The Buffalo Sabres are in a promising position. They've built an impressive foundation of under-30 talent, led by Rasmus Dahlin and Tage Thompson, and their financial outlook is vastly improved, a trend that will continue when Jeff Skinner's buyout figure drops significantly in 2027.
As a result, the Sabres moved up to No. 7 in annual rankings from Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic looking at which NHL teams are most efficiently using their salary-cap space. That's a nine-spot improvement for the franchise since last summer.
Luszczyszyn's analytics model doesn't view any of Buffalo's contracts as truly devastating, but the team's worst grades were given to Beck Malenstyn's recently signed six-year, $17.5 million extension (D+) and the remaining five seasons of Owen Power's seven-year, $58.45 million deal (C).
"If Owen Power can take a real step next season, the Sabres should be rolling," the NHL analyst wrote Wednesday. "If there's one nitpick, it's Beck Malenstyn's new contract. Giving term to a fourth liner is rarely ideal. That and a bunch of dead money is what keeps the Sabres out of the top five."
Malenstyn was always going to get overpaid this offseason, either by Buffalo or another organization. Yes, he's limited to a fourth-line role, but he's a team-first, high-energy contributor who also brings value on the penalty kill, an area where he'll see increased ice time after the departure of Alex Tuch.
While $2.92 million per season feels like a lot for a niche player at the moment, it's a contract that'll look incredibly minuscule within a few years of a rising-cap world.
So, even though Malenstyn's baseline numbers may never jump off the page — aside from contending for the league lead in hits — his locker-room presence and ability to fill a specific spot on the depth chart quite well make the six-year investment understandable for the Sabres.
The Power situation has a wider ranger of potential outcomes.
Owen Power facing critical season for Buffalo Sabres after Bowen Byram trade
Power is a good player. He's smart, dependable and every mistake he makes is offset by the countless small plays he makes to get the Sabres out of trouble in the defensive zone.
The 23-year-old Canadian is still nowhere near the NHL's elite defensemen, however, and that was the level expected when Buffalo selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft.
That sizable gap — from an above-average contributor to a generational franchise cornerstone — makes the Power conversation a tricky one.
The Sabres can take solace in the fact a breakthrough is still possible. Look no further than Mattias Samuelsson, the Blue and Gold blueliner who'd never scored more than 14 points in a season before posting 13 goals and 28 assists in 2025-26.
Power, who posted a career-high 40 points (seven goals and 33 helpers) in 2024-25 before dipping to 29 points last season, will get more offensive opportunities when the new campaign gets underway.
Buffalo's decision to trade Bowen Byram to the Chicago Blackhawks means the University of Michigan product should see more ice time in offensively focused situations, including what should be a full-time role as the second power play unit's quarterback.
Now the question is whether Power's breakout will finally arrive.
If so, the narrative around his contract could instantly shift from questionable to bargain. An $8.35 million AAV is tremendous value if he can start providing closer to first-pair results, but that leap in two-way production has so far been elusive since he signed his current deal in 2023.
Power's name has popped up in trade rumors from time to time over the past few years, with NHL insiders hypothesizing he could be a "change of scenery" candidate, but any such move would come with immense risk for the Sabres.
Buffalo is far better off keeping the 6-foot-6 defenseman with hope he'll eventually become the game-changing player the club expected coming out of the 2021 draft.
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