The Buffalo Sabres signed defenseman Owen Power to a seven-year contract extension, the team announced Wednesday. Here’s what you need to know:
- The 20-year-old’s deal carries an average annual value of $8.35 million.
- Power posted 35 points in 79 games during a standout rookie campaign last season.
- Earlier this week, Buffalo inked 23-year-old defenseman and 2018 No. 1 pick Rasmus Dahlin to an eight-year, $88 million extension.
OP’S IN IT FOR THE LONG HAUL‼️
We have signed defenseman Owen Power to a seven-year contract with an AAV of $8.35 million.
Details: https://t.co/Mp4jy4QOi1 pic.twitter.com/PnEDOucaal
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) October 11, 2023
What this means for Buffalo
Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams said from the start of the offseason that the team was committed to signing both Dahlin and Power to long-term extensions. Dahlin signed his contract Monday and now Power gets his big money deal two days later. At seven years and $8.35 million annually, Power’s annual term comes in just north of the contract Jake Sanderson signed with the Senators which has an average annual value of $8.05 million. Like Sanderson, Power has only played one full NHL season at the time of signing, but what he showed the Sabres in that one season was impressive.
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The 2021 No. 1 pick averaged more than 23 minutes of ice time, had four goals and 31 assists and was a plus-10 despite playing on a below-average defensive team. He did all of that at 20 years old, giving the Sabres the confidence to lock him up at a cap hit that will make him one of the 15 highest-paid defensemen in the NHL.
“I’m open, but obviously when you have a player that you feel is a critical piece of your core at his age to have him in his prime years, yeah, of course, we’d look to the longer side,” Adams said this week. — Matt Fairburn, Buffalo Sabres writer
Could Power have gotten more money?
Power could have been more patient with this deal. With the salary cap expected to rise in the next few years, another strong season could have driven his market value even higher. He also could have signed a shorter bridge contract, which would have made him eligible for another big money extension sooner. But all along Power made it clear to his agents that he wanted to be in Buffalo. And his representatives recognized that an average salary north of $8 million would be tough to pass up. So this ended up working out for both Power and the Sabres.
Now they have their top two defensemen locked up in their prime for a combined $19.35 million. That’s a big chunk of change but should be worth it if both players continue to develop and the cap keeps going up. This week, Dahlin and Power joined Tage Thompson, Dylan Cozens and Mattias Samuelsson among the young players the Sabres have signed to lengthy contracts to be part of their core.
“I think it sends a big message to the league,” Adams said. “When I talk about getting this right with people that want to be here and be here for the right reasons, that isn’t just me using words that are hollow. It’s real, and you can’t force someone regardless of the paycheck, you cannot force someone to be somewhere that they’re not comfortable. And if you do in some ways, you’re probably not going to get the best version of them. So for me, it’s critical that these guys have made the commitment, it’s critical that these guys understand that ownership’s willing to make. I think it sends a strong message that these are people we believe in.” — Fairburn
Required reading
(Photo: Eric Hartline / USA Today)