The Buffalo Sabres may have added a steal to their Summer list of accomplishments, as they signed unrestricted free agent defenseman Andre Benoit to a new 1-year deal, reportedly worth $800,000.Benoit was a bit of a surprise contributor to a potent Colorado Avalanche team in 2014, scoring 7 goals and 28 points in 79 games for the Central Division regular season title holders. Benoit finished 57th in defenseman scoring, thanks to his good year and he will definitely get some consideration at the hockey pool draft.
Of course, moving from the high-powered Avalanche to the rebuilding Sabres will take a toll on his numbers, so tread carefully when selecting Benoit. This kind of move will likely hurt his projections for the 2015 season.
Rebuilding comes at a reasonable cost in Buffalo, as they remain more of a budget team going into 2015. The signing of Benoit brings their cap number up to $53.5 million, just over the floor number, with only two roster spots left to fill. I would expect some of the team's youth to fill those spots, so they won't be spending much more, unless they get a screaming deal on another unrestricted free agent.
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