The Buffalo Sabres busy week leading up to the NHL Draft continued on Wednesday, as mere hours after GM Jarmo Kekalainen orchestrated a sign-and-trade of winger Alex Tuch to the Washington Capitals, the club locked up restricted free agent forward Zach Benson to a seven-year, $52.5 million contract extension. 

The 21-year-old winger Benson posted a career-high 43 points (13 goals, 30 assists) in 65 games in his third NHL season and made his mark in the Sabres first playoff appearance in 15 years, scoring nine points (5 goals, 4 assists) in 13 games. 

“I see him as a true core piece that fills all the boxes,” Kekäläinen said last month. “(Zach has) got skill, he’s got hockey sense, he’s got instincts, he’s relentless, he’s a competitor. What a great playoff he had and, again, I’m so excited about the level that he can get to.”

The extension takes some of the sting off of the trades of Tuch and defenseman Bowen Byram earlier in the week. The 30-year-old winger was headed to free agency on July 1, even after the Sabres reportedly had increased their offer on a long-term deal. Kekalainen was not prepared to go the maximum eight years and in excess of $10 million per season on the veteran winger who scored 33 goals last season, as the Capitals did on an eight-year, $84 million deal. 

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The trade with Chicago is being lauded as an excellent return for the Sabres, but the departures of Byram and Tuch total 44 goals, and while Kekalainen hopes that the growth of youngsters Konsta Helenius, Jiri Kulich, and Noah Ostlund will help fill the gap, the Sabres GM is not ruling out exchanging some draft capital to help bolster the lineup next season. 

“I've told all the teams that have inquired about the #4 pick, that we're just going to listen for now, take notes, and see what they think is the value of #4. We value that very highly ourselves. We know there's a great prospect available there, that's going to be two, three years away, or maybe even more, before they can make an impact on our team.” Kekalainen said. “We want to keep getting better as a team. We had an exciting year, but still disappointing at the end, but we'll gather that information around the league and see what the values, and if we don't think it's as much as making the pick, then we'll make the pick.”

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