The last of the Sabres' free agents is now under contract as the team announced a one-year deal with defenseman Marc-Andre Gragnani late Thursday afternoon. He was a restricted free agent. Terms of the deal were not disclosed; Gragnani's NHL salary last year on a two-way contract was $500,000.
Gragnani was named the AHL's top defenseman last year at Portland and then became a key member of the Buffalo blueline during the playoffs, posting a goal and six assists in the seven games against Philadelphia.
The six assists were a club record for a rookie defenseman in a playoff series and tied Pierre Turgeon's 1988 total for points in a series by a rookie. The seven points led all rookie defensemen in the playoffs.
But good luck to Gragnani making the top six this season with newcomers Robyn Regehr and Christian Ehrhoff in the fold. He'll be hard-pressed to start the season in the lineup unless there's some more moves before or during training camp. The Sabres should have quite a competition among their eight defensemen.
---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)
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