Sabres Sign Olen Zellweger

Last month, the Sabres swung a move to acquire defenseman Olen Zellweger from Anaheim.  They’ve wasted little time signing him, as The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reports (Twitter link) that Buffalo has re-signed the blueliner to a multi-year deal.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that it’s believed to be a three-year deal worth around $9MM.

The 22-year-old was a second-round pick by the Ducks back in 2021, going 34th overall.  He was a prolific point producer in junior, putting up a 14-goal, 78-point season in just 55 games with WHL Everett the following year.  That moved up to 80 points in 55 contests the following year, providing cause for optimism that he’d be able to come in and be an impactful player on that side of the ice in the pros.

Zellweger was certainly an impact player in the minors with AHL San Diego in 2023-24, earning 37 points in 44 games.  It turned out that this was his only time in the minors as he was up with Anaheim exclusively after that.  But the offensive output wasn’t there with the Ducks.  The following year, in his first full NHL campaign, Zellweger had seven goals and 13 assists in 62 games while averaging just under 19 minutes per night.  Last season, the numbers were similar, seven goals and 15 helpers in 76 contests while his ice time dropped by two minutes per game.  That led to some speculation that a change of scenery could be best for him and he received that before the draft.

It will be interesting to see how Buffalo uses him on a back end that already has some firepower in Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power, though the trade of Bowen Byram opens up some potential power play time that Zellweger could step into.  Given the uncertainty, a bridge deal makes sense for both sides, allowing the Sabres to see how he’ll fit in with them while Zellweger gets some security and a chance to cash in down the road if things go well with Buffalo.  Zellweger will be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights when this contract expires.