Girgensons signs 1-year, $2.5 million contract with Sabres

Zemgus Girgensons signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract to stay with the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday.

The 29-year-old forward could have become an unrestricted free agent July 1 and is the longest-tenured member of the Sabres with 625 games played over 10 seasons. He had 18 points (10 goals, eight assists) in 80 games this season to help Buffalo (42-33-7) improve by 16 points from 2021-22 despite missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the 12th consecutive season.

"The person, the leader, the consistency of just his professionalism every day, I think is something that I felt was important, continue to build moving forward, that our young players will learn from," Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams said Wednesday. "And he's excited. Speaking to him yesterday, he really believes that we're about to take a step. He's put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into this organization and wanted to continue that."

The Sabres finished one point behind the Florida Panthers for the second wild card from the Eastern Conference this season.

"Definitely with what the team has here and the steps it's taken, I definitely would like to be a part of this," Girgensons said April 15.

Selected by Buffalo in the first round (No. 14) of the 2012 NHL Draft, Girgensons has 174 points (81 goals, 93 assists) in the NHL.

"Zemgus, he does so many things that make an impact on our team, on and off the ice," Adams said. "He does not cheat the game. If you're looking at just the pure hockey player, he plays a really important role. He's so consistent. The guy is so competitive, everything matters to him and he cares so much about this organization, and he plays an important role on our team from an on-ice standpoint."

Sabres captain Kyle Okposo signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract May 24.

NHL.com independent correspondent Heather Engel contributed to this report