Welcome to NHL.com, the official site of the National Hockey League
Bienvenue à LNH.com , le site officiel de la Ligue nationale de hockey
Tervetuloa NHL:n viralliselle nettisivustolle NHL.comiin
Välkommen till NHL.com, NHL:s officiella web-sida
Vítejte na NHL.com, oficiálních stránkách National Hockey League
Vitajte na NHL.com, oficiálnych stránkach National Hockey League
Willkommen auf NHL.com, der offiziellen Seite der National Hockey League
Bienvenido a NHL.com, el sitio oficial de la National Hockey League
Mattias Samuelsson signed a seven-year, $30 million contract with the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday. It has an average annual value of $4.29 million.
"I think it was easy because, I've said it before, I want to be a part of this for a long time," Samuelsson said about negotiations. "That feeling was always there from my side. When they expressed that they were interested in the long term too, it wasn't too long before something came together. It was a pretty easy process when both sides were pretty much on the same page the whole time."
The 22-year-old defenseman had 10 assists in 42 games for the Sabres last season. He averaged 20 minutes of ice time per game, fourth on the Sabres behind defensemen Rasmus Dahlin (24:01), Owen Power (22:05) and Henri Jokiharju (21:53).
"Mattias Samuelsson, in our mind, is exactly the type of person we want to be here long term," general manager Kevyn Adams said. "He's a great teammate, he's a great hockey player who we believe has the work ethic and character to continue to get better. He plays a style that we don't have as much as a 6-foot-4, 232-pound defender that's tough to play against and can also have the skill to move the puck. And he'll continue to work on his game to get better. For us, I look at it more as an investment and you have to make these types of decisions as we build out our roster and obviously we were comfortable doing that."
Video: The crew on Mattias Samuelsson 's contract extension
Samuelsson is in the final season of a three-year, entry level contract he signed March 25, 2020, and could have become a restricted free agent after the season.
A second-round pick (No. 32) by the Sabres in the 2018 NHL Draft, Samuelsson has 12 assists in 54 games with Buffalo.
"I've taken huge jumps," Samuelsson said in May. "Personally, I think just being up here (with the Sabres) for however many games it was, the style of play, we play with no hesitation. I think it allows you to develop and just play on instincts rather than thinking so much of systems or details or anything like that. I think I've grown a lot as a player this year and can carry that over into next year training camp, and just keep going."
The Sabres on Wednesday also signed coach Don Granato to a multiyear extension .
Buffalo opens the regular season against the Ottawa Senators at KeyBank Center in Buffalo on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; MSG-B, TSN5, RDS, ESPN+, SN NOW).
NHL.com is the official web site of the National Hockey League. NHL, the NHL Shield, the word mark and image of the Stanley Cup, Center Ice name and logo, NHL Conference logos, NHL Winter Classic name, and The Biggest Assist Happens Off The Ice are registered trademarks and the Stanley Cup Playoffs logo, Stanley Cup Final logo, Stanley Cup Qualifiers name and logo, NHL.TV, Vintage Hockey word mark and logo, The Game Lives Where You Do, NHL Winter Classic logo, NHL Heritage Classic name and logo, NHL Stadium Series name and logo, NHL All-Star logo, NHL Face-Off name and logo, NHL Premium, NHL After Dark, NHL GameCenter, NHL GameCenter LIVE, NHL Network name and logo, NHL Tonight name and logo, On The Fly, NHL Network Showdown name and logo, NHL Awards name and logo, NHL Draft name and logo, NHL Mascots, Hockey Fights Cancer, Because It's The Cup, NHL Green name and logo, NHL Vault, Hockey Is For Everyone, NHL Thanksgiving Showdown name and logo, NHL Centennial Classic name and logo, NHL Centennial Season logo, NHL100 Classic name and logo, NHL Global Series name and logo, NHL China Games name and logo, NHL Power Players name and logo, NHL Outdoors at Lake Tahoe name and logo, NHL Street name and logo, and Don't Miss A Moment are trademarks of the National Hockey League. All NHL logos and marks and NHL team logos and marks depicted herein are the property of the NHL and the respective teams and may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of NHL Enterprises, L.P. © NHL 2022. All Rights Reserved. All NHL team jerseys customized with NHL players' names and numbers are officially licensed by the NHL and the NHLPA. The Zamboni word mark and configuration of the Zamboni ice resurfacing machine are registered trademarks of Frank J. Zamboni & Co., Inc.© Frank J. Zamboni & Co., Inc. 2022. All Rights Reserved. Any other third party trademarks or copyrights are the property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.