The Buffalo Sabres turned a lot of heads around the NHL when they gave winger Beck Malenstyn a six-year contract extension in late June. Fourth-line players don't tend to receive that length of term, but the 28-year-old Canadian is more important to the franchise than his role may suggest.
Malenstyn, whose new contract carries a modest $2.9 million AAV, also works on the club's penalty kill and plays exactly the type of high-energy hockey the Sabres seek from their core. He even delivered a few highlight-reel goals during the 2025-26 season.
The 6-foot-3 winger admitted during an appearance Tuesday on Sabres Live with Brian Duff and Martin Biron that it wasn't always a sure thing he'd re-sign with Buffalo, so he's happy the sides were able to reach an agreement in the end.
"I think the biggest thing for the city was finally being able to take the truth that it's a hockey city," Malenstyn said. "You know, everyone said it's a bigger hockey city than a football city — like, have you seen the Bills fans? I don't think that's true, right? These guys are crazy. You know, seeing the passion our city had rallying around us coming down the stretch there and into the playoffs was just so much fun to be a part of, so much fun to play in.
"Every small community was rallying behind. Our neighborhood that we lived in, you had kids running around in jerseys and it was just really exciting to see. Honestly, it was a huge motivator to come back. You see that kind of passion in a fanbase or around a team in a community, it's something you just want to immerse into and hopefully keep that energy around."
We'll leave the "hockey town vs. football town" debate for another day, but there's no doubt Buffalo sports fans returned in droves as the Sabres finally turned things around after 14 years of misery.
It was no surprise, of course. Sabres fandom was never dead, or anywhere close to it, in Western New York. Supporters were just waiting for any sign of life to start spending their hard-earned money on tickets again. It didn't take long for the KeyBank Center to start rocking like the old days.
Malenstyn was an important part of the puzzle despite his mundane offensive production (14 points in 81 games). He chipped in 282 hits, which ranked fifth in the NHL, and 75 blocked shots. He also finished third on the team in PK ice time behind only Ryan McLeod and Alex Tuch.
Now he's locked in with the Blue and Gold for the foreseeable future, and his penalty-killing role may grow larger next season following Tuch's sign-and-trade departure to the Washington Capitals.
Buffalo Sabres have some 4th line decisions to make ahead of the 2026-27 NHL season
The Sabres are going to have 15 forwards for 13 spots once RFA center Peyton Krebs signs a new contract or goes through the arbitration process.
Buffalo's fourth line is one area of potential excess. It has five players for three spots: Malenstyn, Krebs, Sam Carrick, Justin Danforth and Tyson Kozak.
It could be as simple as placing Danforth and Kozak on waivers and sending them to the AHL's Rochester Americans if they clear. General manager Jarmo Kekalainen prepared for the potential to lose one or both of those depth pieces by signing Conor Sheary in free agency.
Yet, even in that scenario, somebody from the group of Malenstyn, Krebs and Carrick could be the odd man out because the Sabres also have one too many top-nine forwards. At the same time, it's hard to see someone like Jason Zucker, Jack Quinn or Jiri Kulich skating on the bottom line.
So, it feels like there's more moves to come from Kekalainen before training camp arrives.
Quinn is among the players who's been mentioned in the ongoing trade rumors involving the Sabres' pursuit of Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck. A blockbuster deal sending out a few roster players while landing an upgrade between the pipes makes a lot of sense on the surface.
The Blue and Gold have also been mentioned as a potential landing spot for future Hockey Hall of Fame winger Patrick Kane, a Buffalo native. Again, that'd be another lineup spot to find, though.
It'll be interesting to see how the Sabres front office handles the situation over the next few months because all signs point to needing a few more lineup alterations before the puck drops in September.
That said, one thing's for sure: Malenstyn will occupy his usual spot on the fourth line after receiving the long-term commitment from Buffalo.
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