Victor Olofsson has signed a new two-year deal with the Buffalo Sabres. The contract is worth $6.1M with an AAV of $3.05M. The restricted free agent will return to the team where he excelled to the degree that he finished seventh in Calder Trophy voting. By signing the deal, the Sabres and Olofsson avoid going to salary arbitration.
Welcome back, @vickeo! 🔥
We have signed Victor Olofsson to a two-year deal with an AAV of $3.05 million.
Details: https://t.co/Br1j8MHgWd pic.twitter.com/GhpOJqWGPv
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) October 29, 2020
Buffalo Sabres Re-sign Victor Olofsson
Olofsson had a breakout season in 2019-20. The former seventh-round selection scored 20 goals and 42 points in 54 games. Over 60 percent of his minutes were spent on a line with team stars Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart. The trio had a Corsi For of 48.9 percent so while it wasn’t the most effective possession group, it was still very solid in terms of overall production.
Olofsson himself was very good on offence but was not a great defensive presence. His was merely average on individual possession numbers with a 50.3 Corsi For and .5 Relative Corsi. His linemates were a huge part of what made his raw numbers so good. Inexperience was certainly a factor so an offseason of work will hopefully make Olofsson stronger and more consistent with the puck.
What This Means for the Future
Olofsson was a huge surprise this season but he will need to keep producing. Seventh-rounders aren’t often top-six players for a reason. He has a major opportunity to be part of Buffalo’s next core as it contemplates how to move forward in a strong Atlantic Division.
Buffalo has many decisions yet to make before the 2020-21 regular season. Olofsson was just one of 15 free agents on the NHL roster when the team’s offseason began. The good news is that the Sabres still have a lot of cap space remaining. They have plenty of money available to sign the most valuable internal free agents and potentially make a splash in the open market. There are several players who could make the team a more competitive squad for next season.
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