Sabres Extend Peyton Krebs After Arbitration

“He’s like my Swiss Army Knife that I can just flip out a different blade at any time and let him go at it,” coach Lindy Ruff said per the press release.

Krebs joined the Sabres back in 2021, as part of the blockbuster trade package in return from the Vegas Golden Knights for Jack Eichel. Over the past couple of seasons, since that, he’s played 243 games, the most by a Sabre in a three-season span. He notably finished second on the Sabres in hits with 201, making him one of seven NHLers to produce as many hits with his point production. The Calgary native also provides much-needed speed for the up-and-coming Sabres, ranking one of the NHL’s faster skaters in the 92nd percentile for max speed at 23.28 mph and 90th percentile for 20-22 mph bursts, with 158 total in 2025-26.

The former 17th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft signed a three-year $2.59MM ($863K AAV) deal with the Golden Knights shortly after he was selected and didn’t make his NHL debut until the 2020-21 season, finishing out his major junior career with the Wenatchee Wild in the WHL, winning the leagues Player of the Year Award and finishing a silver medalist with Canada at the World Junior Championships.

The Sabres cut their cap space in half with the signing of Krebs to this extension. They now have $4.1MM in cap space with Krebs being the 14th forward now on the team’s books. Buffalo also still has the buyout of Jeff Skinner on their payroll, as it counts towards 6.2% of the team’s overall cap hit, denting them as they progress forward with the losses of Alex Tuch to Washington and trading Bowen Byram to Chicago. While bringing in Olen Zellweger, the Sabres could still have more in store if they can get fancy with their moves, with the intrigue of potentially acquiring goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, who was willing to waive his no-movement clause to go to the Sabres, and Buffalo native Patrick Kane remaining unsigned as a free agent.

Photo Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images