The Buffalo Sabres announced they reached an agreement with goaltender Linus Ullmark on a new deal. The two sides were scheduled for an arbitration hearing tomorrow, but will avoid that with a one-year deal worth $2.6 million.
Over the weekend the arbitration offers were revealed by Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The Sabres came in at $1.8 million and Ullmark’s reps submitted $4.1 million. This new deal is pretty close to the mid-point of that gap, which is $2.95 million.
The most interesting part of this deal is that the term is only for one year. As a result, Ullmark will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of next season. Carter Hutton’s contract also expries at the end of this season.
Ullmark should get the majority of the starts next season. Especially if Hutton is the other goaltender on the roster. He showed some growth last year, but the Sabres need him to take another step for them to be a playoff contender.