Sabres acquire 25-year-old winger from Capitals

The Buffalo Sabres have acquired the rights to pending-restricted free agent Beck Malenstyn from the Washington Capitals, sending Pick 43 in the 2024 NHL Draft the other way.

Beck Malenstyn was one of two notable RFAs in Washington’s system, alongside forward Connor McMichael. The two headlined a stressful summer for the Capitals — who are facing three remaining free agents, including McMichael and Max Pacioretty, with just $7.6M in cap space if you factor in the team receiving LTIR relief for Nicklas Backstrom. Having recently acquired the ever-cheap Logan Thompson, Washington now sits just two contracts short of a full NHL roster.

For their role in helping Washington sort out their summer, Buffalo receives the hefty frame of Malenstyn, who carved out a meaningful role on Washington’s third line as a rookie this year. He recorded 21 points and 25 penalty minutes in 81 games through his inaugural season — more points than he’s managed in any AHL season, despite spending the last four years with the Hershey Bears. Before his move to the Capitals lineup, Malenstyn’s career-high sat at just 16 points, recorded in 65 games with Hershey in 2021-22. He even took a step back in scoring last year, posting just 10 points in 40 games while supporting Hershey to their first back-to-back Calder Cups.

Now headed to Buffalo, Malenstyn will serve as a relief to a Sabres team that may lose each of Zemgus Girgensons, Victor Olofsson, and Eric Robinson to unrestricted free agency. If that is the case, Malenstyn will vie for a strong role on the third-line wing, though he’ll face pressure from top prospects like Matthew Savoie, Isak Rosen, and Jiri Kulich.