By Jordan Long
The Buffalo Sabres start their season tonight, hosting the New York Rangers. They have the longest NHL playoff drought which spans 12 seasons. The last time they earned a playoff spot was in 2011. They haven’t won a playoff series since 2007, hoping both of those streaks will end this year. The Sabers are looking towards the future, agreeing to a new contract with defenseman Owen Power.
Power enters his third year with the Sabres. In the 2021-2022 season, Power made his mark in the NHL, playing in 8 games. He scored 2 goals and added 1 assist for a total of 3 points, a test of what he could do at the NHL level.
Last year Power made the opening night roster. He played with Buffalo the whole year, in 79 games. He became one of their best offensive defensemen. Power fired the puck on the net from the blue line and found his teammates to score goals. Power was even part of their power play. In total, Power scored 4 goals and added 31 assists for 35 points. 8 of those assists came on the power play.
Power was heading into the last year of his rookie deal. The Sabres could have let him play on it, showing how much he has grown at the NHL level. Once the season was over, then talk about a new contract. Buffalo decided it was best to keep Power around for a long time since they are building a winning team. They signed him to a massive new contract that kicks in next year. It is 7 years, worth $58.45 million, paying Power $8.35 million a year.
The Sabres want to become a winning organization and be a threat to earn a playoff spot every year. They anticipate Power is going to help them turn their franchise around. The Sabres want to see Power turn into a player similar to Colorado Avalanche’s defenseman Cale Makar. Makar has grown into one of the top scoring defensemen. If he can do that, the Sabers should make the playoffs and advance far. At least Power has 7 years to do so with the goal of winning the cup.
Leave a Reply