Buffalo Sabres Re-Sign Phil Varone

The Buffalo Sabres have re-signed forward Philip Varone, the team announced Monday.

Varone was the Sabres’ lone arbitration filing, but that’s been settled now, as the team brought him back for at least one more year. The two sides are thus able to avoid an arbitration hearing, which otherwise would have occurred later this summer.

Varone’s new deal with the Buffalo Sabres is, yet again, a two-way deal, which means he’s likely to spend at least part of the year in the AHL with the Rochester Americans.

The deal is reportedly worth $600,000 – a figure noted not by the team (as per usual standards, the Sabres don’t typically release contract numbers), but by CBC Sports contributor Tim Wharnsby.

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Though he could get a good chance at the NHL this season, the AHL is really where Varone has played most spectacularly over the past few seasons.

He’s consistently been at or near the top in scoring for the Amerks, having put up 44 points in 55 games last season with the AHL club – leading the team in scoring, despite being up in the NHL for the latter portion of the season.

Varone made his NHL debut in the 2013-14 season, playing nine games with the Buffalo Sabres that year. He had an assist in his first NHL game, and later scored his first NHL goal.

He got a better chance to show off his skills at the NHL this past season, when he was called up from the Amerks due to numerous injuries on the NHL front on January 6. He registered three goals and a pair of assists, plus 10 penalty minutes, in 28 games.

He had two multi-point games, including both of the Sabres’ goals in a 5-2 loss to the Hurricanes in January.

Varone, 24, was originally a 2009 draft pick of the Sharks, but was never signed by San Jose and thus became a free agent. He joined the Amerks for the 2011-12 season and has been with the Sabres organization ever since. Varone has been a strong forward for the Amerks, playing big minutes and putting up points at the AHL level.

This past season, Varone’s 15 goals were second-most on the Amerks team, one behind Zac Dalpe, and his 29 assists also led the team. Varone averaged 0.8 points/game and recorded 120 shots on goal, an average of 2.18 per game.

This was the second consecutive year that Varone led the Amerks in scoring, after putting up a 61-point campaign in 69 regular season games during the 2013-14 season.

It’s uncertain at this point, but it seems likely that Varone will at least start the 2015-16 season in Rochester. It’s where he’s made the most impact over the past few seasons, but he could definitely get a good look if the Sabres need to call someone up again, and get another chance to show what he can do at a higher level, with guys like Sam Reinhart and Jack Eichel onboard.

Next: Sabres: Targeting Oduya?

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