Conor Sheary, Trevor Kuntar sign one-year contracts with Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres added some depth help on Wednesday, signing forwards Conor Sheary and Trevor Kuntar to contracts.
We have signed forward Conor Sheary and defenseman Dennis Gilbert to one-way contracts worth $850,000. Additionally, we have signed forwards Trevor Kuntar (two years) and Jason Polin (one year) to two-way contracts. Details → bufsabres.co/44HPR1C
Sheary, a 34-year-old NHL veteran, will make $850,000 on a one-year deal, while Kuntar will earn $875,000 per season on a two-year pact.
Sheary is a two-time Stanley Cup champion, having helped the Pittsburgh Penguins win in 2016 and 2017. He was especially important in 2016-17, when he registered a career-best 23 goals and 53 points in his first full NHL season. Sheary was never able to reclaim that magic, with his best output being a 43-point season with Washington in 2021-22.
Sheary has only broken the 30-point barrier once since then, and spent most of 2024-25 in the AHL with the Syracuse Crunch. Sheary had seven goals and 18 points in 62 games with the New York Rangers this past year. Sheary also played two years with the Sabres, which included a 34-point season in 2018-19.
Kuntar, meanwhile, is more of an AHL signing. He made his NHL debut with Buffalo this past season, while also setting a personal best of 21 goals and 37 points with the AHL’s Rochester Americans. Kuntar has 34 goals and a nice 69 points in 194 AHL games over four seasons.
The Sabres later signed winger Jason Polin to a one-year contract worth $850,000. Like the others, he’ll spend 2026-27 primarily in the AHL, but does has one goal in 13 career games with the Colorado Avalanche.
The Sabres signed Olen Zellweger to a three-year contract extension earlier in the day. The club also brought back Dennis Gilbert, a Buffalo native who had five assists in 25 games for the Sabres in 2024-25.
The Sabres are coming off the team’s best season in nearly a decade and a half. Following a dismal start, the struggling franchise fired general manager Kevyn Adams and hired Jarmo Kekäläinen. This move sparked an immediate resurgence, highlighted by a 10-game winning streak. Buffalo surged to a 50-23-9 overall record, capturing the Atlantic Division title. Most importantly, though, the franchise finally qualified for the playoffs after a 14-year drought, but were knocked out by the Montreal Canadiens in the second round.