Sabres sign Jack Rathbone to one-year, two-way contract

Western New York has a little more organizational depth on the back end.

On Monday, the Buffalo Sabres signed defenseman Jack Rathbone to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal carries an NHL cap hit of $775,000, with a $500,000 minor-league salary.

It is another pay cut for Rathbone. After his entry-level contract with a $925,000 cap hit, the West Roxbury, Massachusetts native signed a two-year deal with the Vancouver Canucks signed on for two years at $850,000 per season.

Rathbone spent the first three seasons with the Canucks organization, spending time both in the NHL and Vancouver’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks. He was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins along with Karel Plasek for Mark Friedman and Ty Glover in October 2023. Rathbone ended up playing 67 games with the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, scoring eight goals and 16 assists, registering a plus/minus of +12.

The former Harvard University product might have more of an opportunity to play in the NHL with the Sabres. He hasn’t seen the big-league ice since his time with the Canucks in the 2022-23 campaign. Over his time in Vancouver, Rathbone played 28 games in the NHL, scoring two goals and three assists with a -5 rating.

In 153 AHL appearances, the 25-year-old has registered 26 goals and 62 assists with a +30 rating. He has also registered six points in 10 Calder Cup Playoff games.

Rathbone was a big-time player at the collegiate level. With the Crimson, he was named to the East First All-American Team in 2019-20, as well as the All-Ivy League First Team.

As a result of the signing, the Sabres have 33 standard player contracts on the books for the 2024-25 campaign. According to CapFriendly, Buffalo has over $19 million in projected cap space next year.