafferty to a new deal before he hit the open market on July 1.

The Pittsburgh Penguins originally selected Lafferty in the fourth round (No. 113 overall) of the 2014 NHL Draft. The Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania product made his NHL debut with the Penguins in the 2019-20 season, collecting six goals and 13 points in 50 games that year.

Lafferty spent parts of three seasons in Pittsburgh before being traded to the Blackhawks midway through the 2021-22 campaign in exchange for forward Alex Nylander. After two years in Chicago, Lafferty moved on to the Maple Leafs as part of the Jake McCabe trade.

Through 289 career games over parts of five NHL seasons with the Penguins, Blackhawks, Maple Leafs, and Canucks, Lafferty has collected 36 goals and 83 points. He’s added three points (one goal, two assists) in 21 career playoff contests.

The Sabres have been active in reshaping their roster this summer as they attempt to end what is currently the longest playoff drought in the National Hockey League. In addition to Lafferty, the Sabres recently traded a high 2024 second-round pick to the Washington Capitals in exchange for forward Beck Malenstyn.