Sabres reach two-year deal with defenseman McCabe

Flames buy out Stone’s remaining year

NEW YORK, Aug 3, (RTRS): The Buffalo Sabres and defenseman Jake McCabe avoided arbitration by reaching a two-year deal, the team announced on Saturday.

The deal will pay McCabe $2.85 million annually. He was reportedly seeking $4.3 million for next season in arbitration, with the Sabres offering $1.95 million.

McCabe, 25, was a second-round pick by the Sabres in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. He had four goals and 10 assists in 59 games last season and has 14 goals and 47 assists in 274 career games, all with Buffalo.

The agreement leaves the Sabres with just one unsigned restricted free agent – goalie Linus Ullmark. Ullmark’s arbitration case is scheduled for next week.

The Calgary Flames bought out the final season of defenseman Michael Stone’s contract.

He is now an unrestricted free agent.

Stone, 29, signed a three-year, $10.5 million deal with the Flames in June 2017 after being acquired earlier that year in a trade with the Arizona Coyotes.

In his two-plus seasons in Calgary, Stone had 21 points (five goals, 16 assists). In 2018-19, he had five assists in just 14 games, missing a big chunk of the season with a blood clot.

A third-round draft pick by Arizona in the 2008 draft, Stone has appeared in 439 regular-season games and has 117 points (29 goals, 88 assists). He added one goal in six Stanley Cup Playoffs games.

The Colorado Avalanche have signed forward A.J. Greer to a one-year contract for the 2019-20 season.

Last season, the 22-year-old Greer spent time with both the Avalanche and the American Hockey League’s Colorado Eagles. He notched two points (one goal, one assist) in 15 games with the Avs and 44 points (19 goals, 25 assists) in 54 outings with the Eagles.

Greer, a second-round pick (39th overall) by the Avalanche in the 2015 NHL Draft, scored his first career NHL goal on Feb 20 vs the Winnipeg Jets and has registered six points (one goal, five assists) in 37 career NHL games.

Greer was arrested and charged with assault in July. While in New York City with the Columbus Blue Jackets’ Sonny Milano, Greer and Milano fought another individual early on the morning of July 7 before the police were called.