Buffalo Sabres sign Craig Anderson to one-year contract extension with $1.5 million base salary

The Buffalo Sabres announced on Thursday morning that they signed goaltender Craig Anderson to a one-year, $1.5 million contract.

Anderson had previously been on a one-year contract with the Sabres, signing for just $750,000, so his new deal is a raise with the team. According to the team, the $1.5 million is only a base salary, suggesting that there are performance bonuses to go along with the contract, although there hasn’t been confirmation as to what those bonuses are yet.

Anderson joined the Sabres in the 2021 offseason, as the team was looking for both a stable presence in net as well as a mentor to the young team with his experience on a couple of playoff runs with the Ottawa Senators.

“He gave us a chance to win when he was in the net,” said Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams on Tuesday during an appearance on WGR 550. “He played well, and he also gave our team confidence. When you look at our young D-corps, just that kind of mentorship that he showed I think really went a long way for some of our defensemen.”

Anderson appeared in 31 games for the Sabres, with a 17-12-2 record, an .897 save percentage, and allowing 10.12 goals above expected at even strength. With Anderson just turning 41 in May, it’s likely those numbers don’t see drastic improvement either.

Anderson mentioned at the end of the season that he wanted to spend some time with his family before deciding on if he wanted to return. With his season in Buffalo among the favorites of his 19-year career, it seemed fitting to try again in 2022-23.

“I think it’s one of the most fun seasons I’ve ever had and one that I felt, coming to the rink, you enjoyed getting up in the morning,” Anderson said. “You enjoyed going to the rink, you enjoyed sitting there and having a coffee and hanging out with the guys before practice, after practice. It didn’t matter. 

At the moment, Anderson is the only goaltender that the Sabres have under contract. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is a restricted free agent, while Dustin Tokarski, Malcolm Subban, Aaron Dell, and Michael Houser are all unrestricted free agents. The Sabres are looking at more than $34 million with no big names to re-sign, so it will be interesting to see how they reach the salary floor this offseason.