The 5th Year Sabre Had a Career High 39 Points Last Year
Well, that was a little more difficult than expected. And expensive from most points of view. Peyton Krebs had to file for arbitration in order to come to an agreement with Buffalo but thankfully the two sides settled today before that came to fruition. It was a long and challenging process though.
Peyton “Swiss army knife” Krebs has signed to remain in Buffalo for the next four years. The versatile forward finally joins Zach Benson and Beck Malenstyn (and Olen Zellweger) as recent Sabres’ RFAs who have inked a contact to remain with the Blue and Gold.
Peyton’s deal is officially for $4.5 million per season, substantially higher than most estimates. But the deal has more term than expected as well, which should balance some cost with the cap later.
Krebs has stated publicly that his family loves it here and he wants too win a Cup in Buffalo. That is fine by me, and all of Sabres’ fandom I’m sure. Krebs is a valuable resource to have. He is not great at any one thing but is good at many. We saw more offense from him this past season than ever before. He plays sound defensively and wins many puck battles. He has a big heart on the ice, works his ass off and is an underrated leader for this team. He can play up and down the lineup and doesn’t look out of place. And he never backs down from adversity.
With Buffalo still in need of possible top-six help in the forward ranks, Krebs could still be a trade piece. Even moreso with the higher than expected contract and the difficult negotiations each side just had. The Sabres are heavy in the bottom-six and at least two forwards could be shipped out to make room for the bigger fish. If so, I hope Krebs is not one of them. Lindy and Jarmo seem to love the player also. He has great tenacity and spirit and willingness to battle. He, along with Josh Doan and Zach Benson, are the kind of players that Buffalo needs more of.
His price tag is certainly above expectations. Hopefully his output will be the same way.