Buffalo Sabres Newcomers: Andre Benoit

Andre Benoit is one of several new faces you’ll see in the Buffalo Sabres lineup this season. The 30-year-old joins the Sabres after spending last season with the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche. Benoit is a depth signing, a guy who knows how to eat minutes on the blueline and a seemingly-likeable guy who’s worked his way up the ladder to an spot in the big league. It also helps that he has the ability to produce offensively, too.

Perhaps the most surprising thing about Benoit is that he signed with the Sabres this offseason for just a one-year, $800,000 deal, despite playing big minutes with the Avs last season.

At 30, Benoit is one of the oldest players on the blueline for the Sabres this season, along with fellow newcomer Josh Gorges. The St. Albert, Ontario native is also the shortest, at just 5-11 according to Sabres.com.

He has just 132 games of NHL experience – most of which were played last season – but has worked his way through the AHL to secure a spot in the National Hockey League. Even if he ends up playing with the Rochester Americans, Benoit could bring great things to the organization.

More from Sabres News

• 3 biggest standouts at Buffalo Sabres 2023 Prospects Challenge
• 3 takeaways from the Buffalo Sabres final Prospects Challenge game
• Buffalo Sabres experiment with lesser-known talent in loss to Pens
• Buffalo Sabres 75 Bold Predictions for 2023-24: Prediction 51
• Buffalo Sabres vs. Pittsburgh: A quick look at the Penguins prospects

Benoit was not drafted into the NHL, but rather signed a deal with the Hamilton Bulldogs after playing five seasons with the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers. Throughout his junior career, Benoit had 299 points in 324 games with Kitchener.

He played two seasons with the Bulldogs between 2005 and 2007, notching 57 points and 101 penalty minutes in 134 games. He then took his talents overseas, playing first for Tappara Tampere in 2007-08 and then for Sodertalje SK of the Swedish Elite League in 2008-09.

Following that, Benoit came back to North America, returning for his third season with the Bulldogs. He had 36 points and 63 penalty minutes in 78 regular season games with Hamilton, adding 14 points in 19 playoff games.

He then became a member of the Ottawa Senators organization, spending most of the 2010-11 season with the Binghamton Senators. He had 55 points in 73 games with the AHL club and also saw the first NHL action of his career, appearing in eight games with Ottawa.

But once again, it was back overseas Benoit went – this time to play for Moscow Spartak in the KHL. He had 17 points and 34 penalty minutes in 53 games before rejoining the Sens organization in the 2012-13 season. That year, Benoit split his talents in the AHL and NHL; he had 25 points in 34 games with Binghamton and 10 points in 33 games with Ottawa.

July 2013 came around and Benoit was a free agent. Just a few days into free agency, he signed a one-year deal with the Colorado Avalanche; he went on to spend the entire season with the Avs. But after appearing in 79 games with Colorado, notching seven goals and 21 assists — and being paired with former Sabres blueliner Cory Sarich for much of year — he became a free agent once more this offseason, and the Sabres snatched him up. He finished his year in Colorado third on the Avs in ice time, averaging over 20 minutes per game. His 79 games played were just one shy of Erik Johnson for the lead among defensemen, while his assists and points were third.

One fun fact about one of the newest members of the Buffalo Sabres: he’s never been traded, always signing as a free agent with his newest team.

Could he have found a place to land for good in Buffalo? Who knows? The fact is that Benoit took a $100,000 cut to sign with the Sabres and if he’s willing to work hard and help out offensively as well as on the blueline, I’m definitely willing to give this guy a shot. He’s already proven himself a hard worker, having earned a Masterton Trophy nomination in 2013. Although his NHL experience isn’t on par with some other players his age, he has plenty of solid experience playing in the big European leagues, including the SEL and KHL.

One member of the Sabres organization that Benoit is familiar with is general manager Tim Murray, who he worked with in the Senators organization. He could play big minutes in Buffalo this season, bringing depth to the organization and maybe an offensive touch, too.

Welcome to the Sabres, Andre.