Sabres solidify depth in Rochester with five signings

Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The opening of NHL Free Agency on Monday saw the Buffalo Sabres not only address its roster at the NHL level, but also its organizational depth that will contribute in the American Hockey League with the Rochester Americans.

The Sabres announced on Monday the signing of five players who will likely have a key role in the AHL next season:

- LW - Brett Murray
- C - Mason Jobst
- C - Josh Dunne
- D - Jack Rathbone
- G - Felix Sandstrom

All five players were signed with an average annual value of $775,000. However, Dunne is the only player to receive a two-year contract, whereas everyone else received a one-year, two-way deal.

Murray returns to Buffalo after spending the last four years under contract with the Sabres. In 23 career games in the NHL, the 25-year-old has just two goals and four assists for six points.

Over the last five years playing in Rochester, Murray has done well with 73 goals and 84 assists for 157 points in 259 games played. In three playoff runs, Murray has scored eight goals and added nine assists for 17 points in 26 games.

The 6-foot-5, 227-pound winger was a former fourth-round pick (99th overall) of the Sabres in the 2016 NHL Draft.

After a productive couple of seasons with the Amerks, Jobst earns the second NHL contract of his career, and the first since signing his entry-level deal with the New York Islanders in 2019. The 30-year-old has yet to play in a game at the NHL level.

In 151 games played with the Amerks over parts of the last three years, Jobst has netted 40 goals and registered 61 assists for 101 points. This included a 50-point campaign (22+28) in Rochester this past year. In the playoffs, Jobst has played well with four goals and 12 assists for 16 points in 19 games.

Jobst was a college free agent signing of the Islanders after spending four seasons at Ohio State University, where he captained the Buckeyes for two years.

As for Dunne, he joins the Sabres after parts of four seasons spent with the Columbus Blue Jackets organization.

After signing with the Blue Jackets as an undrafted college free agent out of Clarkson University in 2021, Dunne went on to make 14 appearances at the NHL level with no production, while registering 10 penalty minutes and a minus-7 rating.

In the AHL with the Cleveland Monsters, Dunne was more so a goal scorer with 36 goals and 29 assists for 65 points in 134 games played. His best season came last year when the 25-year-old scored 20 goals and added 17 assists for 37 points in 65 games played.

On the defensive side of the puck, Rathbone joins the Sabres after spending most of last season with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. In 67 games played with the Penguins and two others with the Abbotsford Canucks, Rathbone scored nine goals and tallied 16 assists for 25 points.

Rathbone was a former fourth-round pick (97th overall) of the Vancouver Canucks in the 2017 NHL Draft. After two seasons of collegiate hockey at Harvard University, Rathbone signed his entry-level contract and was able to play in eight games at the NHL level, scoring a goal and adding two assists.

In 28 career NHL games, the 25-year-old, left-shot defenseman has two goals and three assists for five points, all coming with the Canucks.

Then in goal, Sandstrom joins the Sabres after spending parts of the last six seasons within the Philadelphia Flyers organization. He was a former third-round pick (70th overall) of the Flyers in the 2015 NHL Draft.

It has not been an easy go for Sandstrom at the NHL level, as the 27-year-old has posted a 4-18-4 record with a 3.66 goals-against average and an .880 save percentage.

In 88 games played at the AHL level, the Swedish netminder has fared better with a 39-29-15 record, a 2.95 goals-against average and an .899 save percentage.